Lily Evans, cheerful and fifteen years old, with shoulder length red hair and bright emerald green eyes, was not a particularly special girl. She was not particularly pretty, nor was she particularly ugly either. And thus, she wasn't exactly the most popular girl in school, nor was she exactly a social outcast. Moreover, she wasn't particularly intelligent nor was she incompetent, having at least enough skill to manage in all of her subjects without failing any of them. She was, in essence, a plain Jane—the average girl. Well, as average as a girl attending Hogwarts could be. So Lily Evans was an average witch—and really, she was quite content with that.

What was particularly strange was the fact that this Lily Evans was currently the topic of discussion for a group of four very peculiar boys. The Marauders, as they deemed themselves, consisted of said four boys; Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and the leader of the group, James Potter.

Peter was the shortest of the four, with light, mousey brown hair and a pair of sky blue eyes. He, like Lily, was not a particularly incredible person, and it was a bit of a wonder how he had come into this ragtag group of mischievous boys. But although he was a bit cowardly and soft spoken, he too had that insatiable urge to prank that ran deep within each of the other boys.

Remus Lupin was taller than Peter by an inch or two, with light chestnut hair and cool gray eyes. He, too, seemed out of place in this group of friends at first glance. He tended to be rather reserved and aloof from the rest of the school, though he was ever polite and earnest to anyone that addressed him. He was, perhaps, the most intelligent of the group, or perhaps just the least immature; regardless, it was this aspect of his personality that led to the success of their more complex plots—plots that he, himself, had thoroughly enjoyed creating.

Sirius Black was the tallest of the group with ebony colored hair and matching dark eyes. He was the self proclaimed second in command of the group and radiated charm and charisma from seemingly every pore on his body. His pearly white smile could easily disarm even the most foul of teachers—though said smile had worked only once on a certain Transfiguration teacher. Needless to say, that smile won him many friends, and even more girlfriends, even after he had pranked the living hell out of Hogwarts year after year.

Which left, of course, the group's leader and Sirius' best friend: James Potter, the second tallest of the group with a pair of hazel eyes and a mop of black he called "hair". He had been the one that had formed this rowdy bunch and named them the "Marauders" after an incident in Transfiguration class which had led to their being given detention for a week—as opposed to getting expelled thanks to Sirius' thousand watt smile. He, of course, shared the love of playing tricks and pranks with his Marauder brethren, but garnered another reputation for never turning down a bet—and always accomplishing it with time to spare.

"All right then Prongs m'boy, it's your turn." Sirius called, sprawled stomach down on his bed as he attempted to flick cards into an old discarded hat on the ground—much to the chagrin of several kings and queens. ("How dare you! I am the Queen of Hearts!")

"Do your worst." James replied lazily as he picked up whatever cards Sirius had missed—which was quite a few—and flung them straight into the hat with ease. Sirius glared, "Must you?"

He rolled his eyes, "Just get on with it Padfoot." Another swish and the Jack of Clubs joined the rest of his suit.

"I hate you."

"Sirius…" Remus sighed, signifying the last bit of patience draining in the most patient of them all. Peter chuckled at the exchange.

"I bet you can't," Sirius paused, rubbing his chin to give off the impression of deep thought, "snag a date with Lily Evans."

"Who?" James asked, idly flicking another card into his hat as he sorted through various names and faces in his mind.

"You know, Lils Evans, red hair, green eyes, kinda pretty."

"She's really nice too; she's helped me with some work a couple of times." Peter quipped from his spot across from James, staring at the ease with which James continued to flick the cards, even as his mind was occupied elsewhere.

"She's in our year and house." Remus deadpanned, rolling his eyes at the negligence of the simplest facts.

"Oh, that Lily Evans? What are the stakes?" James asked; glad to have finally matched a face to the name.

"Fifty five galleons."

"Sure, no sweat."

Remus snorted, "I don't think it'll be quite that simple James. From what I hear, Lily is nothing like the girls you'd usually date—as in, she has a brain."

"Why, whatever are you trying to imply, Mr. Moony?" James asked oh so innocently.

"Why, whatever are you trying to infer, Mr. Prongs?" Remus replied, matching his innocent act to the tee.

"Well, brain or no brain, a date I shall snag with the semi-fair Lily Evans," he announce, striking a gallant pose, "But only one date? How hard can that really be? I daresay you're slipping Sirius."

