Entry for:

- The Diagon Alley Challenge: Madam Pimpernelle's Beautifying Potions.
- The Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Competition: Love Potion

I was inspired by the song The Last Time by Taylor Swift. Well, I say that but really it was just one lyric from it.

Please enjoy and wish me luck!

"This is the last time I'm asking you this..."

James went down on one knee and with a dramatic sweep of his wand he produced a bouquet of red roses. He never seemed to care if she was with her friends or not, it was just another overdramatic way to get everybody's attention on him and humiliate her.

"Miss Evans, will you do me the great honour of accompanying me to Hogsmeade this Valentine's Day?"

Lily scoffed. "No thanks, I'm holding out for a better offer." She turned, accidentally knocking the bouquet from his hands as she did, and stalked off. James eyes followed the roses, resolve hardening in his expression.

"This is the last time," he said, quietly, but she still heard him. A silence fell upon the area, as if time itself had stopped. The seriousness of this implication was received with mixed expressions; some, mainly the girls, were thrilled with the prospect of an available James Potter. Most of the others, however, were in shock, stunned at the idea of a Gryffindor giving up on love.

Lily's stride faltered slightly under his words, a painful stinging attacking her heart strings. She didn't stop; this was just another ploy of his designed to attract attention and now made her look like the horrible one.

The next week that passed left Lily feeling incredibly miserable. Half the student body looked at her in disgust and only her closest friends remained by her side. Another key figure missing from her life was James. She'd hardly seen him, just caught glances, unlike his previous tireless pursuit of her. She was horrified at herself; she missed the arrogant boy who seemed to have dedicated himself to making her life hell.

She sat by the tree near the lake, her potions book on her lap as she revised for the test coming up. It was then she heard it. They were nearby, two voices she knew very well as she used to make it her habit to avoid.

"The Ravenclaw?" Sirius asked, pulling a face at James.

"Yes, Abigail Davies," he said. "She's pretty, and I like her – we've worked together before in class and we get along, why shouldn't I spend Valentine's Day with her?"

Sirius laughed. "Yes, she's divine," he said, sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Sirius, I like her."

Lily bit down on her lip hard, hurriedly blinking back tears. The book now gripped tightly in her hands as she struggled to hold back the sound of sobbing. Their voices faded away as they continued their walk and Lily gathered her belongings hastily before rushing into the school.

She obtained many strange looks as she dashed through the corridors to the library. After pushing away her friends' comfort, telling them she just wanted to think for awhile, she retreated to the back of the maze of bookshelves. She sank down into a chair, tears now streaming down her face in torrents as she buried her face in her hands. Her heart was splintering, as if a chisel had been driven in and hit hard with an emotional hammer. She knew full well she sounded pathetic, the choking sobs and sniffling, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from making them.

With a shaky breath, she managed to calm herself down enough to think. She knew the reason for all this pain was James Potter and the idea of him courting some other girl. He'd finally rejected her. She had wanted this, she had been sure that her life would be so much better once he left her alone. But she wasn't. She was feeling the worst she'd ever felt. Her heart took another blow as she realised James might feel this way every time she'd said no to him. She could have been reading his intentions wrong...

"No." It came out as a whisper. She wasn't wrong about his feelings, he wasn't 'in love' with her, he was messing her around, and now, she was truly messed up. She knew he couldn't have been serious, or Abigail Davies wouldn't be his date for Valentine's Day. She was going to say yes to him after all.

Anger boiled up inside her. She couldn't lose to a Ravenclaw, especially one who'd never beaten her in anything. But what chance did she now have with the troublemaker?

Her Gryffindor competitiveness flared up. She was not going to lose James Potter. Not now she'd realised how much he meant to her. He was hers. Miss Davies was just going to have to go without.

She was in love with James Potter.

It was remarkable how easy that love was to mistake for loathing.

Lily wiped her tears and sat up properly. She couldn't just go and ask him. No, that simply would not do, she would sound like a whiny brat who wanted her toy back. She had to prove to him that she meant it, that she was sorry, and that she deserved this chance. It had to be extravagant and just as good as the over-the-top proposals he'd made to her over the years. It had to be perfect.

She also had to make sure that he hadn't asked Abigail out beforehand. She decided to track down the only person who might assist her in her plans, his fellow troublemaker – Sirius Black.

