Truce

“How is this obvious to everyone but you and Potter?” Ames giggled as we headed towards the Great Hall for lunch the following Monday. I had just finished telling them about my conversation with Remus after the party and how it had left me more confused than before.

“What are you talking about,” I growled impatiently as I dropped my bag onto the seat next to me.

“Potter fancies you,” Mary shrugged. “Anyone with eyes can see that.”

“No he doesn’t,” I snapped, resting my head on my arms that were folded on the table. “Remus only said he’s intimidated by me… whatever the hell that means. And Potter’s just as frustrated by me as I am by him. That in no way suggests that he fancies me.”

“Whatever you say, Lily,” Mary and Ames droned in unison and I scowled at them.

I was about to open my mouth to argue my point even further but someone tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned slightly to see a timid looking second year clutching a roll of parchment in his hand.

“Professor McGonagall asked me to give you this,” The boy said nervously, thrusting the roll of parchment at me.

“Er… thanks?” I said taking the roll from him and he scrambled away.

I seriously don’t think I was that nervous when I was a second year. No really… they seem to get edgier every year.

“What’s it say?” Ames asked, leaning over the table and trying to read the writing.

“McGonagall wants me to come to her office for a quick Prefects meeting,” I read, handing the note to Scarlet for her to read. “Probably has to do with the upcoming Hogsmeade trip.”

“Oh, I was hoping you’d done something crazy and gotten yourself into trouble or something,” Amy tossed the parchment back on the table and I shoved a piece of toast in my mouth, slinging my bag over my shoulder.

I walked quickly towards the Transfiguration room where we were supposed to meet but there was no one inside. I glanced down at my watch and realized I was a few minutes early so I leaned against a stone pillar outside the classroom.

Ugh, I had to see Potter now. I mean, I’d had to see him in class earlier but we sat on opposite sides of the room so that didn’t count.

I’d probably have to talk to him too…. Urgh, kill me.

I had no idea where we stood after out little spat the other night. And I was even more confused with everything Remus had said to me. Let him down easy… Ha! As if…

He hadn’t even apologized for what he’d said and for some reason that only made me angrier. The only thing keeping me from shoving his stupid head through a wall was the fact that I’d still promised Ames and Mary I’d try to get along with the Marauders.

“Hey there, Evans,” A voice brought me out of my musing and I spun around to see Potter striding towards me.

“Potter,” I acknowledged stiffly, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Still mad at me?” Potter asked, flashing a breath-taking smile at me.

“What do you think?” I responded icily, turning away from him.

“Aw, come on, Freckles,” Potter sighed, stepping around me so that he was in front of me again. “I was only teasing you.”

I crossed my arms, glaring at him. Teasing me, my arse!

“Geez, you’re sensitive,” Potter muttered when I didn’t answer.

“Why, because I got upset when you told all our friends that the reason Alex broke up with me was because I wouldn’t shag him?” I hissed at him.

“Well, feel free to prove me wrong,” Potter grinned and winked at me.

I grabbed Potter’s necktie and yanked him towards me so that our faces were almost touching. With my free hand, I slipped my wand from my robes jabbed him sharply in the chest.

“Listen carefully, Potter, because I’m only going to say this one last time,” I growled at him angrily. “Even if you were the last slimy git left on earth, I still would never have you. You are without a doubt the most disgusting, pig-headed, butt-faced miscreant I have ever had the misfortune of meeting and if you EVER ask me out again I won’t hesitate for a second before cursing you so badly you won’t sleep with anything ever again.”

“Butt-faced miscreant?” Potter repeated, smirking at me.

“Butt-faced miscreant,” I confirmed, maintaining eye contact.

“Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans?” A voice interrupted us from the doorway behind us and I spun around, letting go of Potter’s robes and slipping my wand back into my pocket in one fluid movement.

McGonagall had appeared at the door of her classroom and I hoped she hadn’t heard my threat to Potter, otherwise it was detention for two.

“Am I interrupting something?” McGonagall raised one skeptical eyebrow at us.

“Err, no, Professor,” I stuttered, thinking quickly. “I just, erm, noticed that James’s necktie was tied wrong and I was just… fixing it for him.”

McGonagall’s eyes flitted quickly to Potter’s disheveled robes then back to me, one eyebrow rising skeptically.

“Yeah, it turns out I’ve been tying it wrong for the past five years,” Potter said, catching on. “Thank goodness Lily showed me how to do it properly.”

McGonagall sniffed, apparently buying our idiotic story and turned on her heel, gesturing with her hand that we follow her into the classroom.

“My tie was tied wrong?” Potter hissed at me when McGonagall was out of earshot. “Merlin, you should have just let her give us detention.”

“You went along with it,” I snapped back at him. “You should know by now that I’m not going down without a fight.”

“We’ll see about that,” Potter smirked quietly.

Several of the other Gryffindor prefects filtered into the room ahead of us and I hesitated at the door. Ugh, time to pretend that I get along with Potter.

“You ready to do this?” Potter smirked at me as I started towards the door behind the seventh year prefects.

“What, you mean go in there and pretend like I don’t vomit in my nose a little every time I look at you?” I sniffed and Potter chuckled.

“Yes,” Potter nodded and held out his hand. “After you, my dear,”

I scowled at him and we walked stiffly into the room, both of us mentally preparing ourselves for the act of cooperation we were about to put on.

“Yeah, so next time McGonagall asks us how we’re getting on as fellow prefects, try not to cringe so much,” Potter commented conversationally as we walked towards Care of Magical Creatures after the meeting. I had been right, McGonagall had just gathered us up to go over protocol for the upcoming Hogsmeade trip.

“I wouldn’t have cringed if you hadn’t pinched me,” I said furiously, elbowing him in the ribs as we traipsed down the muddy slopes towards the forest where our classes took place.

“You were death-glaring at me,” Potter reminded me and I rolled my eyes. McGonagall hadn’t been looking… she never would have known. “You’re the one who said we should pretend to get along. I was just following orders.”

“Well it wouldn’t be so hard to pretend to like if you if you weren’t such an unbearable arse,” I said breezily, hopping down the grassy steps towards the paddock where Professor Kettleburn kept the creatures.

“I wouldn’t have to be such an unbearable arse if you weren’t such an uptight bitch,” Potter muttered and I stopped dead in my tracks, turning towards Potter who halted a few inches from my face.

Word-vomit much? Was this was Remus was talking about?

“Can I ask you something?” I said, staring Potter right in the eye determinately.

“Well, Evans, normally I don’t like forward girls, but yes I’ll go out with you,” Potter smiled cheekily at me.

“Are you intimidated by me?” I asked, ignoring his last comment as I folded my arms across my chest, not breaking eye contact with him.

Potter burst out laughing, clapping a hand on my shoulder for support as he doubled over.

“I’ll take that as a no,” I growled, turning on my heel. So much for that theory, Remus.

“Evans, where on earth would you get an idea like that?” Potter laughed, jogging to catch up with me.

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Nowhere. I just thought, you know, you must get tired of being in my shadow all the time. I simply wondered if that intimidated you, my being better than you at everything.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Potter grabbed my arm, pulling me around to face him, his expression suddenly serious. “Second best? I don’t think so…”

“Grades don’t lie, Potter,” I said, flashing a superior smile at him.

“Grades aren’t everything, Evans,” Potter contradicted and my smile faltered. “I’d like to see you pull a prank to match the Marauders, or score a goal in Quidditch for that matter.”

“Well, I don’t know about Quidditch, but I’m sure I could out-prank you,” I said airily, trying to mask my uncertainty as confidence.

“Go right ahead,” Potter challenged me. “If you can get me in detention, I’ll consider us evenly matched. My Quidditch skills have to count for something, you know…”

I hesitated. Did I really want to get into a prank war with the Marauders? This was kind of taking a step backwards in terms of getting along with them…

But technically I was only trying to get Potter in detention, right? One little prank couldn’t hurt… I could probably even get Ames and Mary to help if I spun it the right way.

I’d already made my peace with the fact that I wasn’t going to be the same rule abiding, homework-doing, perfect-attendance girl that I was last year. I had wanted excitement right? I had wanted to do something risky, right?

If Potter thought I wouldn’t stoop to his level then he’s got another thing coming.

Lily Evans doesn’t back down, especially to James Potter.

“You’re on,” I said, locking eyes with Potter menacingly before turning on my heel and heading towards Mary and Anna as class began.

Like I’d said earlier, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight…

Ames, Mary, and I walked slowly down the halls towards Potions class the next week.  They had been surprisingly eager to join me in my quest to prank James Potter. Mary said it was because she was sick of him ragging on me all the time. Amy just didn’t want to write her Transfiguration essay.

We had spent most of the previous week scheming ways to get Potter into detention and had decided to make our first attempt during Potions class.

“Are you sure this is going to be enough to get Potter in detention?” I asked for the fifth time as we filled three out of four seats at a table. I hoped Mary wouldn’t be mad that I told Severus he could sit at our table, too…

“For the billionth time, Lily, you’ve got to relax,” Mary rolled her eyes at me as we took out our Potions books. “It’ll give him detention. It won’t be much, one night, maybe two. But I think it will be enough to knock Potter off his high horse…”

I glanced up to see Severus slump through the door and I waved at him, pointing at the empty seat at our table.

