The Truth Of The Heart

Summary: Lily Evans has always, ALWAYS hated James Potter. So when they become Head Boy and Girl, nothing could be worse. But could working with him change Lily's opinion? Has she been ignoring the truth in her heart all along?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this….except a few minor characters, so please don't sue me, JKR, 'cause I have nothing you want….unless you're into human flesh (you're not, are you?)

A/N: Yes, I am reposting! I had a good long think and decided that in the end, as much as it hurt to see one year and 34 chapters' worth of work disappear in a mouseclick or two (of some evil person), I didn't go through all of it for nothing. So, I'm planning to repost my fic chapter by chapter once or twice a week, depending on how busy I am. In the meantime, I will be writing chapter 35, which is going to take a while anyway – this way, you have SOMETHING to read, rather than a big blank.

The biggest biggest biggest thankyou of all goes to astar908. This fic was saved from the bin by them because they had pretty much all the chapters that I lost completely when my computer crashed a while ago, and so without them, this would definitely not be happening at all. So, this chapter is dedicated to astar908!

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Chapter 1: End of Sixth Year

'Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived in a castle overlooking a lake...'

"What're you doing?"

"Bug off Potter!" Lily didn't even try to keep the frustration out of her voice, as she raised her head to find him looking at her.

"What?" he asked injuredly. "Aren't people allowed to make polite enquiries?"

"People are. With you, its always something else."

"I'm not doing anything!"

Lily sighed tiredly. "Just leave me alone," she said coldly.

"I will, if you'll give me one chance. What do you say, Evans? Go out with me?"

Lily slammed her book down.

"NO. Don't you get it? I'm not interested. Not even remotely. I have no idea how many times you've asked me this question, but I've always said no, and I'm always going to say no, and only your big head would be thick enough to think that I would ever, EVER go out with a pig-headed jerk like you!" Angrily, she picked up her bag and books, and headed for the stairs to the dormitories.

It was only when she got to the top step that she turned, for no reason, to find James standing next to the fire, with an almost … defeated slump to his posture. The next moment, Sirius Black, one of his best friends, had bounded across the room, slapping his back and clearly asking him how it had gone. Lily's heart hardened once more and she stomped along the corridor to her dormitory, mumbling curses. It was just one of his phases, she thought fiercely. He just wanted to annoy her…and he had been doing it in this same way since fifth year. Pushing the door to her dormitory open, and dumping her bag onto the floor, she threw herself onto the bed and stared moodily up at the canopy of her four-poster.

"If I had one wish, it would be to see Potter dead," she muttered.

"What, and deprive half the girls here of their own personal god?"

Lily sat up with a start. She had thought the room was empty, but her best friend Emma appeared to be sitting up from where she had been packing her trunk in a corner, regarding her with an amused smile.

"Oh, it's you, Em." She lay back down, contemplating the fact that even if she did manage to somehow accidentally push James out of a sixth-floor window, she would have half of Hogwarts' female population at her throats the next morning, for trying to ruin the looks of a boy they practically worshipped.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Lily groaned and rolled over. "My thoughts are Potter's death wishes."

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Two days later, Lily, Emma, and all the other students boarded the Hogwarts Express and were carried back to King's Cross Station. Lily and Emma had found a compartment to themselves and were busy playing Exploding Snap when the door burst open and four boys fell in, onto the floor in a heap. The first to untangle himself was Sirius. He rose to his feet and bowed dramatically.

"So sorry to have disturbed you, ladies. We were simply engaged in a spot of Snivellus-baiting and felt we needed to make a quick getaway…"

"Although he might find it a bit difficult to come after us, considering the clothes he's wearing," James added, smirking. "Especially the miniskirt." His hand flew to his hair as he saw Lily's eyes on him.

Peter Pettigrew, the shortest of the four, took a quick look outside. "Are those Slytherins?"

Remus Lupin, a more serious, and (usually) the most sensible of the boys, checked and nodded. "We'd better move."

"Well, nice seeing you, ladies," Sirius said cheerfully, as he was dragged out by Peter. "Call on us if you ever need a nice gentleman to escort you somewhere."

James lingered for half a second longer. "Evans, are you sure you wouldn't want to go out with -"

"Get OUT, you conceited loser!" Lily yelled, throwing a magazine at him. His head moved quickly behind the door and it slid shut. For a few seconds, the compartment was silent.

"Well, you can't say he isn't persistent," Emma said at last, picking up her cards.

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All too soon, the train drew into the platform and the girls lugged their trunks into the crowd of students and parents. There was no sign of the four boys, or the Marauders, as they called themselves, although Lily could have sworn she heard Sirius' voice somewhere.

She and Emma exchanged the usual promises of writing to each other over the summer and with a last hug, Emma went off to find her parents. Lily began to drag her things towards the barrier that separated the Muggle station from the magical, knowing her father would be waiting in his car outside. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her – an all-too-familiar voice.

"Evans! Oi, EVANS!"

She whirled around, anger already welling up, to see James Potter jogging up behind her.

"What?" she snapped.

"Nothing, just…sorry for all that on the train." He looked awkward, jamming his hand into his pocket as he didn't know what to do with it.

"Oh….ok…" Lily felt thrown, for some unidentifiable reason.

"Well…have a good summer," he added, going red.

She looked at him warily. "Yeah, thanks, you too."

"See you." Flashing her a small grin, though his cheeks were still warm, he set off again, weaving through the crowds.

Lily felt oddly disconcerted as she watched his retreating figure. Something had been missing from that…and had they really just had a civil exchange, without her ending up yelling?

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A/N: So, there you go. Basically the same – just a few minor alterations where I've noticed a grammatical mistake. Feel free to leave a review – anything will do. The next chapter will be coming very soon!

I also want to add, as a last note, that if you were the person who reported this story for no reason and had it removed, then I REALLY hope that someone finds out and reports YOUR stories for no good reason. I shall also point out that were surprisingly unhelpful and rude, as they ignored my email to ask how exactly I violated their "guidelines" which makes it clear that they don't think before removing a story. Considering the fact that the website is set up to cultivate those who want to write, it's rather a shock to see that they're doing exactly the opposite. Rather undermines the whole principle, in fact.