"It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride."

It was mid-December, and the grounds of Hogwarts were covered in a good two or three feet of snow. The damp cold had seeped into just about every wall of the castle, and the Heads' Common Room seemed one of the few spots left with both comfort, and quiet. As such, it was the umpteenth time James and Lily found themselves doing homework together in front of the roaring hearth, without the excuse of Head duties keeping them within each other's presence. James had abandoned his usual position leaning carelessly upon the couch for one on the soft rug beside Lily. She had a curious expression on her face, as though torn between the urge to tell him to leave and the nagging feeling that she ought to let it slide. Her uncertainty was no longer necessary, however, when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Look Evans, there's no easy way to say this, but –you may have noticed I haven't asked you to Hogsmeade in a while," James said tentatively, attempting to read her thoughts.

"I have," she replied slowly, not looking up from her Potions essay but her mind -and heart -racing.

"Well," James continued with a hint of annoyance at her refusal to make this easier for him, "I'd been thinking all summer that you were probably rather annoyed with me because I wouldn't stop asking. I –I've also stopped hexing people, you know, and –well, now that I've changed, I was wondering if you'd go out with me." Her quill stopped moving, and her brow furrowed as a frown twisted her lips.

"It really wouldn't be a big deal, Evans, just a few hours in Hogsmeade next weekend –I can tell the school it doesn't mean anything, act like a goody-two-shoes all day –" he rambled earnestly, hoping to win her over. One side of her face twitched. Somehow, without realizing it, he'd touched a chord. James' heart sank.

"You're delusional," she said finally, so softly James would have had to strain to hear her if not for the complete lack of any other sound within the room. Everything had gone so wrong the world seemed to have stopped –the wind outside, the fire, his breathing…

She had gotten up. "You're completely delusional if you think that after –after everything,I would go hold hands with you and snog in the alleys of Hogsmeade –and what's more, you're delusional if you really believe that you've changed. Because news flash, Potter, you haven't.You may have a bit more self-control just because you've realized it can benefit you not to act on every single whim and fancy of yours, but you're still every bit as arrogant, selfish, and insensitive as you have been since the day I met you." Something in him broke, and James wanted in one terrifying moment to hurt her as much as she'd hurt him.

"You're a bitch," he declared, clambering to his feet as well, fists clenched at his sides and mouth curved into a furious grimace. "Lily Evans, you are the biggest bitch I've ever met."

Lily gasped ever so slightly, biting her lower lip uncertainly before letting her eyes narrow into their familiar position of fury.

"I'mthe bitch? You'rethe one who's been trying to make a fool of me since the day I got here, Potter!"

"I haven't done anythinglike that since I realized I fancied you! How do you think it feelsto be shot down like that this many times, and the way you do it- I should have realized a long time ago you're not worth it. I thought you were better than the others, but I was wrong. You're worse! I wouldn't be surprised if you got your brains by trading in your heart," he said, hazel eyes scrutinizing her coldly, impassively from behind his glasses.

"You absolute prick,"she said, poking him in the chest. "Did you really expectme to believe popular, wealthy, handsome, Quidditch star Potter would ever care about little goody-two-shoes bookworm Evans? And let's say you did reallyfancy me. How many times did I need to tell you nobefore you realized I meantit? You are everything I positively detest.I could never fancy you, and just because I don't doesn't mean I don't have a heart! It just means I have a brain, and I rely on it!" she spat.

"I didcare. Don't ask me why, because Merlin knows every minute I spend with you, I find it more difficult to answer that myself! And yeah, you're right, I'm all of those things. But you know what? You're judgmental, patronizing, stubborn, and you put your pride ahead of what really matters. And -goddamnit, Evans, I love you anyway!" he yelled. They were both silent, him breathing heavily and her gazing at him curiously, eyes wide.

"Well?" he demanded, with a rather crazed expression distorting his usually carefree features. "Do you have nothing to say to me?" She lowered her eyes, looking everywhere but at him.

"I -I -I should go," she breathed, before turning on her heel and hurrying up the steps to her bedroom.

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For those who have read this before, you probably realize that I've changed the story. It will no longer be a oneshot as it was (thankfully) pointed out to me a sudden surrender on Lily's part was rather unplausible. More to come.

Stay magical!

Leenie