“Ugh, Lily does he have to sit with us?” Mary grumbled and I elbowed her in the gut.

“Be nice, please,” I hissed at her before Severus took the empty seat next to me.

“Hi, Sev,” I said cheerfully and he smiled tentatively back at me, his eyes flitting to Mar and back to me.

“You didn’t have to save me a seat,” He muttered, pulling his book out of his tattered bag.

“I wanted to,” I said, shooting a warning look at Mary who shrugged at me.

“We don’t mind, really,” Mary gave him a small smile and I was relieved that she at least was going to be nice to his face.

“Besides, you and Lily are like, brilliant in Potions,” Ames said happily. “There’s no way Mares and I will fail with you two across from us.”

Severus’s mouth twitched in a smile that he tried to hide, but then frowned quickly as the Marauders walked past, shooting confused looks at all of us sitting with Severus.

I sniffed and ignored Potter’s pompous smirk, but was secretly delighted when the Marauders filled the table next to ours. It would make our plan that much easier being in close proximity with them.

Professor Slughorn barged into the room and rambled on about the kinds of potions we’d be making this year. I had always loved Potions class. There was something so soothing and delicate about the practice, and the fine subtleties in ingredients was fascinating to me.  

And I was excited to have Sev as my partner this year; he was absolutely brilliant with Potions.

Slughorn flicked his wand and instructions for an Aging Potion appeared on the board.

“Something simple today, I think, before we get into the section on antidotes on Friday,” He rumbled from behind his gigantic mustache.  Leave it to Slughorn to think an Aging Potion was simple…

“Ah, Miss Evans, Mister Snape,” Slughorn tottered over to our table happily, his mustache quivering in a smile. “With my two brightest students paired together this year, there’ll be no stopping you!”

“You better watch out, Professor, together we might even know more about Potions than you,” I said cheekily and glanced over at Severus, who hid a smile behind his curtain of dark hair.

Slughorn let out a booming laugh. He was one of my favorite professors at Hogwarts and he positively adored me.

“I wouldn’t doubt that for a second,” Slughorn chuckled, clapping Severus on the back whose knees buckled slightly. “I suppose I’ll need to arrange a little welcome back party for everyone again.”

I glanced surreptitiously up at Mary and Amy and we exchanged an exasperated smile. Slug Club parties were always stuffy and formal and relentlessly boring, but it wasn’t worth not going to disappoint Slughorn.

“That would be great, sir,” I said, feigning enthusiasm as I lit a fire under my cauldron.

“I suppose you’ll all be getting a note from me soon then,” Slughorn rumbled happily, nodding towards Mary and Ames, we were all part of the ‘Slug Club’.

Slughorn bustled away and Ames groaned.

“I hate those parties, there’s never any alcohol,” Ames sighed, carefully cutting off the legs of a dead spider and tossing them in her cauldron.

“We should spike the punch at the next one,” Mares grinned mischievously and Ames nodded enthusiastically.

We worked quietly at our cauldrons for a while, and I became so absorbed in my Potion and I nearly knocked the whole thing over when Mary hissed at me from across the table.

“What?” I whispered back at her and she jerked her head towards the front of the classroom.

I looked up in time to see Slughorn disappear into his office.

“Now,” Mares mouthed at me and I nodded. I bent down and pulled out a tiny Ashrinder egg from my bag. I rested the glowing blue egg on the table in front of me and pointed my wand at it, levitating it silently.

“What are you doing?” Sev whispered at me when he noticed I wasn’t working anymore.

“Shhh,” I hissed at him as the egg floated over Ames and Mary’s head.

Potter and Sirius had their backs to us at the next table and I paused, the egg floating just out of their line of sight.

I had to wait for just the right time and then I could drop the egg into Potter’s potion. The Ashrinder egg would dissolve instantly and his Potion (if he’d done it properly so far) should explode.

With a stroke of luck, Peter’s cauldron started smoking and obscured him and Remus from view, leaving me safe from their watch.

Potter shook his head exasperatedly at Peter and bent over his book, checking one of the instructions.

Now was my chance.

The little blue egg drifted silently over Potter’s cauldron and I let out a long breath and flicked my wand, watching as the egg slipped beneath the surface of his potion.

“Ames, Mares, can you help me? I dropped my nettles all over the floor,” I said loudly and Anna and Mary hurried over to my side of the table, ducking down and slowly gathering the nettles I had just scattered under the desk.

“Lily, what—“ Sev stared at me strangely and I cut him off.

“I’ll explain later, but right now you really should duck,” I hissed at him and grabbed a fistful of his robes, pulling him down to the floor where Amy and Mary were still gathering my nettles.

A deafening bang echoed around the dungeon and several people screamed. I looked up from under the desk to see globs of foaming potion soaring across the room, splattering against the walls.

The four of us on the floor raised ourselves up just enough to see what was happening around us.

I held back a laugh as I spotted Potter standing shell-shocked in front of his exploded cauldron. His face was covered in a thick orange liquid and his hair was starting to turn gray.

“What the—“ Slughorn came barreling out of his office and froze when he saw the source of the commotion.

“Mister Potter, what on earth happened in here?” Slughorn bumbled, his mustache quivering as he spotted the remains of Potter’s cauldron.

“I honestly have no idea,” Potter replied, sounding completely shocked. “My potion… It just exploded!”

All around him, the students who’d gotten hit with the potion were starting to sprout beards, even the girls, and their skin began wrinkling.

Sirius was clutching the desk for support as he laughed loudly, not even noticing that his own beard was long enough to touch the floor.

With a flick of his wand, Slughorn summoned a bottle of antidote from his office and started passing it to the bearded students.

“Well, I’m afraid that’ll be detention for you Mr. Potter,” Slughorn said brusquely and busied himself with cleaning off his desk that was now covered in orange goo. “Do try to be more careful next time, hm?”

“It’s too bad Potter just ruined everyone’s potions,” I commented casually to Amy, Mares, and Severus as I vanished the orange slime covering my desk. “I was almost done with mine.”

Potter turned stiffly towards me, his long white beard now rivaling Dumbledore’s. He was positively fuming and I smiled pleasantly at him.

“You look good with a beard, Potter,” I grinned, winking playfully at him, watching with satisfaction as Potter’s mouth fought hard against the smile I knew was trying to break free.

Slughorn dismissed the class after everyone had cleaned up and I walked from the room with Mary and Ames snickering uncontrollably about what just happened.

“I can’t believe you actually pulled that off,” Mary shook her head, her red lips turned up in a smile.

“That was brilliant,” Ames gushed, looping her arm through mine.

“Sorry you didn’t get to finish your potion, Sev,” I turned apologetically towards him. He hadn’t said a word since the explosion and now he glanced up at me with a blank expression on his face.

“You are honestly the most wonderful person I know,” Severus said, his face breaking into a smile as the Marauders rushed past us, trying to hide their slowly shrinking beards.

 Severus chuckled quietly and looked down at his bag, rummaging for his schedule while I glanced ahead of me.

Potter had turned around and was walking backwards in front of me. He raised his hands and bowed slightly towards me as if he were worshiping me.

I smiled triumphantly at him and he rolled his eyes, laughing silently as he turned back around.

Mary, Ames and I walked quietly through the deserted halls to our common room, our footsteps barely making a sound on the cold stone floor. My ears were straining for any signs of professors or prefects who may be patrolling but we were lucky not to run into anyone as we raced up the Grand Staircase to the Gryffindor dormitories.

We had spent sometime next to the Black Lake, counting stars and just chatting. Basically just wanting to have a few moments of peace and quiet until we had to face our Sixth Year problems again.

I turned the corner and knocked into something solid. And invisible.

The unexpected contact scared the living daylights out of me and I opened my mouth reflexively to scream but a hand shot out of nowhere, covering my mouth. This only terrified me more.

“What the—“ Ames gasped as James Potter materialized before us, his hand pressed tightly over my mouth, muffling my scream. Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew appeared behind him. I swear they hadn’t been there before…

“Shhhh,” Potter hissed at me as I struggled against his grip. “If I let go, will you promise not to scream?”

I nodded my head and he let go of me. I stumbled backwards so that I was standing next to Mary and Ames, staring at the Marauders.

“Where the fuck did you lot come from?” I hissed, still breathing heavily from shock.

“Language, Evans,” Potter clucked his tongue at me, his hazel eyes twinkling. This was the first time I swore in front of him but when your mortal enemy materializes out of thin air and grabs you, you are kind of given the permission to do it.

I crossed my arms, waiting for him to give me a real answer.

“Invisibility cloak,” Sirius grinned, raising his hand that appeared to be holding onto to nothing. But as my eyes adjusted to the dim candlelight of the hall, I noticed a kind of flowing material, barely visible, hanging from his hand.

Potter rolled his eyes irritably at his friend, as if he hadn’t actually planned on telling us about it.

“Is that a real invisibility cloak?” Mary asked, reaching out a hand to touch the flowing material.

“Yes,” Potter said curtly, shooting a look at Sirius, who smiled apologetically.

“Sneaking out after hours, are we?” I raised my eyebrows at them and they exchanged a wary glance that I didn’t miss.

“You yourself are out pretty late,” Potter countered, dodging my question.

