I heard their voices before they entered my compartment. I purposefully chose to sit in a compartment that was too crowded for any of my friends. I didn’t want to hear their ridicule. Of course, that was what they were going to do. After all my years of joking any rejection they received, it was assuredly my turn to be on the receiving end.

This had to be the first time in my life someone had said they didn’t want to be my friend or girlfriend. Well, Slytherins don’t count, and even they had insinuated I join their “side.” Those fools. James Potter didn’t change sides to be with other people. Other people change sides to be with James Potter.

So why didn’t Lily Evans want to be my friend? It was astonishing. She must not have understood me. Maybe she thought I was just joking. After all, I had never seriously considered her a friend before. It was rather odd of me to suddenly change my mind. Should I give her another chance at believing me? Sighing, I thought, “Yes. I guess I could show a little mercy. After all, she had no idea what she was unintentionally rejecting.”

Standing, I smiled at the gaping girls all around me and proudly made my way to the door. After winking at the poor females who’d never receive my special attention, I shut the door behind me. I remembered exactly which compartment Lily entered and made my way down the hall, my eyes never leaving the destined door. The curtains had been drawn, and I couldn’t hear a noise from inside. What was going on in there? Before opening the door, I quickly ruffled my hair and straightened my robes.

But before I could make a fashionable entrance, my body was jerked into the neighboring compartment and thrown onto a seat. The culprits of my sudden abuse grinned at me.

“What’s going on, Prongs?” Sirius’ grin reminded me of the day we first earned our sacred nicknames. There was much too much enjoyment in the situation.

“We missed you,” Remus prodded smoothly, also grinning.

Peter’s smile gave me the most chills. “What exactly were you doing, James?”

I took the time to glare at each of them a long time before answering. “A bunch of fan girls shoved me into a compartment and made me sit and talk with them. I couldn’t help it. They wouldn’t let me go.”

Sirius started laughing and dramatically threw himself onto to the seat next to a Peter rocking with laughter. Moony smiled and shook his head at me.

“Prongs, you’re so full of it.”

“Full of what?” I demanded. I thought it was a pretty convincing story. Why wouldn’t they take it? “I couldn’t get out! I had to bribe them with kisses.”

Sirius was now on the floor, and Peter was having obvious trouble not exploding with mirth. I stood to leave but was promptly shoved back to my seat by Remus who proceeded to sit beside me and put an arm across my shoulders.

“James, my friend,” he began, “We’re here for you. You don’t need to hide in some little girl’s compartment. How could they be more accommodating then your friends?” I snorted. “Little girls” wouldn’t make fun of me. “So, tell us what this is really about.”

Padfoot put his head above the seats long enough to say, “Yeah, tell us that you were really pouting because Evans obviously doesn’t care,” before putting it back under my vision to block my fist.

“You’re all nuts!”

Peter’s red face squeaked like the little rat he was, “At least we’re not nuts about a girl who hates us.”

We traded places as my face became red when I stood up and his face paled as he cowered under my gaze. “Alright! Let’s get one thing straight! I’m not crazy about Evans! I’m not! I’m not ‘nuts’ about her either! She’s simply… simply…” Images of her flashed through my mind, and I left the sentence hanging. She was simply amazing. She could read a book faster than anyone I knew including Remus. She rivaled Snivellus in Potions class. She made the cutest pout every time I started teasing her. Oh, why hadn’t I seen it before? She was so…

Resumed laughter caused my mind to come reeling back to my current situation. Oh, yes. This was the part of my love life when I endured the torment of my friends’ amusement. I sighed and sat back in my seat letting them laugh their ugly little heads off. Well, except Peter. He didn’t seem to be laughing. It looked more like he was holding his breath too long while silently rocking as he had done before. I rolled my eyes and glared out of the window. After what I assumed to be half an hour, the laughter subdued, and handkerchiefs were removed and used. I snorted at the number of dramatics they felt necessary to apply. It honestly wasn’t that funny, and I told them so.

Sirius’ let his mouth fall to his lap. “Not funny? Not funny? James, are you kidding me? It’s bloody hilarious! Prongs, you like Lily Evans!”

Remus was too nice either. “James, it’s just so ironic! Besides Snivellus, she’s been the worst brunt of your jokes. ‘Lily Evans the Ravenclaw spy in Gryffindor.’ Remember that?” I shrugged. “Or what about that time you read her diary out loud to the common room, and you just happened to read that entry in which she said she had a crush on me? She quickly became the joke of the week when I truthfully told her she was just my friend. None of that would have happened, Prongs, if you’d left the poor girl alone. You’ve been teasing Lily her whole life. The only thing you haven’t teased her about is her blood purity.”

