A/N: I've been on a little bit of a writing break over recent months thanks to masses of uni work and exams. But my writing bug is back and I realised it has been years since I've written anything Lily/James related. I have an idea for a couple of longer stories about them but I thought I'd get back into writing with a quick one-shot in response to the 'five pieces of personal canon' meme that's out there.

i.

The first time James asked Lily out, he did it to prove a point. It was in October of their fourth year at Hogwarts and Sirius was boasting about the three different dates he had for Hogsmeade that weekend. He was sharing his supposedly genius plan to meet each girl at a different time and place, but knowing him it was going to fail spectacularly on the actual day. Pointing out that fact did little to deter him. Instead he merely commented that James did not even have one date of his own yet and maybe he should focus on his own romantic life rather than Sirius'.

With a determined glare, James had turned away and scanned the entrance hall for anyone he knew. Coming up blank, he noticed a redheaded Gryffindor standing by stairs. He vaguely recognised her as the girl that was always hanging around with Snivellus and constantly answering questions in Charms, something Evans.

"Oi, Evans!"

She looked over her shoulder at her name being called and frowned.

"What?"

She seemed annoyed at being bothered but he didn't let that discourage him.

"You want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

A look of disgust graced her face as she wrinkled her nose.

"No," she said shortly before turning away and heading up the stairs to join a blonde girl who was now waving at her.

James heard a familiar bark of laughter as Sirius threw his head back in joy at his friend's humiliation.

"Better luck next time, mate," he said, patting him on the back and laughing once more.

"Shut up, Sirius," he muttered, praying his cheeks weren't burning like he thought they were.

However he found himself unable to draw his gaze away from her as she greeted her friend. He had no particular interest in her and yet he suddenly found himself wishing that she had said yes.

ii.

ABBA was Lily's guilty pleasure music. It all started when she came home for the summer after third year and Petunia refused to stop playing Waterloo. She made it explicitly clear that Lily was banned from ever borrowing the LP, and so she used to try and learn the lyrics by pressing a glass up against the wall that divided her and her sister's bedroom. The morning after she had walked around the house singing the song wherever she went, she found Petunia's LP shoved between the two bins outside. Lily had snuck it back upstairs and shoved it into her trunk. Her sister may have thrown it out but she would rather have died than let her have it. From then on, Lily had taken to saving her money every summer to buy the latest single. She had kept the records stashed in her trunk and played them on the enchanted gramophone any time her roommates weren't about. She used to dance about her dormitory, singing along at the top of her voice, imagining her frizzy red hair was instead Agnetha's sleek long blonde hair.

The first time that James had apparated into her flat to find her dressed in one of his old t-shirts, dancing about to Dancing Queen, with her hairbrush in hand, he was more certain than ever that that was the girl he was going to marry.

iii.

Lily only ever considered leaving James once. They were two months out of Hogwarts and they had their first massive fight; one of those ones where you're not even sure how it starts and that gets away from you quicker than you had ever thought possible. Foul words were exchanged and things were said that neither of them truly meant. Time slipped away as they yelled at each other, the fight painfully reminiscent of their blowouts back in fifth year. It had finally ended with Lily throwing a heavy silver photo frame at his head and him apparating away followed by her yells for him to not bother ever coming back.

She had slumped back on her sofa after he was gone, the sudden silence of her small flat washing over her, and she had felt the rage still rushing through her veins. Almost on autopilot, she had found herself wandering about summoning and grabbing anything of James that she could find. It was all shoved into a rubbish bag and left for him by the front door if he chose to return after he had calmed down. Then she had kicked her coffee table and cursed herself for ever falling in love with him.

An hour later as she mentally ran through what she could say when she eventually had to face him again – that this clearly wasn't working and it would be better for both of them in the long run if they stopped seeing each other – there was a pop and a dishevelled Sirius Black appeared in her living room. His hair was covered in dust and there was a nasty looking gash on his cheek.

"Death eaters…bastards…James…St Mungos," was all he managed to get out as he bent over, seemingly struggling to catch his breath.

At that moment, Lily felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. As she followed Sirius' cue and apparated to the hospital, she swore to whatever deity was out there that she would never lose her temper again as long as she didn't lose James.

iv.

James had always wanted a younger brother. When he was three, he had written a letter to Father Christmas asking him if he could possibly bring him one. On Christmas Day, he had found fifteen presents waiting under the tree for him, including a toy broomstick and a pack of colouring books. There was no baby brother. When he was six and he had asked his parents where babies came from, they had told him that when a mummy and daddy love each other very much, they wish really hard and if they're very lucky then the Good Wizard will send them a baby. When James had asked if they would wish again for him to have a brother, his dad had coughed awkwardly and his mum had rushed off to see when dinner would be ready. When he was eleven, James had been invited to his cousin's twelfth birthday party. As James played with the other children and they told him all about Hogwarts, he found himself wishing once again that he had a brother. His house with all its gardens and massive gates meant that he rarely got the chance to go and play with other kids his age. It would have been a lot more fun to have a brother to explore the huge house and gardens with. But as all the parents arrived to collect their children, James finally saw something he had never really noticed before. Standing amongst all the other adults, his own parents looked more like they should be his grandparents rather than his parents. His dad was leaning awkwardly on his walking stick and his mum was clinging to his arm. With their grey hair and tired demeanour, neither looked like they should be looking after a rowdy eleven year-old boy. It was at that moment that James realised he was never going to get the brother he always wanted.

A month later, James sat on the Hogwarts Express with his face pressed against the window, watching the countryside rush by. There was a sudden bang as his carriage door flew open and a boy with wild black hair all but tumbled in.

"Sorry about that. Trying to escape my cousin," he said as he stood back up. He gave James a wide grin and stuck out his hand. "I'm Sirius."

v.

Lily believed perfection to be overrated. She was the only one of her friends at primary school that didn't dream of marrying a prince. She thought fairytales were dull and she had no interested in marrying a man who rode in on a white horse to save the day. She could save herself, thank you very much. She listened to her friends chattering about princes with blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes who carried swords with which they slayed dragons and saved damsels in distress. They dreamed of magical first kisses with their perfect prince who they fell in love with the moment they met. And all the while Lily wondered why on earth anyone would want that.

James Potter was anything but a fairytale prince. The first time Lily met him, he tripped her best friend over and she decided he was an idiot. It was most definitely not love at first sight. His messy black hair and wide hazel eyes were anything but prince-like, and a broomstick was hardly a fair exchange for a white horse. Rather than a sword he had a wand, and he was far more likely to use that to jinx people than save any damsels. Their first kiss was definitely not magical and Lily's hazy drunken memory of it involved her throwing up almost immediately afterwards. It was not a perfect fairytale romance and he was not a perfect fairytale prince. And yet he was exactly what Lily wanted.