DISCLAIMER: After seven fanfics, it gets kinda boring having to write the same old disclaimer. However, here it is: I am not JKR and, therefore, I do not own most of these characters nor settings. She does.


A/N: Okay, only just got the idea for this fic. Hope you enjoy! BTW in here there are (as in most of my fics) quite a few references to ‘First’. Of course, you don’t have to have read it to understand this one, but I suggest you take a look at it as well!



“So, how long have you two been together?� asked Janet Ross, the wedding planner, as she took a seat in the living room. She was quite young (probably just a few years older than our sweethearts), with straight chestnut hair and warm brown eyes.

“Three years,� answered James promptly. He smiled to himself; at least he’d gotten the first question right!

Janet smiled. “Well, do you mind if we have a chat before we start organizing this event?�

“Of course not,� said Lily, smiling back. “What do you want to know?�

“Isn’t it obvious, darling?� asked James. “She wants to know how a lucky girl like you could have found such an elegant, sexy, handsome, and intelligent man to—�

Lily glared at her future husband. Some things never changed. “James, I said I’ll marry you. Don’t make me change my mind.� This simple statement was enough to shut James up completely. After six years of chasing her and three of having her, he didn’t want to ruin it all now. Lily turned back to Janet. “You were saying?�

“Well, I really was meaning to ask you, how did you two get together?� asked the young woman.

Lily smiled. “That’s a long story.�

James couldn’t suppress an answer. “Not really. I mean, sure, we’d known each other for six years before Lily finally admitted her true feelings for me, but the story’s quite simple.�

Lily stared. “Is it?�

“Of course,� answered James.

“Well, I’m all ears,� squealed Janet, excited.

“It all began the first day we met. We were eleven, on the Hogwarts Express. I immediately noticed Lily’s beauty, and she, too, I know, could feel the passion between us, but her inexperience and her fear of rejection by Hogwarts’s Number One Hottie made her try to hide her feelings. Moreover,� he continued, “to make sure I could only pay attention to her, she decided to play hard-to-get, which instantly attracted me. What else is there to say? After six years of this, she finally realized she could no longer lie to herself and practically threw herself at me, and we ended up in my dormitory.�

Janet stared. “How romantic!�

“Funny,� said Lily, “how the story I remember has a lot more yelling… and a lot less sex.�

“Really?� asked Janet. “Why?�

“Because I doubt even half of the crap my darling future husband has said is true. I did not have any feelings for him, except of hate and contempt, until seventh year, when I suppose I must have gotten hit over the head by a Bludger, since I started finding him irresistible. How peculiar, uh?� said Lily, smiling sweetly.

“C’mon, Lily, you know I am irresistible!� said James, affronted. “And I don’t remember you being hit by anything, anyway.�

“So,� interrupted Janet, “if you don’t agree with what Mr. Potter said, why don’t you tell me your version?�

“Su-re,� answered the redhead. “Where do I start?�

“Why don’t you start with how you two met?� suggested Janet.

“Oh, c’mon, I perfectly remember that day!� interjected James, feeling left out of the conversation.

“All right,� smiled the wedding planner, “let’s hear your version first, shall we?�

“Okay.� He paused. “It was September 1st, 1971, and I was finally heading for the Hogwarts Express. That morning I’d been a bit nervous about starting school after eleven years of waiting; so nervous, in fact, that I’d barely eaten that morning: only two pancakes and some bacon, even if I was later going to make up with this lack of food by buying quite a few candies on the train, which I shared mostly with my best friend, Padfoot. Of course, you probably don’t even know who Padfoot is. His real name is Sirius Black, but us Marauders, we called him Padfoot. I’m Prongs. See, we all have nicknames. But, um, I’m getting a bit off topic here,� he added hastily, looking at his girlfriend. “Anyway, back to Padfoot. He’s been my best friend since like, always, even if his family are a bunch of dark wizards, really scary, might I add, and so in the end Padfoot came to live with me and my folks. I don’t have any siblings, so the idea of my best friend coming to live with me was simply fantastic, even if that happened when we were sixteen, not eleven. But it was great. See, he’s really popular, even if he is only Hogwarts’ s Number Two Hottie, though he doesn’t like to admit it—�

“We get the picture, James, just get on with the bloody story!� yelled Lily.

James was taken aback by such an outburst. “Sorry. Where was I?� he asked meekly.

“The only thing you got right was the date, you dolt,� said Lily.

“Oh. Right. Well, anyway, I finally boarded the train, when my Aunt Alana comes with some money, telling me to hand them over to my cousin, Helen. So I spend at least ten full minutes looking for her, till I finally find her, in a compartment, with her. The love of my life. My attention is immediately caught by her wonderful hair, and I feel it: we are soul mates. It was love at first sight, for me, and for Lily as well. After complimenting her on her hair, I gave Helen what I had to, even throwing in some of my pocket money, since I’m very altruist. Then I showed Lily some magic I’d already learned, and she couldn’t help hanging on my every word. She was in love. I wasn’t, at first: hormones still had to make their way to my brain, but I definitely could already attract girls. I wasn’t already as handsome as I could be, but for an eleven-year-old kiddo, I was downright hot.� He paused. “Well, that’s it, I guess.�

“Interesting!� said Janet enthusiastically. “Ms. Evans, do you agree with Mr. Potter’s version?�

Lily smiled. “Absolutely… not.�

“Well, then, let’s hear what you’ve got to say!� said Janet.

