"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair again.

It was one of the girls from the lake edge. She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and startling green almond-shaped eyes -- Harry's eyes.

Harry's mother…

"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, and more mature.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…."

Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included, but Lupin, still apparently intent with his book, didn't, neither did Lily.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," James said quickly. "Go on… Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch toward his wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the Giant Squid," said Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, turning his back to Snape. "OY!"

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Wormtail roared with laughter.

Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!"

"Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got up quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly.

"Take the curse of him, then!"

James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse.

"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus--"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily blinked. "Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I would wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointing threateningly at him.

"I don't want you to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on him. "You're as bad as he is…"

"What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a-- you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can--I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

She turned on her heel and hurried away.

Revenge

by Molly Raesly

Chapter One

The Decision

Lily stormed away from the lake in a huff, stomping her feet in an immature, tantrum way. As childish as this was, it made Lily feel better to storm away. Her nasty tempter needed a chance to fume before it would cool down. She purposely ignored Potter's calling her name and refused to even acknowledge the sound. If only Potter's existence could be so easily forgotten. Still, there was no way in bloody hell she was turning around now. Surely, even Potter would see that. Not in the likely, Lily thought to herself. Oh, Potter! He made her so mad!

The prat acted like he owned the school just because he played on the Quidditch team. He didn't even play that well. Okay, he was rather good and the Gryffindor Quidditch team had yet to lose a match since he became a chaser on the team, but that didn't make him any better than the next Hogwarts student! He and his fellow baboons were just awful. Marauders they called themselves. Of course, they would need a name to set them apart. Merlin forbid they could just follow the rules and try to remain inconspicuous. Lily despised them, all except Remus. Lily was a prefect with him and enjoyed his company on patrols. Remus actually behaved like a human being, and he could actually hold a civil conversation. But why did he always allow his so-called friends to get away with such nonsense all the time? He was almost as bad as Potter. He just let them terrorize Snape.

Lily's fists, which she had been subconsciously clenching along with her jaw, balled up even tighter when she thought of her former friend's name. True, she and Severus had made it a point to keep their friendship a secret while at Hogwarts; their social circles simply would not have allowed for the relationship, or so Sev had told her. Slytherins do not befriend muggleborn Gryffindors, even if they were friends when they were little. Now, however, Lily never wanted to talk to her childhood friend again, and it was all James Bloody Potter's fault.

If he had not caused this trouble, Severus never would have called Lily a--Mudblood, she thought the word as a pain shot through her chest. He had never called her that before, at least to her face, a voice in Lily's mind reminded her. Lily brushed back the hurt and the tears forming in her eyes with the back of her hand angrily. There was no point in getting weepy. This situation called for something else entirely. A burning sensation flowed through Lily's veins as she pictured herself causing James Potter as much pain as he had caused her over the past five years. Her fingers shook and tightened as though she were strangling him, a thought that made the monster inside Lily's chest roar with triumph. He needed to be repaid for the constant harassment, pranking, date offers, and overall big headedness. She needed revenge.

Didn't Potter deserve to be punished for his crimes? Hadn't he made her past years miserable with his constant pestering and begging for him to go out with her? How could one not want to wipe that stupid 

smirk off of Potter's overinflated ego? Shouldn't Lily be the one to knock precious Potter off of his pedestal at Hogwarts? Wouldn't she, his constant victim, be the perfect person to deflate Potter's head? Yes, she decided. Yes, she would.

Lily could think of nothing more satisfying than to crush that untidy-haired Marauder. Her body began to shake with anticipation just thinking about it. Her lips curled into a haughty grin. She imagined the look on his face when she finally--

"Lily!" she heard someone call from behind her.

Lily didn't turn around to look. It was probably just Potter or one of his Marauders, or worse, Severus. Or perhaps, Lily was having a lucky day, and one of the pathetic girls that always traipsed after Potter was hunting her down to ask her, "Like, why would you ever say 'no' to James? He's the most gorgeous guy ever!"

"Lily!" the voice called again. Suddenly, Alice Prewett appeared at Lily's side, her wide, blue eyes gazing into Lily's own green ones. She was Lily's best friend, a Gryffindor, as well, but a year older. "Lily," she gasped, catching her breath. Her cheeks were a ruddy red color, and her short black hair was matted across her face. "I've been chasing you for ages! Ruddy long legs!" Alice added as an afterthought, cursing her short genetics from her mother's side as she hastened to catch up to her red tempered friend.

"Sorry," Lily muttered. "I thought you were somebody else."

"Potter?" Alice guessed, already knowing the answer.

Lily grimaced at the name. "Stupid Potter," she spat as she trudged up a set of stairs that led to the entrance of the castle.

"I heard about your not-so-little argument down at the lake just now," said Alice.

"Is all of Hogwarts already gossiping about perfect Potter and the goody-two-shoes Evans having a bickering spat?" Lily asked, fuming.