"I wouldn't get too cocky about that old "Potter charm", now," Sirius said, well, seriously.

"Yeah, you're far from being the most popular guy in school…" Peter agreed, narrowly dodging a pillow expertly aimed at his head.

"Et tu, Wormtail?" James asked dramatically. Peter grinned and flung the pillow back at him.

"And there is one other minor detail you've forgotten…" Remus trailed off. James looked at him expectantly and he coughed, "Your girlfriend?"

James blinked; then swore. "Oh hell, I forgot all about that."

"Hey hey, you already agreed! If you try to squirm your way out of it now, you're out fifty five galleons and the brilliant reputation that you've been patiently cultivating since first year."

"But—" James, for once, seemed to be at a loss of what to do.

"Sorry, but I overheard," a feminine voice called out from the door of the boy's dorm, which had been left slightly ajar. A leg appeared in the doorway, and then the rest of a petite blonde with deep blue eyes stepped into the room coyly. Trina Cannon, James's current girlfriend, stood in the front of them, with her arms crossed over her voluptuous chest.

"Trina! Err, I—" James faltered.

"No need to worry Jamsie!" She cut him off with a dazzling grin on her face, "I just want to add something to the bet."

The Marauders gawked at her. It was no secret that Trina was madly in love with James and just as possessive over him. The fact that she was acquiescing and even adding to something that would separate them for a prolonged period of time seemed, quite frankly, odd.

"When is the Christmas ball?" She asked, turning eyes over the other boys lightly.

"Well since it is the Christmas ball… July fourth." Sirius replied easily.

She tapped his shoulder playfully, "Funny. No, I meant in how days?"

"I think it's a little less than a month from now." Remus supplied, not sure where the blonde was going with this.

"Great! So then Jamesie, you go out with Lily…" She said the statement with a slight twitch, "And you'll take her to the ball. Somewhere in the climax of the ball, you'll kiss her, but then announce that you've only ever really loved me!" She said, playing the scene out in her mind with shining eyes. "And of course you'll come back and sweep me off my feet." And suddenly, Trina's involvement made sense.

"Don't you think it might be a little harsh?" Peter asked timidly. He had always been a bit intimidated by the girl's brash personality.

"No, not really." She said dismissively, closing the matter with a shake of her head, "I mean, it's just a bet. What's the worse that can happen, really?" With a unanimous shrug the other three looked to James expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Well, I suppose I accept!"

-

With the bet accepted, the only matter really left was to find Lily Evans. And really, this proved to be easier said than done as James looked all over the castle for a glimmer of red hair.

"Just where the bloody hell could she be?" He muttered darkly to himself, staring out a large paneled window from the hallway. It was then that he finally spotted his glimmer of red, sitting under the large oak tree by the lake. With a triumphant smirk, James made a mad dash for the lake, hoping he would catch her before she left.

Luck was on his side as he stopped a few meters away to regain his composure after the marathon sprint he underwent to get there. Once he was settled, he walked leisurely up to the sitting red head.

"Hello Lily Evans." He said, exuding his most potent "Potter Charm".

"Hello James Potter." She replied, glancing up at him once before turning back to the book in her hands. He stood patiently for a few awkward moments, waiting for something other than the occasional cough or turning of a page from her. When it seemed that things weren't going to go as planned, James decided he would have to improvise.

"Well? Aren't you going to ask me?" He asked, turning a winning smile in her direction.

She looked confused, "Ask you…what?"

"Well, shouldn't you be wondering how I knew your name?"

She smiled dryly, "I'm sorry, should I be throwing myself at your feet and singing the praises of your name because you found it in your heart to learn this poor lowly peon's name?"

He blinked, "N-no, well, I…"

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, would it not? So how, pray tell, is it so amazing that you actually know my name now, despite the fact that I have been in your very year and house for six years? Other than the fact that it proves your brain is capable of a little more than quidditch and pranks."

He twitched but valiantly pressed forward, forcing the grin on his face to widen, "My brain has always been capable of thinking of pretty girls."

"Well pin a rose on your nose." She replied blandly, returning her gaze to the fine print of her paperback novel. He glared, both at the girl and the novel that seemed to be more interesting than he—James Potter—was. In an instant, the book was in his hands and he proceeded to flip through the pages.

