How to Get Lily to Fall for James

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my OCs...*sigh*

It was a new year, another chance. A tall, muscular boy of seventeen smiled as he packed his trunk. This year was going to be different. Mainly because he, James Potter, had been appointed Head Boy to everyone's surprise. He was looking forward to his new position immensely, mainly due to the fact that he would get to work side-by-side with the new Head Girl, which would undoubtedly be the beautiful Lily Evans.

James had been in love with her ever since third year. He loved everything about her. He even loved her flaws, although he thought she didn't have many. He'd asked her out around a thousand times since then. The only problem was that she thought him to be too immature.

This year, however, he'd show her. He'd show her how much he'd matured. He'd show her the side of him that few people even knew existed. He'd prove to her that he did love her, and that he wasn't just playing around.

His thoughts were interrupted as a book was tossed at his head, missing him by inches.

"I was talking to you!"

James looked over at the offender. Sirius Black, one of his best friends, was looking back with a false hurt look upon his face. He had long dark hair and a smirk that made the majority of the girls at Hogwarts fall at his feet. Even the hurt look he was giving James would cause most to melt.

"Sorry, mate. I was in my own little world."

"Yes, and it's Evans infested. What about me?" He wiped an invisible tear away from the corner of his eye.

"Sorry, Padfoot, what were you talking about?"

"Our beginning of the year prank, I was thinking that we should put fireworks down Snivellus's pants and set them off during Potions. What do you think?"

"It's brilliant! We'll have to work out the specifics on the train with the rest of the Marauders." James threw a copy of this year's Charms book into his trunk and looked over at Sirius, who was practically jumping on his bed.

"This year is going to be the Marauders' best year ever!" Sirius punched the air, causing himself to fall off the bed. James just shook his head and threw a pair of socks at him.

"Are you forgetting that I've been appointed Head Boy?"

"Oh," Sirius's face fell, "I did. It's so depressing! Why didn't you just turn down the position?"

"Because this is my last chance to prove to Lily that I'm not just asking her out for my own amusement," he replied.

"Yeah, yeah. You aren't going to quit pranking, are you?"

"No, never! Listen, I won't stop being a Marauder. I'll just have to tone it down some." James heard his mother yell from the kitchen. It was time to go. He and Sirius hastily threw the rest of their stuff into their trunks and bolted out the door in order to start making their way to Platform 9 ¾.

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Lily Evans walked up the corridor, her beautiful, long red hair flowing behind her, her emerald green eyes sparking with excitement, and her new Head Girl badge shining proudly from her robes. This year was going to be wonderful. This year she wasn't going to let James Potter get to her.

She stopped in front of the compartment (where, in just a few short minutes, she and the new Head Boy would be briefing the prefects on their duties) to make sure her hair was not a mess. She wanted to look as professional as possible, after all.

She opened the compartment and nearly fainted. There, seated beside the window with a book in his hand, was the bane of her existence, James Potter. Her eyes traveled down to his chest, where a Head Boy badge was pinned. This had to be a mistake. How could he get appointed Head Boy? It seemed as if James could hear her thoughts. He looked up at her and grinned.

"Hello, Evans. From your shocked look, I take it you're wondering why I'm here."

"Yes, you could say that." She glared at James as if it would make him go away. She had to be seeing things.

"Don't look at me like that!" James exclaimed. "I thought it would be Remus!"

"That may be the first thing we have ever agreed on, Potter. How the bloody hell did you get appointed?" She watched as James pulled a letter from the inside of the book he was holding. He handed it over to her, looking as if he was scared she was going to rip his head off if he got too close.

The letter was almost identical to the one she had received over the summer, except for a paragraph toward the middle. It explained (probably more to Potter's parents) why he'd gotten the position. Exceptional student, despite his mischief making, great role model.

Lily jumped as she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned to see a line of Prefects behind her, waiting to get in. She hastily moved out of their way as they came into the compartment and took their seats.

Lily gave James one more scathing glare before turning to face the Prefects. "Welcome back! For those of you who don't know, I'm Lily Evans and this is-"

"James Potter." He gave them a smile and ran his hand through his hair, a move that Lily loathed.

"We are the Head Girl and Boy. For those of you who are new Prefects, I'm going to tell you the rules and expectations..." She began reciting the speech she'd practiced over and over since she had been appointed.

