James Potter

Chapter 1: Lose One, Gain One

"That filthy MUDBLOOD!"

The voice of my ex-friend rang through my head. Severus Snape, my best friend for the last five years, called me the unforgivable word while he was hanging upside down by the ankle because of James Potter. I tried to defend Severus, and help him, but he was embarrassed and called me that word in front of pretty much the entire school. To make matters worse, James Potter started to defend to me and told Severus to apologize, but Severus refused and then I left, pretty close to tears.

James Potter plays pranks on me and annoys me, ever since Day 1, almost 6 years ago. He played, now I realize, harmless pranks on me that sometimes reduced to me to tears, but later on, I had a nice laugh about it. Now sitting here, thinking, Potter is better than Severus. I will never look back on this day and laugh.

However, the one thing that Potter did that always annoyed me is the countless times he's asked me out. I always decline because I know he isn't really in to me. He just wants to prove that he can go out with any girl he wants. He's after me for the chase. I don't fall for his charm like every other girl in the school did. It was me and Mary, my best friend. But, Mary fell for Sirius later this year. He used to be a womanizer, but for some reason, for the last few months, he's been normal. He's decline dozens of girls and hasn't gone out with anyone since February.

I stared into the fire, as I have been for a while. Looking at the clock, I realize it's about 1. An empty feeling overcomes me as I realize, I'm all alone. This feeling was horrible and dark and I want nothing more than for it go away. I wish Mary was here, so I could talk to her about it, but I asked her to take over my Prefect duties today because I wasn't really feeling up to it. The common room door creaked open and I turn around as Mary stepped through the door.

"Lils, Severus is outside the common room. He's threatening to sleep out there unless you go talk to him. And I don't think our fellow Gryffindors will fancy having that slimy git there all night." Mary told me nervously.

I sighed. I probably should've expected this. The prick would want to be forgiven. "I suppose I could go talk to him then." I replied and got up.

"I'm going to go sleep… I'm really tired. Lupin said he was feeling a sick and he couldn't patrol either, so I was out alone just walking around for hours. And you know I haven't gotten proper sleep in a long time. I'm really sorry. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Mary said apologetically.

"It's alright, Mary. Thanks for filling for me today. I really appreciate it. Get some sleep." I told her sincerely. Mary smiled, mumbled a 'good night' and went up to our dorm. I took a deep breath and slowly walked out the common room, wondering what would come in the next few minutes.

Severus was right there. Like seriously right there. His eyes seemed to have been glued to the door the entire time, waiting for me to come out. His black eyes met my green and they lit up. Well, only as much as black eyes could light up.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it!" Severus blurted out. "I never meant to call you a you-know-what!"

"I don't want to hear it." I replied icily. I wasn't going to take anything from him. He would not be forgiven.

"Lily..!" He protested.

"You did what you did. You chose to go to that side. The haters of 'my type'. You've chosen your way, with your 'friends'. You guys are all going to go and join You-Know-Who as Death Eaters." I yelled at him. In a much softer voice I said, "My other friends always wondered why I talk to you. I'm not sure I believe the reasons I gave them anymore."

"Lily, please!"

"I don't want to hear it, Severus."

"Lily-" His eyes turned red for the slightest second and I backed up a little.

"I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It." I spat at him, regaining my courage. Couldn't he understand I wasn't going to give him another chance? Even angrier, I said, "Now, leave." His eyes widened and I thought for a second he was going to accept defeat and leave. Instead, he stepped closer. His eyes were now bloodshot red and his top lip curled.

"I'm not going anywhere." he replied with a sadistic smile. His eyes were wide, and rather delusional. Was this what he was like in the inside? I think I know why he was placed in Slytherin. I stepped back more, and my back hit the wall. I hastily felt around in my robes for my wand. Severus was curiously looking at me and he pulled out his own wand. I kept searching. There was nothing there. I froze. I left my wand in my dorm. I searched his eyes, trying to find mercy, and only found an unfamiliar glare. It looked like it wanted to kill. My heart started pounding against my chest and I tried to calm myself down, so Severus wouldn't realize I was intimidated. His thin, red lips curved into a twisted smile and he stepped closer, pushing me further into the wall. Was he really going to hurt me? His eyes looked like it wanted death. His wand, which was centimeters away from my throat, was definitely ready to kill.