"Pride and Prejudice? How fitting."

"Hey!" She cried as she stood to retrieve her book, "Give that back!" She was a good six inches shorter than he was, however, and it was near impossible for her to take the book back by force. James' attentions, however, had gone from the book to her face, which he could now clearly see under the dim light of the setting sun.

Not bad, he mused inwardly, though not as pretty as Trina. But it was best not to beat around the bush for too long, so he simply asked, "Will you go out with me?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" She shot him an accusing look.

"Nope."

"Since when?" One eyebrow quirked.

"Since I realized how much better you'd look on my arm." And then he gave the infamous "Potter grin"—which was only slightly less effective than the infamous "Black grin", but still pretty powerful in its own right.

She looked at him with wide, sparkling green eyes, "W-what?"

"Will you go out with me?" He repeated smoothly. Oh, she was as good as his.

"No." She said flatly, and all the sparkles seemed to dissipate in an instant.

"W-what! Why not?"

"Because I don't want to." Was the simply reply.

He stared at her through dumbstruck eyes. The "Potter grin"… failed? Was the "Potter charm" just a myth his grandfather had told him about, after all? He shook his head frantically and quickly recomposed himself. In a daring move, he pinned her against the trunk of the tree, his hazel eyes gleaming.

"Come on Lily, I'll be your knight in shining armor and we can ride off happily ever after into the golden sunset."

"Wimp."

"What?"

"Wimp."

"Wh— Bu— How?" He spluttered.

"You can't come out of a grueling battle with shining armor, now can you? Therefore you are a wimp because you ran from the fight." She explained boredly, idly picking the lint off of her cloak.

"So…what? You want me to be your knight in rusted armor?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Rusted armor just means that you're old." She said wriggling free from his now slackened grasp before making her way towards the castle.

"You want me to be your knight is tarnished armor, then?" He cried feebly after her, suddenly getting the feeling that things were not looking up.

She turned and smiled, giving him a small ray of hope before she flicked her wrist, "Accio book."

The forgotten book still in James' hand flew into her possession. She pressed her lips together in a tiny smile before heading off towards the castle again.

"This may be a tad harder than originally planned..." he muttered to himself, "Which means that Remus, Sirius, and Peter were right, and how I hate when they're right." He groaned.

But, for James Potter, a challenge always presented the opportunity for more fun; and of course, this would make for a much more interesting bet.

-

A/N: Hello, Arcynic here, formerly Bunni Girl where I gained quite a bit of popularity from this fic right here. And recently reading over my old work, I am so thoroughly amazed and utterly confused as to why this story garnered as many reviews as it did in the first place. But being that this is one of two stories I've ever actually finished and the fact that this one is still somewhat dear to my heart, I couldn't bring myself to delete it like I had the other one, despite the wretched quality of the story. Instead, I've decided to entirely revise the story, and hopefully make it so that I don't want to cry if I ever reread it in the future.

So to any newcomers, welcome to the fray! Feel free to review and read on, if you wish. But some things may not fit exactly with the newly revised chapter one since I've edited some details. And also be warned that the quality of the chapters will fall significantly after this one until I get the rest revised, which should hopefully not take too long, anyway.

To the oldies that have actually stuck by this story when I was still young and immature and writing it: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea just how much I appreciated every kind word, no matter how undeserved they really were. And if you have time, feel free to reread and relive this sorry little story. It reads so much better now that the A/Ns have been taken out of this chapter, and I'll be trying to add in a few new details whenever possible. That and the writing and dialogue is just better this time around, as my current writing is, hopefully, much better than my old eighth grade writing. Which, I believe, is when I started this fic. Good Lord. Well, that's enough for an A/N. Except for a little rant about Peter's character I've been dying to write, but that can wait for a side story I've finally decided to write. But that's neither here nor there at this point. See you in the revised chapter two, then!

.edit.

Oh dear, I hadn't counted on having a new uploading system where I can't just change the chapters around no matter how I upload them, so you'll have to bear with me til the rest of the chapters are finished being revised. Which suits me just fine except now it seems like a new fic, and it doesn't really deserve that kind of attention. Something I should've thought of before deleting chapter one. But I didn't want to waste a whole new story on a revision of this... Eh, so I'll get started on chapter two asap.