Sirius immediately stopped snickering. Purebloods were a touchy subject to Sirius. The Black family had a very adamant opinion on such things. Sirius never said it was wrong since it was his family, but he hadn’t made any Muggle-born jokes or been sorted into Slytherin.

“Prongs?” Peter’s face was back to normal when he decided to speak up. “Do you really like her?”

I softened somewhat since they weren’t laughing. “Well… I think so. She’s so different this year. She’s innocent and elegant. Am I the only who has noticed this change?”

Padfoot’s expression didn’t change as he and Peter nodded. Remus, the only decent fellow, shook his head. “She’s been like this from the beginning, Prongs.”

Looking at Remus now, I wondered if he’d lied when he denied feeling anything for her. He did seem to like her more than any of us ever had, and he was the only who could honestly say he’d stoop up for her before. I fought quickly to kill any feelings of jealousy erupting from within. With a forcibly calm face, I asked him, “Are you sure you don’t mind, Moony? Are you sure you’ve never liked her?”

When his mouth dropped in shock, I released a sigh of relief. He thought the idea was silly, and he told me so, “Like Lily Evans? Prongs, do you really think I’d lie to you all these years? Lily Evans has been more of a little sister to me. It almost makes me feel guilty that I don’t like her in return.”

“There’s another problem, mate!” Sirius interjected. “Not only does she hate you, she has a crush on a fellow Marauder!”

I set my jaw determinedly. “Let’s change that.”

“How?” inquired the oblivious Wormtail. “We’ve been trying for years.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “But we’ve never made it a goal. It was simply a thing we’d like done. Lily Evans has always liked our dear Moony. Now, we’re going to make sure she stops.”

“You mean now that you like her?” Sirius seemed to find amusement in everything I said.

“Yeah, now that I like her.” I waited for advice from these brilliant masterminds, but none came. “So what are we going to do?” I prodded.

Remus shrugged. “Well, we could always… uh…”

I looked to Padfoot. “Come on, buddy. We’re the hottest guys in the school. You’re with me in this, right? You’re going to help me get this girl?”

I was surprised when he hesitated, but eventually, he nodded.
“Great!” Rubbing my hands together, I schemed, “So, are we going to use any love potions?”

Moony snorted. “Love potions? Those are so temporary. Does James Potter really need a love potion to make a girl like him?”

I glared. “Well, do you have a better idea?”

Moony nodded. “Why don’t you ask her why she doesn’t like you? Well, we all know there’s the fact that you’ve treated her like a house elf since you met her, but besides that, I mean.”

Sirius laughed. “Why? She’d just over analyze all of James’ faults. You’re not supposed to let a female acknowledge your faults. You’re supposed to make her see all your qualities.”

“No, if you let her tell you what she thinks is wrong with you, then you’ll know what to change. Otherwise, she’ll…”

“Who says Prongs is going to change for Lily? Maybe he just likes her and wants to date her.”

“If he likes her, he’d change for her. He’d want her to like him in return. He wouldn’t force her to ignore everything wrong with him. He would want her to like him for who he was.”

“Why? Prongs’ good looking, and he’s fun to be around. If he lets Lily Evans into his life, she’d turn him into a prefect. No offence, Moony boy. You’re a good prefect. You can have fun, and you’ll still do pranks with us, right? Now, if our buddy here, were to date Lily Evans, let her pick at his faults, and change for her…. My friend, Prongs would no longer be Prongs. He’d be a mindless-zombie-slave for Lily Evans.”

“Padfoot, I think you’re…”

“Guys!” I stomped my foot on the floor. “I’m grateful that you’re taking such an interest into my love life. Really, I couldn’t be happier.” And yet I wasn’t smiling. “I would just like if you’d ask me a few questions now and then. After all, it is my decision.”

“Okay then,” Sirius turned to face me. “Who do you agree with?”

It shouldn’t have been a question. Did I agree with Sirius, who could get any girl in the school with a drop of his wand, or Remus, who had never had a date before?

“I agree with, Padfoot, of course. I’ll get her with my charm.”

Then as Sirius and I settled down to discuss methods of charm, flirting, and showing-off, no one heard Peter make his first smart statement of the day, “I really think he should follow Moony’s idea, seeing as he’s the only boy Lily’s ever liked.”

A/N: There you go! A sequel to "A Change of View." I'm already thinking of a sequel to this one too, though. Aren't sequels addicting?