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James watched her intently. For the most part he listened, but he kept losing his focus. He had to admire how dedicated to this Lily was. She went from speechless and furious with him to Head Girl mode. If she was nervous, she didn't show it.

Before he knew it, she was looking over at him. "Do you have anything to add, Potter?"

"Yes. Some of the teachers may go easy on you because of your position. I've seen it happen to a Prefect before. He used the 'I couldn't finish my essay because I had rounds' excuse, and all that. Don't even bother thinking that McGonagall is one of the ones who will fall for it. She favours none. You can still get on her bad side. Beware!"

"Anything else?" Lily asked.

"No, that covers it," replied James. Lily dismissed the prefects, looking relived that it was over. When she reached the doorway, James called out behind her "See you later, Evans." He watched as she turned and nodded, giving him a tight smile.

As she left, James couldn't help thinking that this was a good way to start the new year. He was going to have fun.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Lily entered her compartment, her good mood now shattered. She was still having trouble accepting the fact that James Potter was the new Head Boy.

"Lily?" Her head snapped up. Sitting in the compartment were two of her best friends, Tessa Daniels and Adria McGillion.

Lily couldn't help but shriek in delight. She hadn't seen her friends all summer. It seemed that Tessa had dyed her hair over the break. Her long, black hair was now a dark, striking shade of blue. The most striking thing about her, however, were her eyes. She had one green eye and one sky blue one. Sitting next to her, Adria just looked like an average girl. She had waist length blonde hair and blue eyes. The only thing that made her stand out was her intelligence. She was the second smartest girl in her year, next to Lily.

"Hey!" Lily gave them each a big hug before taking a seat across from them. "It's so great to see you! You have no idea how lonely it was at home. Petunia got engaged, and the hippo that asked her was over just about every night. I spent most of the summer in my room! But enough about me, I want to hear about your summers, with details!" The train jolted to a start, and the journey began.

The girls talked the hours away. Finally, when all the good summer stories had been told, and they were finishing off the last of the Chocolate Frogs, Tessa remembered what a foul mood Lily had been in when she had entered the compartment.

Lily looked over at Tessa and saw her whole face light up, as it usually did when she had remembered something important, and Tessa asked, staring intently at Lily, "You looked like they'd told you that they'd reconsidered your Head Girl-ship."

Lily's face darkened at the question and she replied through gritted teeth. "Guess who they chose for Head Boy?"

"Remus, of course," answered Adria, sounding as though the answer was pretty obvious.

"Adria's lover boy," Tessa answered at the same time. She received a slap on the arm from Adria before they all broke out into fits of laughter. It was no secret between them. They all knew that Adria had a huge crush on Remus Lupin, an intelligent, cute, sandy haired boy in their year. He also happened to be another one of the infamous Marauders. They were best friends, but Remus seemed oblivious to the fact that Adria had an almighty crush on him.

"No, not Remus," Lily answered, still through gritted teeth.

"Who got it then? There is no way he can be better than Remus," Adria half-growled.

"James Potter."

You could have heard a pin drop in the deathly silence that ensued. It lasted for quite a few moments before Tessa and Adria both broke out into hysterical laughter.

"That was a good one, Lils! Did Remus put you up to that?" Tessa asked finally regaining her breath.

"I'm not joking!"

The two girls laughed harder.

"I'm serious!" Lily cried in frustration.

"No, I'm Sirius!" Lily turned to see none other than the Marauders, minus Peter Pettigrew, their fourth member, standing in the doorway to the compartment.

"Oh, go away, Black! You're ruining all the fun."

"Tessie, baby, I am the fun!"

Tessa just rolled her eyes and glared at him. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Tessie, Black? Do you plan on keeping your family jewels this year? If so, you'll get out of here!"

"Come on, people. We have to be civil to each other," James said, entering the compartment after Remus. He looked half tempted to take the seat next to Lily. But as soon as he even looked that way, Tessa jumped up and sat down beside of her.

"Goodness, Potter. When you said you'd see me later I thought you meant at the feast, or better yet, never!" Lily exclaimed, watching Adria and Remus as they began to talk animatedly to one another.