"Severus...please..." His smile simply grew wider with the victory. I, his prey, was begging for mercy.

"Leave her ALONE!" A deep voice to the right of us boomed. A jet of bright blue light hit Severus and he crumpled to the ground. I let out a sigh of relief and stepped closer to my savior. He stepped out of the shadow, and the moonlight revealed the unmistakable hazel eyes behind the wire-rimmed glasses. It was James Potter!

"Evans, are you alright?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Potter?" I whispered in surprise. My mind was whizzing with thoughts. What was he doing here, so late at night? And he saved me from Severus. And where were his friends? He stepped closer and the moonlight revealed bright red gash in his cheek. "Potter, what happened to you?" I gasped, surprising myself. This was James Potter. We didn't even call each other by our first names. He was an arrogant toe rag. Then again, Potter had changed a lot in the last few weeks, even if just this afternoon he taunted Severus for fun.

"Never mind that. We need to get inside. Old Snivellus there won't stay frozen for long." I was surprised all he did was freeze him. I figured, that with an excuse, he might've wanted to stun him. We went through the portrait hole into the empty common room and sat down on the maroon couch opposite the fire. My breathing started to become more strained as I recollected everything that happened in the last five minutes. Severus' eyes, Potter coming to save me. I covered my face with my hands, the images still flashing before my eyes. I felt a large, warm hand on my shoulder and Potter moving closer. "Evans? What happened…? Tell me, it'll make you feel better." he whispered. His voice was caring, soft and comforting. It was nothing similar the conceitedness and arrogance his voice was usually full of. I looked up into his eyes. His eyes, which looked absolutely beautiful in the fire, seemed caramel now, and made me want to melt into his arms. Could this really be the James Potter I'd known for so long? The one I called an arrogant toerag in front of the whole school just a few hours ago? His concerned gaze was undeniably sincere. I realized that recently, he had been a lot nicer and more responsible. With the exception of this afternoon, of course. But tonight, he was my savior. Here he was, right next to me, at about 1:30 at night after saving me from the terror of my ex-friend. And I was sitting right next to him, not moving away because he was touching me. Was I starting to return those feeling he had for me? I pushed these thoughts away and decided to open up to him a little.

"It's Severus..." I began slowly, to catch my breath.

"Oh…him…" He said, and his nose crinkled a little. I ignored this and continued.

"He was my best friend, ever since before Hogwarts. He told me everything about the magical world. He was the one who told me I was a witch. I thought that he wasn't like the rest of the idiots in his house. I knew the vermin he called friends called me those types of things, but I never thought I'd hear it coming from him…and in front of so many people…" I said, spilling everything. It was surprising how easily I could trust him, even after the last five years. And his hand was still on my shoulder…it felt nice, rather warm, actually. Stop it, Lily. James. Potter. Remember? Arrogant Toerag? I pushed these thoughts out of my head…he was a human being, he showed me that in the last few minutes, so he could change, right? I looked at James again. His gaze was strong, and just looking into them made me feel loads better.

"Evans, it's going to be alright. He got what he deserved. And I suppose it's sort of my fault too, for provoking him." He looked down, suddenly becoming interested in his shoes. I stared. Was James Potter, Quiddtich extraordinaire, pranking master, taking the blame for something? And did he regret what he did? Change…it didn't seem so far off for him anymore. The idea of him changing was, now, definitely possible.

"No, don't be crazy, it's not your fault. I'm glad I found what he calls me behind my back." I said breathlessly. I still couldn't believe this was James Potter. A thought struck me. Was there a side of him I never saw? What if he was always like this? Like around his friends? Maybe the arrogance and confidence was just a mask he was putting out to everyone else!

"It's going to be okay. Now, it's time for therapist James." He said, smiling as he wiped a tear from my cheek. I sat up, surprised by the warmth of his finger. It felt so smooth and I felt butterflies in my stomach. I didn't think I'd ever catch myself getting butterflies because of James Potter.