"Try to keep the venom at a low, Lily," Alice teased. "You'll begin to froth at the mouth with all that hatred."

"How can I not be furious with him? He humiliated me in front of the whole bloody school! And now even you know about it, what, two minutes later?"

"It was only about thirty seconds. You stormed away pretty fast. Maybe you should join the Quidditch team."

Lily silenced Alice with a glare.

To be fair," mused Alice, after the evil eye had finally disappeared. "I wasn't too far from the scene of the crime. And it wasn't all his fault. There were loads of students there. And besides, Lily, you were being pretty loud. Voices carry."

"That's just ruddy fantastic, Alice, thanks," spat Lily.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized. "What did Potter even do anyway?"

"He teased Severus."

"Practically everyone at Hogwarts makes fun of him," Alice pointed out.

"And he asked me out!" Lily continued. "In front of everyone! It's not like it's the first time, but at least before, there was some sort of decency about it. He usually just does it in the corridor or while I'm 

alone. Potter embarrassed the hell out of me. He's got absolutely no tact! Who asks someone out while they are shouting at each other?"

"Although, yes, it wasn't the best of circumstances, I can't blame him for wanting to go out with you. It's not his fault he's got good taste in women."

"I wish his standards were a lot lower. Maybe he would go out with one of his annoying little bints. But this is Potter, so his standards are that low!" Lily corrected herself. "He's always dragging some new girl into a broom closet with him and then ruffling his hair as he emerges from his latest conquest."

"Okay, so the guy is a pig. Why are you so inclined to hex him into oblivion, beat him to a bloody pulp, and then rip out his hair and throw it in the Common Room fireplace?"

Lily smiled despite herself at Alice's imagery. Her ideas seemed so delightful. "I loathe him, and he doesn't ever seem to get the message. There's always the never-ending 'All right, Evans?' or 'Go out with me, Evans!' He finally reached my breaking point. This is it. In order to keep the little sanity I have left, I need to remove Potter from my life. I physically cannot handle his ridiculous attempts to get me to 'snog with him in an abandoned broom closet anymore!'"

"Did he really ask you to do that? There are spiders and mops in there!" Alice interjected, but Lily ignored her and continued with her rant.

"I don't like him. I hate him actually, and I will never ever ever go out with him. Does he need me to ruddy write it out for him? Maybe I should bloody put an ad on the cover of the Daily Prophet!"

"That's assuming he can read," Alice replied lightly with an unsure smile, trying to calm Lily down with humor.

"Which he probably can't!" Lily realized, walking quickly through corridors towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Alice, who was a fair few inches shorter than Lily's five-foot-seven height, had to nearly 

jog to keep up with her fiery friend. "Ugh! He just infuriates me! How could he possibly think I would ever want to go out a pompous git like him?"

"I dunno, Lily. Boys are so confusing. They're always doing something odd. Maybe he really does like you."

Lily snorted at that remark and stopped walking. She turned to address Alice vehemently. "James Potter is not capable of that kind of emotion. The most he could possibly feel for me is stupid, pathetic, teenage lust. I'm no different than a Quidditch match to him."

"I think he prefers girls over Quidditch," Alice disagreed with a smile. "Or, at least his broomstick does."

Lily threw Alice a look. "You're beginning to sound like him now. Potter doesn't really want to date me. He just wants to win."

"I know that teenage boys are not the most moral people around, but I think he'd enjoy spending time with you in a romantic way. You've never seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one's watching."

"Give me a break, Alice. You can't possibly be defending him! That look you see is sick, perverted, lust. I'm only a challenge he wants to win or a chance to prove himself to a group of spectators. He doesn't care about me. I doubt Potter even knows anything about me. He just doesn't want to lose the game."

Alice pondered this for a moment. "Then maybe you should play, too," she suggested finally. "And just make sure you win."

"Now that's an idea," Lily replied, grinning shrewdly at her friend. Alice took it more as a maniac's glint rather than an actual smile. Lily began to pace back and forth as she mulled the thought over in her head. "Beat Potter at his own game," Lily muttered softly to herself. "Finally make him pay for all the rubbish he's put me through. Make him feel how I feel."

"Lily, I don't know if that's the best idea," said Alice worriedly. "I mean, he's just a bloke. How far do you really want to go with this?"

"Alice, Potter needs someone to teach him a lesson. You can either help me, or you cannot. But you are not stopping me."

"No, I don't think anyone would ever be able to stop Lily Evans from doing something she had her mind set on." Alice sighed, giving up at last. "What do you want me to do, Lily?"

"You are going to help me get revenge on James Potter," announced Lily.

"And how in Merlin's name are we going to do that?" Alice asked.

"By giving him what he's always wanted," Lily declared, turning on her heel to smile beatifically at her friend.

"What's that?" Alice asked.

"Me," Lily replied determinedly.

"Something about that makes me feel like this is not going to end happily," said Alice, already weary of the future.

"Oh, it will," Lily assured her friend. "Just not for Potter."