Author's Note: In a chat Rowlings said that James was a Chaser but the movie had him as a Seeker so I'm going with the Seeker as of right now. Since she had input in the movie, she may have changed her mind about his position.
The Trouble With Love
by: Serenthia
James Potter, Quidditch Captain and the best seeker in a century, not to mention Prefect, most popular guy in school, along with the most handsome, sat across from the girl that, by all rights, should be drooling over him as she read from her romance novel.
Lily Evans was a Prefect, on the Quidditch team as a great Chaser, and she was pretty and popular just like James. They would make a perfect match.
The cover of Lily's romance novel depicted a rogue male, wearing all black, sneering and condescending, as the heroine, she had red hair too, was kneeling at his feet, arms outstretched to the man in a token of her good will and love for him.
Lily was making notes from this book as her eyes darted to the Slytherin Table every once in a while.
"Oh, give it up!" Sirius said as he fell into a seat by James. "Sn... Sn.. Snape's never going to love you, Lily. And frankly, what do you see in that freak of nature?"
Lily glanced up, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "You just don't understand! Severus," she nearly swooned on his name, "is just misunderstood. The poor boy has no friends."
James glanced over at the Slytherin Table where Severus Snape was busily talking to Sean Lestrange while Florence Taylor and Martin Wilkes listened in. The four of them looked quite companionable.
"He has five friends," Remus started. "He's talking to some of them, right now."
Lily glanced over there and shook her head. "They don't understand him! He needs a woman's touch!"
James groaned as Lily gathered her belongings, and with a pitying glance at Severus and a sigh, left the Great Hall.
"She should be in love with me!" James said, turning to Remus and Sirius. "Right?! I'm great looking! Popular! Quidditch champion! I'm rich!"
"And modest," Remus added.
"Yes," James nodded, "and very modest," he said, not noticing Remus rolling his eyes.
Sirius grabbed some food and ate it with his hands.
"Use your utensils," James said, looking at him with slight disgust.
Sirius shook his head. "You see! That's why Lily doesn't want you. You're too good! You need to be a bad boy," Sirius said, "and then Lily will swoon over you instead of... instead of... Sn... Snape," he choked on the name, his cheek twitching.
James had to get Sirius's mind off Severus, the more Sirius thought of him the more his face started to twitch.
"So," James said, "how do I go about being a bad boy?"
Sirius glanced at him, eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know if you can," he said. "You're like.... um.. a goody-two-shoes."
James's mouth dropped. "I am not! Am I?" he demanded of Remus.
Remus shrugged. "Well, you are sort of."
"But," James protested, "all the pranks we do!"
"Those aren't dangerous," Sirius scoffed. "And you won't play a prank against a teacher."
"Of course not!" James said, sounding horrified. "We could get into trouble."
Sirius groaned. "Then quit complaining about being a goody-two-shoes if you aren't willing to do some bad things!"
"But," James tried, "we are Animagi!"
"No one knows about that!" Sirius said. "Listen, James. You play pranks but the pranks are funny and everyone loves you for them. You aren't a rebel."
"I have hair on my chest," James informed him.
Sirius sunk out of sight. "Oh, man, and you think that makes you a rebel!" he said from somewhere under the table.
James opened his mouth to say some more things when a movement caught his eye. Severus was moving towards them, his black robe and cloak billowing out behind him, with how fast he was going.
"So," Severus said, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at James, "if it isn't James Potter." His cheek twitched. "I heard the cheering everyone did for you this morning while you played Quid.. Quid.. Quidditch," he winced at the words. "You made the entire school, but Slytherin, happy," he hissed, moving a hand near his mouth as if he might be sick. "Your head is so swollen, Potter, I can't see how you can fit through the doorways!"
James smiled sweetly at Severus. Severus backed away as if James had shown him a knife, his face angry.
"You dare threaten me!" Severus shrieked.
James continued to smile. Wasn't that what people were supposed to do to crazy people? Smile at them until they went away. And James was fairly sure Severus was crazy.
"Get away!" Sirius said as he resurfaced, glaring at Severus. "Crawl back under that rock you slithered from under."
Severus smirked at Sirius. "If my mother looked like yours I would expect her to hide under a rock for the rest of her..."
Sirius launched himself at Severus and the two of them were quickly embroiled in a fight, rolling on the table.
James ignored them, this happened on a daily basis almost now, so what was the point?
"Doesn't having hair on your chest make you a rebel?" James demanded, turning to Remus.
Remus was watching Sirius and Severus fight. "I swear Severus just put his hair in the butter on purpose."
"Enough about that! What about me?!" James whined.
Remus glanced at him. "Um, James. I have hair on my chest, Peter has hair on his chest, even."
James slumped into his seat. "How will Lily ever fall in love with me, then?" James asked morosely as he watched Severus stick his head into a bowl of mashed potatoes as Sirius fought to wipe the gravy off his face and hands, while still fighting with Severus.
None of the students ran to get the teachers like they should (they were already gone), everyone was too used to seeing Sirius and Severus fight to do anything about it. James slowly got up.
"Let's get, Sirius," James said. "We have homework to do."
He and Remus managed to pull Sirius off Severus. Thankfully, Severus just watched them go, sneering at them, instead of trying to get Sirius into another fight.
"He likes fighting with you," Remus said as they pushed Sirius into one of the showers in the Prefect's bathroom. "Ignore him like me, James, and Peter do."
"I can't!" Sirius shrieked. "He keeps insulting my mum!"
"That's because he knows it upsets you, Sirius," James said. "Severus is a bit... odd.. just ignore him."
The only problem was that once Sirius learned to ignore Severus insulting a certain person, Severus would change who he insulted, leading Sirius to explode all over again. First it had been James, then Remus, then Peter, then Lily, than any girl Severus saw Sirius talking to, and then Sirius's mum. James felt sorry for Sirius. Sirius had a temper and Severus knew exactly how to provoke it and enjoyed doing it. That boy was sadistic.
"I need to be a rebel!" James whined to get everyone's mind off of Severus.
"Argh!" Sirius yelled. "That's your first mistake. Rebel's don't whine. I'll show you," Sirius said, emerging.
His robe was wet but clean. A quick drying spell and Sirius was ready to show him how to be a rebel.
"Oh, goody, I can't wait!" James said and Sirius slapped his forehead.
"This is not going to be easy," Sirius decided.