“Where’s Remus?” I asked, suddenly realizing his absence. I saw Peter glance worriedly at Sirius but Potter spoke up.

“Sick,” He said quickly. “Dinner didn’t agree with him tonight. He went to Madam Pomfrey.”

“Hmm…” For some reason, I didn’t quite buy his story. But where else would Remus be? I hadn’t seen him in the common room earlier.

“Yeah, we were just going to sneak in for a visit with him,” Peter spoke up and Sirius nodded.

“That’s funny,” I blinked at them. “Hospital wing’s in the other direction.”

Peter winced slightly as I caught his mistake and Mares, Ames, and I continued to stare at them, waiting for an explanation.

Potter sighed, taking a step towards me.

“What’re you gonna do, tell McGonagall on us?” Potter smirked at me and I stared resolutely back.

“I wasn’t going to tell anyone,” I shrugged. “I just wondered why you’d bother lying to us. We’re out after hours, too.”

“You, Lily Evans, aren’t going to turn us in for being out?” Sirius repeated incredulously.

I heard Ames and Mares giggle behind me and it only reinforced my decision. After all, Mary would hate me if I got Sirius in trouble and I was still trying to show her that I could get along with those dimwits.

“No, I’m not going to turn you in,” I said exasperatedly. What was it going to take for them to believe me? “Besides, if I told on you I’d have to admit to being out after hours myself.”

“So we have a truce?” Potter raised a sly eyebrow at me and I scowled.

“Last time we had a truce, someone went and mucked it up,” I reminded him evenly and his mouth twitched in a smile.

“I solemnly swear I won’t muck it up this time, then,” Potter raised his right hand and smiled charmingly at me. I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling back.

“Alright then,” I rolled my eyes, grabbing onto Ames and Mary’s arms and dragging them behind me as we skirted around the Marauders.

“Have fun!” Mary giggled back at them and we watched as they disappeared beneath the invisibility cloak.

“Lily, when are you going to stop surprising us with this new attitude of yours?” Ames laughed quietly as we walked quickly towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.

“When you start believing me when I say I’ve changed,” I said pointedly at her.

“Touché,” Ames chuckled as Mary said the password and we scrambled inside the common room.

I glared across the classroom as Carly Carrington beat me to yet another question. That was the third bloody time already today. I don’t think Flitwick even realized my hand was raised too. Or was he just glad that someone besides me was answering questions for a change?

It had been an entire month of this and I was starting to get really annoyed.

“Urgh, who does she think she is?” I grumbled to Mares and Ames as Carly rattled off the textbook’s definition of a Caterwaul Charm.

“Are you jealous?” Ames asked, raising her light eyebrows at me and smirking.

“No,” I whispered forcefully. “I’m just… annoyed.”

“That someone else in this class is smarter than you?” Mary asked, glancing over at the red-headed Ravenclaw girl.

“Excuse me?” I hissed at her. Who said she was smarter than me?

“No, I didn’t mean smarter,” Mares hastily tried to back track but I scowled at her.

“Gavin Scott told me that Carly wants to be Head Girl next year… that’s why she’s speaking up in class all of a sudden,” Ames informed us and we didn’t have to ask to know that apparently Ravenclaw sixth year Gavin Scott had been her latest conquest.

“But, everyone knows that Lily’s going to be Head Girl next year,” Mary scoffed, glaring incredulously at Carly.

“Well, apparently you’ve got some competition now,” Ames shrugged sympathetically as Flitwick called on Carly for another answer to a question I didn’t hear.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Mary comforted me quietly. “You’ve been impressing the professors since first year. This Carly girl’s only starting to impress them now. They’re not just going to forget about you…”

“I guess you’re right,” I sighed resting my chin in my hands.

“Come on, cheer up,” Ames nudged me in the side. “We have Hogsmeade this weekend! That will be fun, won’t it?”

I nodded glumly, not even bothering to raise my hand for the remainder of class.

Rain lashed harshly against the castle walls, making me shiver as I wandered the corridors during my patrol later that night. I really hoped the rain would let up for the weekend… Hogsmeade would be no fun if we had to trudge through mud to get there.

My patrol was almost over, all I had left to check was the library and then I could go back to my dorm.

I rounded the corner and paused momentarily when I saw Potter’s robes disappear through the library door.

“Oi, Potter!” I called and he poked his head back around the door.

“Yes?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I was just about to check out the library, but if you have it covered I’ll just go back to the dorm,” I said and Potter frowned at me.

“Nonsense, come with me,” Potter said, waving me over.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, falling into step with him as we wandered through the empty rows of library books.

“You excited about Hogsmeade this weekend?” Potter asked after a moment of silence.

“I guess,” I shrugged. “I just hope it stops raining.”

“Would that really stop you from going?” Potter glanced sideways at me and I smiled.

“No, probably not,” I agreed.

“You have a date?” Potter asked casually but I could hear genuine curiosity in his voice.

“What’s with the twenty questions?” I chuckled, sensing where this was heading. “And no…A few people asked, but no one that interesting. I’m just going with Ames and Mares. They both got asked, too but no one good enough. We figured we’d have more fun going together anyways.”

“You know—“

“I’m not going with you, Potter,” I cut him off and he just flashed a dazzling smile at me.

“I don’t know, if I were you,” Potter said unfazed by my rejection, “I’d be embarrassed to go to Hogsmeade without a date.”

“Well luckily I’m not easily embarrassed,” I shrugged as we continued to wander through the bookshelves.

“Oh you’re not, are you?” Potter mused, stroking his chin like he was devising some prank already.

“Don’t take that as a challenge,” I warned him as we headed towards the exit. The library was empty so we were free to go back to our dorm.

“Why? Because you know dating’s the one area I’ll always beat you in,” Potter smirked cheekily at me.

“Why do you have to turn everything into a competition?” I sighed in frustration. “I thought maybe this time you actually meant it when you called for a truce.”

“You should know me better than that by now,” Potter chided me playfully and I scowled at him.

“I’m not competing with you to see who can get a date to Hogsmeade first,” I said flatly as we paused on the grand staircase, waiting for a set of stairs to arrive.

“Because you know I’ll win,” Potter said easily and I crossed my arms.

“I don’t think it counts as a date if you have to inflate her first,” I replied and Potter burst out laughing.

“My god, I can’t believe I never realized how cheeky you are until this year,” Potter chuckled as we stopped in front of the Fat Lady.

“Come on, I’ve always been cheeky,” I rolled my eyes. “You just had your head too far up your arse to realize it before.”

“Touché,” Potter chuckled as we walked up the steps into the common room. “But come on, you can’t deny we have chemistry. Why don’t we—“

“Save your breath, Potter,” I cut him off again, smiling sweetly at him. “You’ll need it to blow up your date later.”

I turned on my heel, giggling softly as Potter’s roar of laughter followed me up the stairs.

“Goodnight, Evans!” I heard him call after me and one last giggle escaped my lips as I closed the door to our dorm behind me.

A cool autumn breeze picked up around Mary, Amy, and I as we followed the line of students heading towards Hogsmeade. Red and orange leaves swirled around us as we passed by the Forbidden Forest and we hugged our robes tighter around ourselves.

“Where are we going first?” Amy asked, her teeth chattering slightly in the brusque October air.

“Wherever’s closest,” Mary said, grabbing our arms and pulling us towards village.

We pushed past the other students and hurried into Honeydukes, desperate to get out of the cold.

“Maybe we should pick up a few things to make Slughorn’s party next weekend more interesting,” Mary smiled mischievously, eyeing the barrel full of Hiccough Sweets.

“Anything to make that party more entertaining,” Amy groaned. “We can’t even bring dates.”

Amy’s face crumpled in distress at this thought.

“You act like it’s the end of the world,” I laughed at her expression. “We don’t have dates today, do we? Besides, Slughorn just said we couldn’t bring any people who didn’t already belong to the Slug Club. We’re perfectly able to go with anyone who’s already a member.”

“Really?!” Amy grabbed my arm, her face lighting up.

“Geez Ames, don’t be so desperate,” Mary threw a packet of belching powder at her and I caught it as it bounced off her forehead.

“I need to find a date,” Amy stated, staring around wildly at the student crowded inside the sweets shop. “Who do we know who’s in the Slug Club?”

“Pull yourself together, woman!” I grabbed Amy’s shoulders and shook her roughly. “You don’t have to find a date now. At least wait until we’re back at the castle.”

“Fine,” she nodded, looking down at the Belch Powder still resting in my palm. “Hey, you know what’d be funny? You should put that Belch Powder in Potter’s drink at the Slug Club party. That’ll teach him to try and start a dating competition with you. No one will want to go near him.”

“No,” I shook my head. “I’m done pulling pranks on him, remember? We finally have a kind of truce going. I don’t want to spoil it.”

“I still think it’d be funny,” Amy shrugged, turning her attention to the rows upon rows of jars filled to the brim with sweets.

I glanced out the big front window of the shop at the people passing by and my attention went immediately to a couple standing in the middle of the street.

James Potter’s shaggy black hair was easily recognizable but I was focused on the girl standing next to him. Her red hair blew lazily in the cool breeze and the blue trim on her robes sent a jolt of disdain through me.

Carly Carrington.