She found him messing around with joke products, showing off to a group of girls. It hadn't been hard to track him down; one simply had to find the source of giggling and preening. Sirius had just as many girls following him around as James, but unlike him, he would occasionally invite one on a date. As far as she was aware, he'd never had more than one date with a girl but had moved onto the next one.

"Black!" she called, putting on her prefect's voice. "You know perfectly well those products are banned, follow me."

Sirius pulled a face but complied, giving his fan club a wink before following her into the school. He began to hand the products to her, being slightly fearful of her spellwork, but Lily held up her hand to stop him.

"I'll overlook them as long as you'll help me," she said. Sirius frowned for a moment, and then took in her appearance. Her clothes were slightly rumpled, as if she'd been curled up on herself and her eyes, he noted, were slightly red and puffy – not noticeable to a passerby, but still there if one looked closely.

"What happened?" he asked, gently and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Did someone hurt you?"

"Yes," Lily said with a humourless laugh. "But I brought that on myself."

He looked confused. "Who hurt you?"

Lily squeezed her eyes shut, holding back tears once again. "I think I love him, no, I know I do." She slid down the wall, making a frustrated sound in the back of her throat.

He crouched down next to her. "James?" he asked and she nodded, a lone tear making its way down her cheek.

"I'm such an idiot," she berated herself, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Why couldn't I have realised sooner?" He sat next to her, slipping his arm around her and letting her head fall onto his shoulder.

"You aren't an idiot, well, most of the time you aren't," he comforted with a grin. "He was never messing you around, he did- does, actually love you."

"What about Abigail?" she asked with a slightly hysterical laugh.

Sirius snorted. "I don't know who he is trying to kid; he didn't even know her name until she announced herself in that snobby way of hers three days ago."

Lily looked up at him. "Will you help me get another chance with him?" she asked. "Merlin knows I don't deserve it, but I know I won't let him go this time."

Sirius nodded. "Of course I will; I'd much prefer to have you around than Davies."

"It needs to be very over-the-top and dramatic, in fact, it has to beat all the ridiculous things he's ever done."

Sirius grinned. "That, my dear, can be arranged."

Lily waited nervously in the great hall. James had been delayed by Sirius by a good fifteen minutes now and everyone was already starting to eat. She hadn't touched her food; her stomach was fluttering madly with carnivorous butterflies that seemed to be eating away at her. Her eyes constantly flickered towards the door, both wanting and hating the idea of James walking through them.

Then she saw him.

He was alone and looking slightly frustrated as he walked through the giant doors.

BANG!

All around him, fireworks were exploding in colourful harmony. He looked startled to say the least and Lily found herself suppressing a giggle. James looked around, obviously searching for the cause of such a display.

Then something else caught his attention and the rest of the hall gasped as they saw the colossal heart shaped bubble floating down from the ceiling. It wasn't until it had floated down a couple of metres that the words floating in it could be read:

"Be My Valentine?"

James' quirked his eyebrow, his eyes scanning the crowds subtly for any sign of the person behind this, but everybody seemed just as surprised as he was. The bubble floated lazily downwards until it hung above the Gryffindor table where it proceeded to explode. Another colourful collection of sparks twirled and spiralled around until it became clear it was framing one person in particular.

Lily's cheeks were cherry red. She was caught between apprehension and anticipation, nervously waiting for him to notice her. When he did, his jaw went slack as he stared at the red haired girl who'd forever turned him down. He was suddenly pushed from behind with a hissed "go on" from somebody who sounded a lot like Sirius. He stumbled forward before slowly making his way towards Lily Evans.

He came to a halt in front of her.

"Well, Mr. Potter? Would you ever so kindly do me the honour of escorting me to Hogsmeade this Saturday?"

James smirked for a split second. "No, not interested," he deadpanned.

Lily's expression darkened slightly as anger began to bubble up inside her. He was not going to reject her. Not after she'd put her pride through this. She was not losing the stubborn, pigheaded boy she loved.

He grinned at the expression on her face. "Oh, who am I kidding?" He stepped towards her and grabbed her waist, tugging her body against his before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. Her rage dissipated under his mouth and her arms slipped up around his neck as she kissed him back. He pulled back, a rakish smile adorning his face.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Your opinions would be appreciated :)

- Rhiannon