“All right. The story I remember went something like this…

FLASHBACK

Lily was feeling rather lost. Only a month ago, she’d found out she was a witch, and now, here she was, surrounded by other kids like her. She felt quite lonely, since she didn’t know anybody, and was actually rather shy.

“Honey, why don’t you make your way to the train?� asked Mr. Evans, smiling at his daughter.

“Sure. Thanks for coming,� she added, as she gave a hug to both her parents. “And say hi to Petunia for me, will you?� Petunia, her older sister, had not wanted to come.

“Of course, sweetie. Now hurry up!� The Evans waved goodbye as their little girl boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Looking for an empty compartment while trying to balance her trunk, she made her way through the myriad of students who were already aboard. She finally poked her head in a compartment, in which only a girl around her age was seated. She had dark, messy hair, and green eyes. “Hi,� said the redhead meekly. “Is this seat taken?�

“Of course not!� smiled the brunette. “My name is Helen Thomas, and I’m eleven. Who are you?�

“I’m Lily Evans, and this is my first year here…� She paused. “I’m a bit nervous, actually…�

�Yeah,� answered Helen, “me too. But my dad says it’s not too bad. Actually, my mum says that these years up at the school are gonna be the best years of our lives! Once you get past the initial fright, of course,� she added.

“Oh! Your family’s magic?� asked Lily, awed.

“Yup, but don’t worry even if yours is not, blood doesn’t really matter nowadays anyway…�

After a few minutes of talking, the two girls realized they had much more in common than they thought. They both loved reading, for example, and they both shared a passion for Jane Austen’s works.

“Did you read Sense and Sensibility too?� asked Lily.

“Of course! Though I do like Pride and Prejudice best…� trailed off Helen.

“Me too!� said Lily enthusiastically. “I mean, Marianne having to marry that old man—�

“There you are!� yelled a boy’s voice, as the compartment door slid open. A boy of eleven entered: he wasn’t very tall, he had really messy dark hair and hazel eyes, which were barely seen behind his glasses. “I’ve been looking for you all over the train!� He paused as he looked at Lily. “And who’s your friend?� he asked, nodding towards the redhead.

“This is Lily. Lily, this is my cousin, James.� After she was done with the introductions, she turned her head toward her cousin. “What do you want, James?�

“Your mum says she forgot to give you pocket money for this year, so she asked me to give this to you.� The boy handed over a handful of bronze coins, before turning to leave.

“Wait up, James!� said Helen, counting the money in her hand. “Give me the rest.�

James feigned an innocent look. “Rest?�

“C’mon, James, I’m not stupid. Mum can’t have given me only two Sickles and sixteen Knuts to last me a year. Cough up the Galleons.�

And as James handed over a purple pouch containing other jingling coins, the new girl caught his attention. “Lily,� he sneered.

Lily stared. She was liking the boy less and less. “Yes?� she asked, dryly.

“Is that your real hair color or did you get in the way of a Permanent Colouring Charm?� he asked, sniggering.

Lily had no idea what a Permanent Whatever was, but she didn’t find it funny at all. “I happen to like my hair, thank you very much.�

“But it’s red,� James pointed out.

“So?� She paused. “And what about your hair? Do you even know what a comb is?�

He shook his head. “What does it matter? I’m James Potter,� he said proudly, as if this settled the matter.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Whatever.� James Potter: in the years to come, she was never going to forget that name.

“Listen,� he said abruptly, turning to his cousin. “Do you mind if I join you?�

Lily shook her head violently behind his back, but Helen answered, “Sure, you can stay. C’mon, have a seat.�

He took a seat next to Lily. The very seat where her purse lay.

CRUNCH!

James got up, looking down on the seat where Lily’s purse lay. Inside it Lily had apparently put a bottle of ink, since on the colorful bag was beginning to appear a dark stain.

“You pighead! Watch where you’re putting that huge butt of yours!� screamed Lily. “Look what you did to my purse!�

James grinned charmingly. “Sorry. Didn’t see it there. But no matter, I can charm it right back.�

Lily’s voice softened. “You can do magic already?� she asked.

“Of course! My family are all wizards, and I already know how to do tons of stuff.� He took out his wand. “Here, have a look.� And after twirling it around and muttering incoherent words, he pointed it at the bag.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, they realized the stain was growing bigger and bigger, covering practically the whole bag.

“You prat!� yelled Lily. “I bet you’ve never even held a wand before!�

“C’mon,� said James, “it was an honest mistake. Here, maybe I should try to—�

“Never mind!� interrupted Lily. “I’ll keep it like this, thanks. I’m sure someone up at the school will be able to fix it…�

“Suit yourself,� answered James, shrugging.

END OF FLASHBACK

James smiled guiltily at his girlfriend. “Oh yeah,� he said, “I forgot about that incident.�

“Incident?� asked Lily. “You ruined my favorite purse! And you made fun of my hair! Are you really surprised I couldn’t stand you?!�

“That’s a harsh word… I’m James Potter,� he said proudly, while Lily shook her head.

“That was so romantic!� squealed Janet in delight.

Lily raised an eyebrow, but decided not to say anything. The sooner they started with the actual wedding planning, the better.



A/N: Okay, this is it for now. The idea for this story was of a simple one-shot where James and Lily discussed and remembered the day they first met and how they got together. However, if you liked it and would like me to continue this story with, I dunno, the actual wedding or stuff like that, let me know, okay? I’m open to suggestions!