"Therapist?" I said, tilting my head.

"Yup. Is there anything that reminds you of him? Any material things? A gift possibly?" He asked, simply staring into my eyes. It momentarily made me forget who we were talking about.

"Oh, um…Uh, yeah…" I stammered. I could feel my cheeks turning slightly red. I pulled out a necklace from one of my pockets. "He gave me this on my birthday last year. Of course nothing compared to the 'Happy Birthday Lily' banner in the Great Hall" I said smirking, remembering the Marauder's gift.

"Of course, I doubt you'd ever received a better gift." He said, remembering the gift, too. "Now, come with me." He took my hand, which was warm and soft and I felt myself turn redder. It was quickly forgotten when we moved closer to the fire. "Now throw it in." He instructed me.

"What?" I asked incredulously. I searched his eyes for any signs of joking, but there were none.

"Throw it in."

"Potter, don't you think it's slightly crazy?" He couldn't be serious, right?

"Just do it." He urged me. I shrugged my shoulders. What would I lose?

"Alright…" I threw the necklace in.

"Now watch it burn…" Potter told me. I watched the green metallic flowers of the necklace burn and stared into the fire until the entire necklace was reduced to ashes. Suddenly, I felt better, like something in me died. I felt free.

"Wow." I said. "It actually kind of worked." I told him, completely surprised. Well, not completely. Looking at fire, controlling fire, I found it pretty soothing. That's why I always sit in front of the fire when I'm stressed.

"That's my therapy." He said, giving me a goofy, lopsided smile that suddenly, looked a lot better, now that the arrogance was out of it.

"Your therapy? What could you possibly need therapy for?" I asked, more joking than anything. But surprisingly, he answered.

"Now Evans, do you think it's actually easy for me to handle every one of your rejections? I find ways every time to cope with it. This is number 56. I have 83 of them." He told me casually, his face straight as he ruffled the black mop on his head he called hair. Whoa. Okay, didn't see that coming.

"Well, I wouldn't have to reject you so often if you kept asking all the time…" I stammered. Was he really serious? I searched his face, but it remained straight and his eyes were sad, no longer lit up. "So where are Remus, Sirius, and Peter?" I asked, to change the subject. I couldn't look at his strained expression anymore.

"Uh. They're fine." He said, fidgeting. I raised an eyebrow. I said where. I was about to ask the question again, but he interrupted.

"So Evans, are you coming to the Slytherin versus Gryffindor Quidditch final tomorrow?" He asked eagerly.

"Of course. You better crush Slytherin. I need to see the look on Snape's face tomorrow." I said, smiling at the thought. But then I realized, I said of course. I pretended to hate Quidditch for the last few years because Ja-I mean Potter loved it. I thought he'd stop pursuing me if he knew that I hated the one thing he couldn't possibly live with out.

"Evans, anything for you." He said, smiling sincerely.

"It's really late…I'm going to go sleep. I haven't had any decent sleep since December, I had to study for OWL's, you know?" I laughed and got up. Jam-Potter did the same. It's getting harder to call him Potter…

"That does sound like you, Evans." I rolled my eyes and started walking towards my dorm and turned around.

"Potter?" He looked up. "You've really changed, haven't you? I think I'm going to start calling you James again." I said, surprised at my own words. I haven't called him James since first year, before I learned how much of a jerk he could be. His face lit up like a Christmas tree and I felt unusually happy, knowing that I was the reason for it.

"Then I will start calling you Lily again. It's much prettier than Evans anyway." He said, ruffling his hair again. I smiled and felt my face grow hot, glad it was too dark for him to see.

"Good night, James." I said.

"Night, Lily." He said, winking. I walked up the stairs to my dorm, with butterflies in my stomach. I can't believe it, but it's possible, that in about a half an hour, I just might fancy James Potter.

A/N: I'm glad people already started reading my stories! I usually update on Wednesdays...so keep watching out for them! Please review if you can!

This is an edited version. I thought I'd go back and fix some of the chapters. They weren't my best work. No information is added that wasn't there before.

Sam Storsky