James Potter had come to Hogsmeade with Carly Carrington? Ugh. Normally I couldn’t care less who Potter swapped spit with in Madam Puddifoots but this was just too much.

Granted, he probably didn’t know how much I disliked her, but still. It was a stupid, annoying coincidence.

“Lily, what’re you looking—“ Mary tugged on my sleeve and then stopped when her eyes landed on Potter and Carly. “Oooh, looks like Potter’s found himself a new girl.”

“It’s Carrington… from Charms,” I grumbled and Mares’ eyes widened in surprise as she glanced back at Potter and his date.

“Well that’s… unexpected,” she said, grabbing Amy by her collar and dragging us both out into the street.

“What’s unexpected?” Amy asked, rubbing her neck while Mary steered us towards the Three Broomsticks.

“Potter’s here with that Carly bird,” Mary informed her and Ames wrinkled her nose.

“Speaking of Marauders…” Ames said, throwing a sideways glance at me. “Mares, are you meeting up with Sirius later?”

“No,” Mares answered, seeming confused. She twisted a piece of her dark hair between her fingers. “Why would I be?”

“No reason,” Amy said lightly and I rolled my eyes. Her attempts to be nonchalant were pathetic. “It just seems like you guys are really close and I simply wondered…”

“No,” Mary shook her head fiercely. “Definitely not.”

“Are you sure?” I ventured and Mary shot me a look. “Because sometimes it seems like—“

“No. He’s off with some fifth year tart today,” Mary said sourly and Amy and I exchanged a wary glance. Yikes… time to drop that subject. Talk about grumpy.

“What are we gossiping about, ladies?” The devil himself appeared behind us, throwing his arms casually over Mares’ shoulders and mine.

“Nail polish,” Ames answered quickly and I shot her an exasperated look. Nice cover up, genius.

“Well,” Sirius frowned slightly. “As fascinating as nail polish sounds, I’m off to meet up with Remus and Peter at the Three Broomsticks. Care to join us?”

“What happened to your date?” Mary asked, her tone carefully light.

“She was dull as dirt, that’s what happened,” Sirius grumbled, and Mary’s mood visibly lifted. Sure… there’s nothing going on between them. And I’m a flobberworm.

“We were heading to the pub, too,” Amy said brightly. “I guess we could join you for a drink.”

“Excellent,” Sirius beamed and we pushed open the wooden door to the pub.

The large tavern was bustling with students, and we quickly claimed the only empty table left, a corner booth with a wrap-around bench against the wall.

Sirius waved Peter and Remus over when they entered the Three Broomsticks and they all brought over drinks for us.

“You ladies invited to Slughorn’s party next week?” Sirius asked after we had cheers-ed with our butterbeers. 

“Ugh, yeah,” Amy groaned. “We were trying to think of ways we could spice it up a bit this time. Sluggy’s always fussing over who’s great aunt or something because they invented some bloody famous potion. Boring with a capital B.”

Sirius laughed. “I’m sure Prongs and I can think of something…”

“You two weren’t invited?” I asked, directing my attention towards Remus and Peter who both shook their heads.

“Haven’t done anything to catch Slughorn’s attention,” Remus shrugged carelessly, not seeming upset by this at all.

“And I’m kind of hopeless in potions,” Pettigrew muttered miserably and I got the impression that the snub meant more to him than it did to Remus. “I don’t think Slughorn even knows my name.”

“Slughorn’s opinion doesn’t count for everything, Peter,” I said, trying to make him feel better. “The parties are boring anyways. You’re not missing anything…”

Peter gave me a shy smile and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as someone squished into the empty seat next to him.

“Afternoon, gents,” Potter clapped his friends on their shoulders and nodded towards Ames, Mares and I. “Ladies…”

“How’d your date with the Ravenclaw bird go?” Sirius asked as Potter took a generous sip of Peter’s butterbeer.

Potter shrugged as if he could care less. “A date’s a date, Padfoot.”

He glanced over at me and winked as if to prove a point that he could actually get a living, breathing date. I rolled my eyes at him. Whatever.

“She’s in Slughorn’s little group so I think we’re going to go together to that party next weekend,” Potter continued and I quickly downed the rest of my butterbeer to prevent myself from hissing a remark.

“I’m going to get another one, you guys want more?” I asked Mares and Ames and they both nodded as I squeezed past them.  I didn’t want to hear another word about Potter fawning over that Carrington girl. It was already bloody enough to know they had a date and I certainly didn’t want him to rub it in my face.

I waited at the long wooden bar as the barman refilled our glasses.

“Lily Evans…” A smooth voice behind me made my skin crawl and I visibly winced before turning around.

“Hey, Alex,” I said stiffly, staring rigidly at the boy leaning against the bar behind me.

Alex had gotten, if possible, more attractive since the beginning of the year. Of course, I had some classes with him, like Herbology, but I was usually too busy digging up various plants to really pay any attention to him. In fact, I had actively tried to ignore him fully since the beginning of the term.

His shaggy brown hair fell effortlessly around his face and his piercing blue eyes twinkled in the dim tavern light.

But I still hadn’t forgotten that first day when I’d seen him snogging some tart in the hallways just hours after trying to get back together with me. It was such a shame that something so attractive was so slimy at the same time.

“Having a good term so far?” Alex asked casually, leaning towards me slightly. My heart kicked it up a notch at his proximity and I struggled to keep my brain from going wonky.

I thought I was stronger than this… that I was making progress forgetting about him. So why did my heartbeat just double its pace?

“It’s fine,” I said coolly, resting my elbows on the bar as I waited.

“So… another Slug Club party next week,” Alex commented and I grimaced, forgetting that he was part of that ridiculous group. Stupid Alex and his famous uncle Alfred. This party was turning into more of a nightmare than originally expected.

“Yep,” I said, making my answers as simple as possible, hoping Alex would get the hint that I didn’t want to talk to him.

“You going with anyone?” he asked, reaching a hand out and pulling a loose piece of thread from my sweater. I shrank away slightly at the contact.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I said frostily to him and his electric blue eyes widened in surprise at my tone.

“You’re still mad at me,” Alex guessed.

I huffed incredulously. He knew perfectly well I was freaking mad at him but I knew he wouldn’t do a thing about it.

“Alright, fine,” Alex sighed. “You’re still mad at me…I told you I was sorry already. And if I recall, Severus Snape called you a mudblood in front of the entire school and you forgave him. I saw you two talking the other day.”

“That’s a completely different situation,” I said crossly, folding my arms defensively across my chest.

“I don’t see how,” Alex contradicted and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I saw you Alex, with her,” I said crossly, keeping my voice down so as not to arouse attention from the other students. “That first day, after you… on the train… I saw you in the corridor with her.”

“Oh, that,” Alex’s eyebrows pulled together briefly but he shook it off quickly. “That was nothing. Come on, I know you still feel something for me… I can tell.”

I glared at him, momentarily stunned by his audacity. Another arrogant git, as if one Potter wasn’t enough!

The barman set three glasses of butterbeer down in front of me and I quickly paid for them.

“Leave me the hell alone, Alex,” I growled at him before turning on my heel and marching back towards our table. I glanced up in time to see Potter’s head snap back towards our friends.

Perfect. He had been watching.

And that was why the afternoon ended with Potter’s head was drenched with foamy liquid and I was screaming insults at him as Remus tried to hold Potter back from flipping tables.

Bring on the word-vomit.

Sure enough, ten minutes later Ames and Mares were hurrying after me as I stormed out of the Three Broomsticks with a sopping wet James Potter yelling curses after me.

Word-vomit indeed.

“Prongs,” Padfoot sighed exasperatedly. “The butterbeer smell isn’t going to come out, no matter how much you wash it.” He leaned against the doorframe of our dorm’s bathroom. I was washing my hair in the sink for the fourth time after Evans had so ‘kindly’ gave me a free rinse of the delicious butterbeer at the Tree Broomsticks.

“Hey, look on the bright side,” Moony smirked as he passed by. “You’ll always smell good.”

I snorted. Remus was always bloody defending Evans.

“Fine!” I said angrily as I ruffled my damp hair with a towel that smelled horribly strong of butterbeer. “It’s time to get even with that damned Evans.” I flopped onto my bed.

“You sure, Prongs?” Padfoot smirked, “She’s crazy smart.”

“There’s bound to be some way to out-smart her,” I put my hands behind my head. I glanced at Moony, he was unusually quiet and was hiding behind his Potions book.

Another flame sparked in me at the sight of the Potions’ book. Evans had made me look idiotic in front of everyone when my Aging Potion exploded. I could still remember how the orange goo had splattered everywhere, including us four. I had a damned beard! And I had stupid detention for something I didn’t even do.

“Hey, Moony,” I called. He looked up from his Potions’ book warily, “Yes, Prongs?”

“Besides being so bloody smart, what’s Evans’ strong point?” I curled my lip up, I was going to use Evans’ strength and play it against her.

Moony shrugged, “She’s not embarrassed easily? She still shows her face after you bombarded her with 50 bewitched Valentines’ Day cards last year, all yelling at her to go out with you.”

“And that Christmas where you ordered a hundred fireworks and set it off, spelling the words, ‘Go out with me, Evans,’” Wormy said helpfully.

