“Merlin, I feel so much better,” Lily sighed, taking off her shoes and dipping her toes into the lake.
It was Friday. Finally, the stressful O.W.L’s were over. Lily, SamLin, Alice, Katie, and Emily were resting by the lake next to the cherry tree. Today was much sunnier than two weeks ago, which made Lily feel nice.
“How do you think you did?” SamLin asked her friends from a low branch of the cherry tree.
“I think I’ll at least get ‘Acceptables,’” Alice admitted. She was at the top of the cherry tree, as usual. Alice was acting tomboyish by swinging from all the branches and flipping. But Lily could sense something was not right. Alice was a little quieter; she seemed to be contemplating over something she didn’t know how to control. Lily even noticed that her favorite perfume scent, flowers and fruits, could be smelt on her friend.
Katie shrugged as she sat on the grass, slumped against the tree. “I don’t know,” she said, even though they all knew she was probably going to get ‘Outstandings’ on everything. None of them said anything though because Katie didn’t like bringing up how well she was doing in school.
Emily was lying down next to Lily. She let out a ‘humph’ and shrugged too, not out of embarrassment, but plainly because she didn’t really care. Her friends could tell that all that was basically on her mind was Amos Diggory and snogging him. It was impossible to get her to get to talk of anything else.
Lily thought for a moment. “I think I might get some ‘Acceptables’ and ‘Exceeds Expectations.’” Honestly, though, Lily wasn’t quite sure. She just said that to keep from looking dumb.
SamLin, trying keep the group’s optimism up, told them all cheerfully, “Well, I think you guys and I are going to do well.” She jumped to the ground with a soft thud and joined Lily and Emily on the grass near the lake edge.
For several moments, they sat reminiscing, thinking, and drinking in each other’s silence. Lily didn’t mind the silence, and neither did the others. When you have friends that are so close to you, you don’t seem to have to talk to express feelings and thoughts. Now, they just seemed to bounce off of each other, waiting for someone to notice.
“Hey, guys!” Katie declared. “Marauders and Longbottom in sight across the lake! What do you say? I personally think we still have debt to pay.”
With nothing else really to do, all five friends got up and started racing towards the other side of the lake.
*
“Potter! Stop! POTTER! STOP!” Lily’s cries were obviously not heard though.
When Lily, SamLin, Katie, Alice, and Emily arrived where Potter, Black, Longbottom, Lupin, and Pettigrew were, they simply expected them to be lounging around and showing off like stupid gits. But immediately they were drawn into a fight scene with James Potter fighting and Severus Snape being tortured. None of them cared about Snape, not even Katie, who was a prefect. But Lily, being nice person she was, found it her duty to help the slimy creature.
Finally, after all other attempts of yelling failed, she shouted furiously, “Leave him ALONE!!”
Immediately after she did this, the whole crowd stared at her. Her four friends backed away to let her handle the situation. Lily’s emerald eyes surveyed the scene. James and Sirius were looking at her, and James immediately started rumpling his hair.
“All right, Evans?” James asked, but his voice seemed deeper and more mature than ridiculing.
“Leave him alone,” Lily repeated icily. James had a questioning look on his face, but it was gone in an instant. “What’s he ever done to you?” she asked haughtily.
“Well,” James said, looking as if he was doing seriously quick thinking, “it’s more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean...” He gave a nervous laugh and many of the surrounding watchers followed suit along with most of his fellow Marauders.
Lily gave him a death glare, crossed her arms over her chest, and took a step forward toward him. “You think you’re funny.” Everyone could feel the ice in her tone. “But you’re just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.”
Suddenly James’ hazel eyes sparkled. Lily found herself looking at them and couldn’t pull her gaze away.
“I will if you go out with me, Evans,” James said quickly, sort of grinning. Lily couldn’t tell whether if it was a smirk or a genuine smile. “Go on...Go out with me, and I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.” ‘Snivelly’ was clearly the nickname they fashioned for Snape.
But definitely not a fist... Lily thought. But Lily decided to not say that, noticing that an Impediment Jinx James had cast on Snape was wearing off. He was inching toward his fallen wand, just enough so it wasn’t too noticeable.
She stepped forward, nearly directly in front of James. She met his dangerously beautiful hazel eyes once again. “I wouldn’t go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,” she spat, trying to work up another death glare. Yet it was still impossible staring into James’ eyes.
James looked like he was about to do something rash as Sirius said in a brisk voice, “Bad luck, Prongs.” But it was the “OY!” of what Sirius said that got everyone’s attention.
James whirled around, but it was too late for him. Snape had his wand pointed at him and blood suddenly sputtered from a new gash in his cheek. James, furious with all sorts of rage, pointed his wand at Snape and soon his was hanging upside-down in the air. His robes were falling over his head, revealing skinny, pasty legs and a pathetic pair of graying underpants.
Most of the people in the watching crowd cheered, to Lily’s disgust. But she could feel her angry expression twitching, as if she was going to smile. She forced it down and yelled, “Let him down!”
James looked at her. “Certainly.” Snape fell with a very loud thud in a tangled heap of his robes. He tried to disentangle himself, but Sirius shouted, “Locomotor mortis!” and Snape fell to his knees, rigid.
“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Lily shouted, now forgetting the underpants and James’ eyes in all her rage. She whipped out her wand; James and Sirius looked at it cautiously.
“Ah, Evans, don’t make me hex you,” said James intently.
Knock yourself out, James, Lily thought. But instead, she said, “Take the curse off him, then!”
James gave a deep sigh that caught Lily off guard, and he reluctantly muttered the countercurse.
As Snape struggled to his feet, James said coldly, “There you go. You’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-”
“I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!” Snape yelled, enraged and not in the least bit thankful. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily could see Katie and Alice struggling against a shocked SamLin to go up to Snape and give him what he deserved.
Lily blinked, feeling a little indignant and hurt. “Fine,” she said, trying desperately to keep her cool so she could take out her anger on something else. “I won’t bother in the future. And I’d wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.”
Snape and everyone else looked surprised, except for James Potter. He pointed his wand threateningly at him again. “Apologize to Evans!” James roared.
“I don’t want you to make him apologize,” Lily shouted, backfiring on James’ plan. She was mad that Potter thought she needed protection from hurtful words. “You’re as bad as he is...”
“What?” yelped James, now it being his turn to be indignant. “I’d NEVER call you a “ you-know-what!”
The words came flying out of Lily’s mouth before she could register exactly what they meant. “Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you’ve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can “ I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.”
She turned on her heel and ran back to her friends.
“Evans!” James shouted after her, looking desperate and distraught. “Hey, EVANS!”
But Lily didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of a glance back. She kept on walking, pondering on what happened.
“What is it with her?” James asked to the crowd, but anyone could easily tell he was wondering it himself.
“Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate,” said Sirius in a fake solemn voice.
“Right,” said James, looking furious but understanding. “Right -”
Is it Pride or Prejudice? by Stormbringer
Chapter Notes: Disclaimer: Yes, I used some quotes from the "Snape's Worst Memory" chapter. I’m not trying to steal the lake scene or make it my own in a bad way, I just wanted to provide readers with something different. Those quotes do not belong to me, but JK. If they did belong to me, I'd be rich. But they don't, so I still sit at a computer typing a fanfic hopefully people will like.