“And that Halloween when you stole the school’s biggest pumpkin and carved it to show you and Evans growing old with thirty children and seventy grandkids,” Padfoot added. “I have to admit, that one was scary.”

I cringed, “Okay, guys. No need to remind me.” I was now deep in thought. Not embarrassed easily, huh? Then I caught sight of Moony returning to his Potions’ book.

A stroke of inspiration hit me, “That’s it!” I cried, jumping off the bed. Could it work? Of course! All I needed was to give a little push. I beamed proudly at the others. They were, no doubt, staring at me like I had just sprouted a second head.

“Lily, it’s Wednesday,” Mary informed me as she slipped on her dragon-hide gloves.

“Yes, I know that,” I said, puzzled as I followed suit before leaning over the fanged geraniums we were supposed to be repotting in Herbology that day.

“You still don’t have a date for that Slug Club party,” Amy reminded me and I paused, glancing between them.

“So? This isn’t the Christmas party… we don’t have to go with a date,” I said, trying to keep my voice low as Professor Sprout walked by. “Besides, all a date entails for this party is walking to Slughorn’s room with them and sitting next to them at the table. What difference does it make if I go with someone?”

“You’re still upset about Alex, aren’t you?” Amy guessed, her brown eyes flickering across the greenhouse to where I knew Alex was sitting.

“No…” I said forcefully and Mary raised a skeptical eyebrow at me. “A little. And Potter keeps trying to turn this into some contest. Why is this entire school so bloody obsessed with dating?”

Ames shrank back on her stool and I instantly felt bad. I hadn’t meant that as a shot at her.

“Sorry, Ames,” I apologized. “It wasn’t anything against you.”

“I know,” Amy shrugged it off, tucking a lock of her blond hair behind her ear. “And I didn’t mean to push you into going with someone… we just didn’t want you to feel left out.”

“I can take care of myself, you know,” I said pointedly as I quickly moved the fanged geranium from its old pot to the new one.

Amy and Mary glanced disappointedly at each other and went to get more dirt for their pots. I was already filling mine and wasn’t paying much attention.

Something snapped at my fingers and I glanced down to see the geranium trying to take a bite out of me. I moved my gloved hands out of the way quickly but one of the stems lunged and snapped at my hair, tangling its jagged fangs in my tresses.

“Ouch!” I squeaked, my gloved hands trying clumsily to disentangle the plant without hurting it.

“Here, let me help you,” A friendly male voice said from behind me and I felt them push my hands away.

“Thank you, mystery man,” I called over my shoulder, still unable to turn my head to see who’d saved my poor hair from the fanged plant.

“My pleasure,” A handsome face moved within my line of sight after he’d gotten my hair free and the plant out of reach. I recognized him as a sixth year Hufflepuff, Amos Diggory. His sandy brown hair was pushed away from his face but in an orderly way, revealing the striking features on his face.

We’d had a few classes together over the years, but had never interacted much outside the classroom. He was the kind of guy Amy, Mary and I had drooled over from afar but none of us, and that’s Ames included, had ever gotten up the courage to actually talk to him. He was the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain after all. In the world of Hogwarts, that made him practically royalty.

“Those fanged geraniums can be kind of tricky,” Amos smiled at me and I felt my heart skip a beat. “Especially if you’ve got long hair.”

He reached forward and tucked a stray strand of my red hair behind my ear and I felt myself blush with the contact.

“Well, If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be bald about now,” I smiled tentatively and Amos chuckled. “And then I wouldn’t have to worry about getting my hair eaten by a plant.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I was here to rescue you,” Amos smiled back at me and helped me carry the newly potted geranium to the shelves that held the rest.

“Well, thanks,” I smiled tentatively at him, brushing the stray hairs out of my face as I slipped my gloves off.

“Listen… you’re part of Slughorn’s little group, aren’t you?” Amos bit his lip, hopping onto the wooden table next to us. Even sitting he was taller than me.

“Er… yeah,” I said, glancing up at him.

“Well, I know this is really last minute, but one of my mate’s just informed me that apparently people are going with dates to this thing,” Amos said quickly, staring at his hands. “D’you want to maybe go with me?”

“Er…” I glanced around the room, seeing Mares and Ames staring at me with huge smiles on their faces.

“I mean, it doesn’t have to be a date,” Amos said quickly, sensing my reluctance. “We can just go as friends. It’s just… everyone else is pairing up and you seem like the kind of person I’d like to get to know a little better.”

I bit my lip, staring at him. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to date anyone again. As much as I wanted Potter to get off my case about who could get more dates, I didn’t want to lead Amos on. I had sufficiently lost interest in dating after Alex and wasn’t in a hurry to do it again. But, as Amos had said, it didn’t have to be a date. We could just go as friends… er, very attractive friends.

“You can say no,” Amos said after a moment of my silence. I saw rejection flicker across his face. “I won’t be upset. I mean, you barely know me.”

“Er…” I glanced around the room and saw Mares and Ames gesturing wildly with their hands for me to accept the invitation. Behind them, Alex was bent over his geranium, oblivious to this entire interaction.

“If you’re worrying about Johnson, don’t,” Amos sighed, following my gaze. “He and I aren’t friends or anything if that’s what you’re thinking about. Honestly he’s a complete idiot.”

I laughed despite myself. “Well, in that case… Alright, I’ll go with you.”

Amos flashed a smile at me. “Great. D’you want to meet outside Slughorn’s office at eight?”

“Sounds perfect,” I smiled back, trying to ignore the happy dance Mares and Ames were doing behind Amos.

“See you then,” Amos said smiling genuinely at me. He gave my hair a gentle tug as he hopped off the table and I felt myself blush.

I would really love to get through one damn conversation with a boy without blushing. Just once. Is that too much to ask, universe?

Apparently.

*                                  *                                  *                                  *

Veritaserum was, as it turns out, the most difficult potion ever to brew. Why on earth was Slughorn having us make this? It was freaking impossible.

“Severus can you help me?” Ames whined desperately from across the table as her potion started hissing violently.

Severus hurried around the table to Amy’s aid. I was far too busy with my own potion to help her and I’d already told her so the last time she asked for help. I wiped the sweat off my forehead. My hair was a complete mess and for the first time since this summer, I pulled it back into a ponytail to get it out of my face.

“Lily, which way do I stir?” Mares asked me across the table, the giant wooden spoon she was holding hovered above her potion.

“It says it in the book, Mary. Clockwise, I think? But you should double check…” I said quickly back, emptying my vile of armadillo bile into my potion. I was too focused on making sure my potion didn’t explode to help Mares at the moment.

Severus appeared back at my side after fixing Amy’s potion and was instantly absorbed in his potion-making again.

The room was completely silent except for the shuffling of feet and occasional tapping of someone’s knife on their cutting board. Everyone was completely focused, something that rarely happened, but Slughorn had told us that after our potion matured in a month we’d be testing each of them out. On each other. It had disaster written all over it.

But then again, what was a potions class at Hogwarts without a bit of disaster?

I reached my hand out to drop in the four daisy petals the potion called for but Severus grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand away quickly.

“Daisy petals go in after the knotgrass,” Severus corrected me hastily and I cringed. How had I almost messed that up? Ugh, my head was somewhere else today. All Amy and Mary had been talking about the past two days was my date with Amos Diggory.

It wasn’t a big deal or anything. Really. It was just a date… besides the fact that he was so gorgeous it made my brain explode; I had no real interest in him. I had never had a prolonged conversation with him and honestly the last thing I wanted right now was to start a new relationship with someone.  But I could have some fun, right?

“It’s not like you to make mistakes, Lils,” Severus commented as he stirred his cauldron. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, just thinking about the party tonight,” I muttered and then I stopped and turned towards Severus.

“Oh Merlin, Sev I’m so sorry,” I said quickly and Severus furrowed his brow at me, confused.

“Sorry for what?” He asked, surprised.

“I’m a complete idiot,” I smacked my forehead with my hand. “I forgot you were invited too. Why didn’t I think of that sooner? I could have just gone with you to the party tonight.”

I noticed that Severus stiffened slightly and I realized how that must have sounded to him. I’d forgotten about him…

“You’re… going with someone else?” Severus asked, trying to keep his voice casual but I detected a hint of bitterness behind it. I hadn’t forgotten how he’d reacted when I’d told him I was dating Alex and I didn’t want him to get upset. Especially now, when we should be focusing on our potion.

“Amos Diggory asked me,” I told him. I could feel Mares and Ames’s eyes on us but I ignored them. I knew they wouldn’t have approved if I’d gone to the party with Severus anyways.

“Diggory asked you?” Severus repeated hollowly. “What is it with you and Hufflepuffs?”

I ignored that comment.

“Well, I’d much rather go with you,” I tried to placate him. “We can go to the Christmas one together instead.”

I saw Mary wrinkle her nose at that but I ignored her.

“Well… I guess,” Severus muttered but I could see a smile tugging at his mouth as he turned back to his potion. “It’s fine, though. I’m not going tonight anyways.”

“You’re not?” I asked, puzzled. “Why?”

“Detention,” Severus shrugged and I saw Mary roll her eyes across the table.

“Do I want to know what you got detention for?” I asked him, frowning slightly.

“No, probably not,” Severus muttered and I scowled.

“Sev, I—“ I started to scold him.

“Severus, I need help again!” Amy wailed, cutting me off as her potion was now foaming over the sides of her cauldron.

Severus sighed and hurried around the table again.

“For the last time, we’re just going as friends,” Mary grumbled as I zipped up the back of her crimson dress.

“Sure, whatever you say, Mares,” Amy sniggered from in front of the mirror.

“How many times am I going to have to tell you this?” Mary sighed irritably. “There is nothing, I repeat, nothing, even remotely romantic between Sirius Black and I.”

“That’s my girl,” I patted her patronizingly on her shoulder. “You just keep telling yourself that.”

“I hate you both,” Mary muttered and Ames and I laughed.

“Come on, we’re just teasing you,” Ames nudged Mares playfully in the side.

“How would you like it if I teased you about Severus, eh?” Mary nodded at me and I rolled my eyes.

“You do tease me about Severus,” I said and she frowned. Way to prove a point there, Mary.

“Well, whatever,” she mumbled and Amy and I giggled quietly as we followed her downstairs.

The common room was full of the usual Friday night crowd—younger students playing Exploding Snap in the corner, seventh years freaking out about classes, and the Marauders lounging in the midst of it all, looking perfectly at ease.

“Evening, m’lady,” Sirius hopped off the couch when he spotted us and bowed dramatically to Mary who rolled her bright blue eyes at him.

“You’re such a cheese-ball,” she scoffed, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the portrait hole.

“Come on,” I nudged Amy and we followed them with Potter trailing behind us. I hadn’t spoken to him since Hogsmeade and honestly I didn’t have any interest in calling yet another truce with him. It was pointless anymore.

“You look nice, Evans,” Potter said from behind me as we skipped down the steps into the hall.

“Shove it, Potter,” I said sweetly and Amy laughed as we ducked through the portrait hole.

“You know,” Potter said, “for someone who claims to be all laid back and easy-going this year you still seem to get awfully upset by the things I say.”

“That’s because the things you say are heinous,” I said curtly and Potter smirked.

“To you, maybe,” Potter shrugged. “To me its all just rather funny.”

“You’re constantly trying to embarrass me in front of our friends,” I hissed at him, struggling madly to control my temper. “I don’t see what’s so funny about that.”

“Well, I guess it’s lucky that you don’t get embarrassed easily, remember?” Potter flashed a lopsided smile at me and I refrained from jabbing him violently with my wand.

“Come on, stop bickering,” Amy stepped between us, pushing us apart with her hands. “Let’s just have fun tonight, alright?”

“Oh, it’ll be fun alright,” Potter murmured so low I almost didn’t hear him. I glanced over at him and his hazel eyes twinkled mischievously.

Oh, Merlin. What was he planning?

Dinner was a stuffy affair. Slughorn had discovered some fresh novelties among his students this year including a fourth year Slytherin girl who’s second cousin was junior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and a fifth year Ravenclaw who’s great uncle invented some new line of Magical cleansers. Fascinating.

Amos was looking ridiculously good and it was hard to keep my eyes off him during dinner. He had told me at least three times already how pretty I looked tonight and it would be a miracle if I ever stopped blushing.

Seriously, I’m not cut out for the world of dating. I had no idea how Amy could do this all the time and make it look so easy.

After dinner was over we were free to socialize and have boring stuffy conversations with the other Slug Club members. AKA Slughorn schmoozed with his new discoveries while the rest of us spiked the punch and hoped he didn’t notice.

“Have I told you how amazing you look tonight?” Amos whispered in my ear as we stood with Mary and Sirius in one corner of the room. Amy and her date, Terry Wegener whose aunt was on the Heidelberg Harriers Quidditch Team, were nowhere to be found. I’ll give you three guesses where they’d gone…  

“Only a few times,” I blushed furiously, looking down. I didn’t exactly see things with Amos going anywhere but it was still nice to be complimented.

“Who else is bored stiff?” James Potter sidled up to us with his date, Carly Carrington. Carrington had on a bright pink dress that clashed wildly with her red hair but she didn’t seem to care as she clung to Potter’s arm. Her vivid green eyes looked me up and down as if she were sizing me up. Wow… seriously?

“I’m about to die of boredom,” Sirius said dramatically, resting his head on Mary’s shoulder.

“What say we liven this party up a bit?” Potter stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a silver flask, dangling it mischievously in front of us.

“Thank Merlin,” Sirius said grabbing the flask and the two of them hurried over the punch bowl.

“They sure do know how to get a party going,” Amos laughed as we watched them fill the glasses with punch.

“I guess,” I rolled my eyes at them.

“We can leave if you don’t want to… you know, drink,” Amos suggested, seeing that I was less than impressed by Potter and Black.

“No, it’s not the drinking I object to,” I explained hastily and Amos smiled as he followed my glare back towards Potter.

“You’ve kind of surprised me tonight, you know,” Amos said conversationally as we walked towards the punch table.

“What d’you mean?” I frowned, glancing up at him.

“I mean… I always knew you were like, ridiculously smart,” Amos complimented me. “But I’d also heard that you weren’t really into drinking and partying and stuff.”

“I think I can guess who you heard that from,” I muttered, my eyes meeting Alex’s across the room.

“Look, Alex is an idiot for breaking up with you, plain and simple,” Amos said, placing a friendly hand on my shoulder. “Anyone can see that.”

I nodded, not in the mood to talk about Alex or my former prudence.

“Come on, enough talk about ex-boyfriends,” Amos said cheerfully, catching my mood. His fingers laced through mine and he pulled me towards the drinks table.

“Punch?” Potter turned towards us, offering us two glasses of punch. He smiled pleasantly at us, friendly even, but I couldn’t help but be a little skeptical.

“Thanks, mate,” Amos said, taking one of the glasses from Potter’s hands while the he handed me the other.

“Cheers,” Amos turned to me, clinking his glass gently against mine. We both raised our glasses to our lips and took a drink. The punch was fruity with a bit of a kick from the alcohol, but the taste was amazingly pleasant.

My eyes flitted back to Potter briefly and I froze instantly, my glass raised to my lips as I was about to take another drink. The glint from something glass caught my eye as Potter slipped a tiny vile back into his pocket. 

Oh sweet merciful crap. I think Potter just spiked my punch with something other than Firewhiskey.

My heart thumped wildly in my chest as Potter’s eyes locked onto mine. I saw a devilish twinkle as his eyes flitted down to my drink and back up to me.

I set my drink on the table and pressed my hand to my mouth. What on earth did he put in my drink? I didn’t taste anything unusual…

“Lily, you alright?” Amos said alarmed as my sudden mood change.

“I’m fine,” I said quickly. “I just need to go to the loo.”

“Alright,” Amos shrugged. “I’ll keep your drink safe while you’re gone.”

Too late, Amos. Too freaking late.

Oh, Merlin. I’m going to kill James Potter.

The devil himself smirked at me as I pushed past him, looking around for Mary. I spotted her talking animatedly with Sirius in the corner and I rushed over to her.

“Mares, I need to talk to you real quick,” I said in a low voice.

“Erm, yeah sure,” Mary said, looking surprised at the urgency in my voice. “Be right back, Sirius.”

Sirius shrugged and drained his glass, heading back to the drinks table for another.

“What’s wrong, Lily?” she asked when we were out of Slughorn’s spacious office in the empty corridor.

“I think Potter’s spiked my drink,” I said, twisting a piece of my red hair nervously in my hands.

“Well, yeah, he spiked all of our drinks, didn’t he?” Mary narrowed her eyes at me as if she thought I was losing it. Maybe I was...

“No, no, no,” I said quickly. “When he handed me my drink, I saw him slip like, a tiny glass bottle or something back into his pocket. I think he’s spiked it with something other than whiskey.”

“Why on earth would he do that?” Mary asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

“Because that damned Potter has it out for me, that’s why!” I burst, running my hands through my hair.

“Are you sure he’s not just messing with your head? I mean, you’re not mutating or anything as far as I can tell,” Mary giggled and I glared at her.

“Yet,” I snapped and Mary rolled her eyes. “He’s determined to take me down. He wants to prove that he’s better than me. This is him getting me back for that prank in Potions.”

“Lily, that was almost a month ago,” Mary said reasonably but I was too busy pacing back and forth to care. “I think he’s probably forgotten about that by now.”

“That’s what he wants me to think,” I said, still pacing. “He’s lulled me into a false sense of security. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I told him that I don’t get embarrassed easily. He’s trying to prove me wrong!”

“Are you listening to yourself?” Mary stared at me, smiling despite my obvious panic. “You sound absolutely mad.”

“Mary, please take this seriously,” I stopped pacing and glared at her angrily. “I’m telling you I saw Potter slip something into my drink and you think I’ve gone mad.”

“Lily, it’s not like he’s poisoned you or anything,” Mary said placing her hands on my shoulders to calm me down. “It’s probably just belching powder or something stupid. It’ll wear off.”

Slughorn’s office door opened a crack and Potter poked his head out, his face splitting into a grin when he spotted me in my obviously distressed state.

“Oh, sorry,” He smiled. “Didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“YOU!” I shouted, marching towards him. I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him out of the doorway into the hall, making sure the door closed securely behind him.

“Easy, Freckles,” Potter chuckled, trying to loosen my grip on him. “This is a nice shirt, alright? I’d rather not have your claw marks on it.”

“What did you put in my drink?” I demanded, shoving him roughly away from me.

“An obedience potion,” he said simply, shrugging.

“Ha! See?” I whirled around towards Mary. “I told you he—”

I stopped mid-sentence and turned slowly back towards Potter.

“What did you say you put in my drink?”

“An obedience potion,” Potter repeated calmly. “I got tired of you arguing with me all the time. I thought this would do you some good.”

“You gave her an obedience potion?” Mary burst, marching up to Potter and smacking him upside the head. “You idiot! Those potions are meant for dogs.”

“Hey, now,” Potter said, rubbing his head tenderly and I continued to death glare him. “It’s not like it’s dangerous to give to a human. All it will do is make her less, er, combative and more… submissive.”

“Potter!” I shrieked at him. “Putting aside that there are just SO many things wrong with you making me more submissive, I can’t believe you would stoop to this level to embarrass me. You are the absolute, worst—“

“Stop arguing with me, Evans,” Potter sighed quietly and I fell silent, suddenly losing my voice. What the—?

I opened my mouth to yell at him some more but nothing came out. I clutched at my throat and I’m pretty sure I looked like a mad woman, gaping at Potter with my mouth open and my eyes bugging out of my head but I didn’t care.

The bloody bastard had given me an obedience potion… The kind of potion wizards gave to dogs to house train them more easily.

I was furious. But I had to hand it to him, it was pretty damn clever. I couldn’t even imagine what kinds of embarrassing things I’d be forced to do under its influence.

King of pranks, indeed.

“How long will this last?” I asked as calmly as I could, glad that my voice had returned. It seemed that I could speak, as long as I didn’t argue with him, like he’d ordered.

This was so wrong.

“An hour or two,” Potter shrugged, smiling pleasantly at me. “You didn’t drink much before you realized what I did. And seeing as it's meant for dogs, it probably will be even shorter. But just enough time for me to do some damage...” He smiled wickedly at me and I blanched. 

“Potter, why on earth would you spike her drink?” Mary sighed in exasperation.

“Well, I had to get her back for that stunt she pulled in Potions,” Potter said, his mouth turning up in a lopsided smile.

“See? I told you he wouldn’t forget about that,” I snapped at Mary and she gave me a withering look before turning back to Potter.

“Holy cripes on toast, holds a grudge much?” Mary crossed her arms and Potter laughed.

“I wasn’t about to go down without a fight,” Potter said to me and I tried not to smile as he turned my own words back on me.

“Come on, Lily,” Mary said, grabbing my arm. “Let’s just go back to the dorm until this wears off.”

“Ah, I don’t think so,” Potter shoved his hands pompously into his pockets. “Go back inside to the party, Evans.” He waggled his eyebrows in the direction of Slughorn’s office. I wanted so badly to fry them off.

Hearing his words, I stopped dead in my tracks, yanking Mary to a stop, too.

Without consciously deciding to do so, I started walking back towards Slughorn’s office.

“Lily, stop,” Mary ordered and once again I halted.

My poor brain. Why wasn’t my body listening to my poor brain? I didn’t want to do any of this! But my body had a mind of its own now and it was bending to the influence of the obedience potion.

So. Wrong.

“Evans, don’t listen to anything else Mary says tonight,” Potter ordered and I winced, knowing he’d won with that one.

“You’re such a tosser,” Mary growled at him and Potter smiled triumphantly.

“Back inside, Evans,” Potter ordered me again and I flinched as my feet moved at his command.

This was bloody awful. And Mary couldn’t even help me anymore. I didn’t even want to think about the kinds of things Potter could have me do…

Mary hurried after me, looping her arm through mine. Even if she couldn’t save me, she could at least stick by me while I effectively destroyed any credibility I used to have.

“There you are, Lily,” Amos hurried over to me as I reappeared in Slughorn’s large office. Everyone was still mingling around the room, although some students had started staggering as the spiked punch took affect. Slughorn was oblivious to it all. Apparently the fourth year Slytherin girl had tea with the Minister of Magic over the summer and Slughorn was now drilling her for information.

“I’d begun to think you’d fallen in the toilet,” Amos laughed, draping his arm jovially around my shoulder.

“Evans, fetch me another drink, will you?” Potter called over to me from where he stood with Carrington.

Grudgingly, my feet shuffled towards the drink table and Amos followed bewildered behind me.

“Lily, what are you doing?” Amos asked, his eyes narrowed at me as I filled a glass with punch.

“Getting Potter a drink,” I answered curtly, silently cursing him in my head.

“He asked rather rudely, didn’t he?” Amos said, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. “And since when have you ever done anything Potter’s asked you to. I thought you hated him.”

“I do,” I said through clenched teeth. Amos stared at me, still confused as I delivered Potter his drink.

“How about a curtsy?” Potter asked and I almost growled at him. He could barely contain his satisfaction as I sank quickly into a bow. Carrington was staring down at me with amusement and I wanted to punch her in her stupid Ravenclaw face. Sirius was standing by Mary, trying very hard not to laugh at me while Mary poked him violently in the side. 

“Very good,” Potter cooed, patting me condescendingly on the head as I straightened back up.

I turned furiously away from him and started to walk away.

“One more thing, Evans,” I heard Potter call and a shudder ran down my spine. I swear to Merlin, I’m going to murder him in his sleep tonight.

I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself as I turned back towards him, Amos staring incredulously between us.

Potter smiled sweetly at me, taking a sip of his drink before tipping his glass slightly so that some of the punch sloshed out.

“I seem to have spilled some of my drink on my shoes,” Potter said evenly, watching me intently. “Clean it off for me, would you?”

My hand reflexively snatched a napkin off the table next to us and I was positively shaking with anger as I bent over and wiped the tiny drop of punch off his shoe.

I stood up slowly, clutching the punch-soaked napkin in my hand.

“Never forget how I made you do that,” Potter whispered in my ear and I closed my eyes, wishing the earth would just swallow me up already. “And it’s only just begun…”

I turned stiffly away from him and stalked off towards the opposite side of the room, silently praying he didn’t call me back.

“What on earth does Potter have on you?” Amos gawked as he followed me across the room.

“He’s put an obedience potion in my drink,” I hissed quietly at him.

“An obedience potion?” Amos repeated incredulously. “Isn’t that meant for dogs being house-trained? Or when they’re put in Obedience School?”

“He wants to embarrass me because I exploded his cauldron in Potions a few weeks ago,” I explained hastily, trying to think of a way, any way that I could get out of here. If I tried to leave through the door, I’d have to walk right past him. But there had to be a way…

“Wow, I didn’t realize you guys hated each other that much,” Amos mused and I hit him lightly on the arm. “Sorry, sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?”

I folded my arms, thinking.

“Ask me to leave with you,” I said suddenly, looking up at Amos whose face was scrunched in concentration.

“Uh…” Amos blinked in surprise and I realized how he must have taken that.

“Oh Merlin, not like that,” I rolled my eyes and Amos grinned sheepishly. “I mean, if you ask me to leave, I’ll have to obey, won’t I?"

“I suppose…” Amos nodded. “But he could still just call you back, couldn’t he?”

“Not if your orders were the only ones I could follow,” I said, hoping he’d get the hint.

“Oooh,” Amos’s brown eyes widened as he realized what I wanted him to do. “Er… Lily, please disregard all orders but mine for the rest of the night.”

“Alright,” I submitted and smiled awkwardly at him.

"Let’s get you out of here, ok?” Amos suggested, his fingers entwining lightly with mine.

I nodded, never feeling more relieved to follow orders as Amos pulled me by the hand towards the door.

“Evans, where do you think you’re going?” Potter asked haughtily, leaning around Carrington.

“I’m leaving,” I smiled serenely at him.

“I don’t think so,” Potter shook his head. “Stay where you are.”

The order had no effect on me and I shrugged at him.

“Sorry, Potter,” Amos stepped in front of me. “I’ve asked Lily to disregard all orders but my own for the rest of the night. Looks like you’re out of luck…”

“It’s time you learned, Potter,” I smirked at him. “That no matter what you do, you’ll never best me.”

Potter’s face contorted in anger as Amos pulled me from the room.

I sighed in relief as Amos closed the door behind us.

“Bet you’ve never had a first date quite like this, have you?” I smiled up at him as we walked aimlessly down the halls.

Amos let out a laugh, letting go of my hand and throwing his arm over my shoulder.

“You certainly know how to make an impression, that’s for sure,” Amos chuckled.

I heard quiet footsteps behind us and I glanced over my shoulder in time to see Potter and Black emerge from Slughorn’s office.

“Argh, damn,” I muttered and Amos followed my gaze. “Come on.”

I pulled him after me as I turned down a random hallway, hoping that Potter hadn’t noticed us. I was sure that, given the chance, he’d try to gain control back.

“In here,” Amos whispered, yanking sideways into an empty classroom.

He closed the door quietly behind us, leaving it slightly ajar so we could see if anyone passed in the hall.

“We can wait in here for a bit,” Amos hopped onto one of the desks, and I walked towards him.

“Thank you,” I said to him. “You know, for putting up with my insane amount of crazy tonight.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Amos nodded, and I was suddenly aware that we were alone in an empty classroom together. Did he expect something to happen? I hadn’t forgotten that I was still under the control of the obedience potion.

“So… this obedience potion,” Amos smiled slyly at me and I cringed. “Whatever I say, you have to do it?”

“I guess so,” I winced sensing where this was headed.

“So if I asked you to cluck like a chicken, would you?” Amos grinned mischievously and I sighed in relief.

“Amos Diggory,” I scolded him. “All I’ve ever heard about you is how nice you are and here you are exploiting my situation.”

“Nah, I’m just teasing you,” Amos chuckled, patting his hand on the empty expanse of desk next to him, gesturing for me to sit next to him.

I hopped onto the desk, smoothing my dark blue dress so it lay flat over my legs.

“But seriously, you’d cluck like a chicken simply because I asked?” Amos glanced sideways at me.

“Well, not of my own free will,” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve never tried to make a chicken noise. I’m pretty sure my attempt would be abysmal.”

“Well, lucky for you I don’t judge a girl based on her chicken impression,” Amos laughed, turning towards me on the desk. I pulled my legs up underneath me in a more comfortable position, my fingers tracing a crack in the wooden desk.

As nervous as I had been about my date, or non-date or whatever it was with Amos tonight, I was actually having fun. Of course, Potter would have to pay for what he’d made me do, but I wasn’t thinking about that anymore. All I was thinking about was Amos Diggory and how it was surprisingly easy to be around him.

“What if I asked you to do something that was like, wildly beyond your capabilities?” Amos wondered out loud and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked slowly, staring up at him. The pale moonlight filtered through the tall windows at the far end of the classroom, illuminating Amos’s face as he stared down at me.

“Well, for example, if I asked you to fly around the classroom,” Amos said teasingly and I laughed softly.

“Well, if you ordered me to, then I assume I’d try to find a way to fly,” I answered methodically. “It would probably end in a trip to the hospital wing, but I suppose no matter what you asked, I’d try to fulfill the request.”

“And what if I asked you to kiss me,” Amos said tentatively, his hands playing with the lace trim on my dress. “Would you have to?”

“You already know the answer to that one,” I said quietly, dropping my eyes. Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the thought of kissing him. Even though I hadn’t really considered my evening with Amos a date, it didn’t mean I still didn’t find him ridiculously attractive.

“But would you want to?” Amos asked, and I could feel his eyes on me. I was glad the classroom was dark enough that he couldn’t see me blushing furiously.

“Yes,” I whispered hesitantly.

I lifted my head to look at him and he was gazing down at me, the moon reflecting in his deep brown eyes.

“Kiss me, Lily,” He whispered and my heartbeat exploded as I leaned forward, closing my eyes. I wasn’t sure if the action was of my own accord or if it was the potion at work. It didn’t matter either way, as the request wasn’t unwanted.

Amos’s lips met mine softy, yet passionately. A pleasant sensation arose inside of me as Amos broke off the kiss after just a few seconds, his hands finding mine in the pale light.

There was something different about Amos’s kiss… something I had never experienced with Alex and I thought I knew what it was. With Alex, he had always been pushing for more, wanting to go beyond just a simple kiss. It was never enough for him.

With Amos, there was a sense that this one kiss was all he’d ever wanted. It was a hard sensation to put into words… but it was as if he could be happy the rest of his life from just this one kiss.

“Well this is definitely the most interesting first date I’ve ever been on,” Amos said quietly, resting his forehead against mine.

“Agreed,” I smiled, feeling slightly light-headed from his kiss.

“D’you want me to walk you back to your dorm?” Amos asked, his fingers lightly tracing my palms.

“Yeah, I suppose we should go…” I started to say but I got lost in the way the moonlight illuminated his dark eyes. I trailed off as I pressed my lips to his once more.

The door to the classroom flew open with a bang and I nearly fell off the desk. I jerked away from Amos, thinking that it was a teacher who’d caught us, my hand flying up to my mouth.

“Diggory!” An angry male voice echoed in the classroom. “What the bloody hell d’you think you’re doing, taking advantage of a poor girl who’s under the influence of an obedience potion!”

James Potter and Sirius Black strode into the classroom, the latter grabbing my arm and pulling me off the desk.

“What the—“ Amos blinked in confusion at the pair of them.

“I thought you were a decent bloke,” Sirius shook his head sadly at Diggory as his fingers dug into my arm. “And then I find you in here with poor Lily… How dare you exploit her current condition like that.”

“I-I wasn’t—“ Amos stuttered, looking between Potter, Black, and I. “Lily, tell him—“

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, mate,” Potter cut him off, glaring angrily at Amos. “You disgust me—making Lily kiss you like that.”

“Potter, he wasn’t—“ I sputtered but Sirius had already pulled me out the door.

I grabbed onto the doorframe, pulling myself back so that I could see Amos sitting, completely shell-shocked, on the desk in the classroom.

“I’m sorry!” I called quietly to him and he just let out a strangled laugh and shook his head.

“Most ridiculous first date ever,” Amos laughed, lifting a hand to wave at me as Potter strode out of the classroom, yanking me from the doorframe.

Potter and Black, flanking me on either side, marched me down the hall and I silently fumed at them.

“What the bloody hell was that?” I hissed angrily at them as soon as we were around a corner. I wrenched my arms out of their grips and they both doubled over laughing.

“I didn’t want Diggory taking advantage of you while you were…er, indisposed,” Potter laughed, clapping Sirius on the shoulder for support.

“Indisposed?” I repeated incredulously. “It was your bloody fault to begin with!”

“I was doing that to embarrass you,” Potter rolled his eyes. “I didn’t expect some guy to drag you off and have his way with you.”

“He wasn’t having his way with me,” I sneered at him.

“You were snogging him,” Sirius reminded me and I turned slowly towards him, giving him my best withering glare.

“Sirius, would you mind if I talked to Potter for a moment… alone?” I raised my eyebrows at him, and Sirius cringed slightly.

“Good luck, mate,” Sirius shrugged at James, clapping him on the shoulder before he disappeared through the portrait hole.

“Are you going to yell at me?” Potter asked, a small smile still tugging at his lips as the portrait hole swung shut, leaving us alone.

“No.” I huffed, crossing my arms irritably. “What’s the point? It’s not like you listen to me anyways.”

Potter didn’t say anything, but kept his eyes on the floor with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He seemed to be more upset that he’d caught me snogging Diggory than the fact that his obedience potion plan had backfired on him.

“So… what did you need to talk to me about then?” Potter sighed after a moment of silence. His eyes drifted up to meet mine.

“Did you actually think Diggory was taking advantage of me?” I asked as a new though occurred to me. “Or was that just one last attempt to embarrass me tonight?”

“Well, mostly the latter,” Potter shrugged, his eyes focused on the floor. “Diggory’s a decent bloke, I knew he wouldn’t actually try anything on you.”

I let that sink in… This entire enmity between us was so ridiculous. We had stooped to the level of sabotaging reputations, and not even our own.

When I didn’t respond, an awkward silence settled over us. I tried to stare resolutely at the wall, but I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander over to where he was standing. He was frowning, his eyebrows pulled together his jaw was clenched tightly.

“Potter can we just end this once and for all?” I asked after another moment of silence.

“End what?” He asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

“Can we just call a truce… a real one this time?” I said, peering sideways at him, as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open for us. “We’ll call it even.”

“Call it even?” Potter glanced up at me, raising one devilish eyebrow.

“Yeah, you know,” I rolled my eyes. “Put a stop to the madness. The grades, the pranks, the dates… I think its safe to say that we’re evenly matched.”

“You’re serious,” Potter narrowed his eyes at me. “I didn’t think you’d ever willingly admit to that.”

“Look, I promised Ames and Mary at the beginning of the year that I’d try to get along with you and your friends,” I said evenly, ignoring the way his mouth twitched in a smile at my admission. “And so far you’ve made it damn near impossible. But I’m tired of the games… Can we please just call it a truce?”

Potter considered this for a minute, his hazel eyes searching my face for any hint that I might be trying to trick him.

“Alright,” He nodded, thrusting out his right hand. I tentatively reached forward and he clasped it firmly.

“Truce?” I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Truce,” He nodded.

“No more pranks? No more sabotage?” I questioned, making sure there were no loopholes.

“No more games,” Potter nodded, letting go of my hand.

We stood awkwardly for a moment in the common room and I twisted a piece of red hair around my finger.

“Right…” I said awkwardly, turning slightly towards the stairs to the girls’ dorm. “Well, I guess I’m off to bed, then.”

I started towards the stairs, exhaustion flooding over me at the night’s events.

“Hey Evans,” Potter called before I’d reached the first step. I turned slightly towards him. He had his hands shoved deep in his pockets, a genuine smile on his face.

“You do look really pretty tonight,” He said sincerely, tipping his head at me and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you, James,” I bit my lip, turning away before he could see the blush that crept into my cheeks.

“You called me James,” I heard him say, his voice sounding surprised behind me and I paused a few steps up now.

“Yeah, I suppose I did,” I glanced over my shoulder at him, trying hard not to notice the way his face had seemed to light up.

“Goodnight, then” Potter called after me as I hopped up the rest of the stairs. “…Lily.”