"Me, too," he replied, ignoring the small insult and taking the seat next to Remus. "But Remus wanted to come to talk with Adria, and Sirius has developed this strange separation anxiety thing for Remus over the summer. So, naturally, we followed."

Until that moment, Tessa hadn't realised that in saving Lily she had subjected herself to the ultimate horror: Sirius Black. Once James had sat down, Sirius had taken the only available seat, next to Tessa. Having James across from her, however, gave her a clear view of him and his shiny, new badge. She looked over at Lily in disbelief.

"You weren't kidding, were you?"

"No!" Lily exclaimed.

"Really?" asked Adria, looking over at James and his badge. "What in the world? Has Dumbledore gone batty?"

"That's what I'm still wondering. I mean, I knew he was a little off but he must have completely lost it over the summer!"

"What are they talking about?" James asked Remus, cringing at some of the comments that were being made.

"No idea." Remus tapped Adria on the shoulder. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Him!" all three girls answered, pointing at James.

"Oh. Okay. I think it's time to go!" James made to get up, but Sirius got up and blocked the door.

"What about Prongs?" Sirius asked, pushing the boy in question back down onto his seat.

"How did you get to be Head Boy?" Adria asked him, looking a little bit more than angry. "Did you drug Dumbledore or something?"

"No. In his letter he told my parents that he thought I was a great student...despite my mischief making, that is."

"So!" James just sat there, looking stunned. He'd seen Adria mad a few times over the years, but he'd never seen her furious. Not to mention the fact the he'd never been on the receiving end of her wrath.

"Addie, it's okay. Honestly, I'm happy for James. Maybe this will keep him out of so much trouble," Remus said, patting her arm. This seemed to calm her down.

"We need to change into our robes," Lily announced, looking at her watch. Remus and James stood up to leave, but Sirius sat back down.

"Don't mind me; I'm fine right where I am." Sirius received a rather sharp slap up side the head, just before he was dragged from the compartment, the door slamming shut behind him.

"That went well." Lily heard Sirius' muffled voice state.

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James sat in between Sirius and Remus watching the Sorting ceremony. So far, they had already welcomed three new Gryffindors. James stole a glance at Lily. He couldn't wait for the morning. The plan would be put into action starting tomorrow morning. Sirius caught him staring and gave him a rather sharp nudge in the ribs.

"So, what's this plan called, anyway?"

"How to get Lily to fall for James, part three."

"No..." Remus counted on his fingers, "this would be part six."

"I was only counting the major attempts."

"Oh." Remus just rolled his eyes.

"I'd still call it at least four then, Prongs." Sirius grinned evilly. He couldn't wait to see James's face when he remembered.

"Why's that?"

"Remember back in fifth year? You stood up on the Staff table and magnified your voice."

James groaned at the memory. Peter, who had joined them at the feast, started laughing so hard, he fell out of his seat. He was a short, fat boy with blonde hair and watery eyes. By looking at him, you wouldn't think he was anything special. That's why it amazed everybody that he too, was a Marauder. "Then you confessed your love for her and asked her to Hogsmeade. That was priceless!" Peter gasped from his place on the floor.

James cringed as he remembered Lily screaming some comments he was sure her mother wouldn't approve of, then storming out of the Great Hall

"'I do believe, gentlemen, that month's worth of detentions made it so that I reached five hundred first!" None of them replied as, at that moment, the food had arrived. He waited until they had all filled their plates before carrying on.

"Besides, I'm not the only one with women problems."

"You got your period!" Sirius exclaimed. Needless to say, it attracted several curious stares.

"No, Pads. You know what I mean! You've yet to find a woman who has your full attention..."

"Plenty of girls get my attention," he replied, watching a Ravenclaw sixth year walking down the aisle to her table.

"...for more than a few days," James finished, poking him in the shoulder.

"He has a point, Padfoot," Remus interjected, regretting it immediately. James's gaze landed on him.

"And you, Moony. You are in denial."

"Prongs, Moony is right there, sitting across from you. I don't think he's ever even been to Egypt," Peter stated, looking as though he thought James had gone off his rocker.

"Denial, Wormtail, not The Nile." Peter just smiled and kept eating, making James wonder if he had truly gotten it.

"Why do you think I'm in denial?"

"You like her a lot. You just won't admit it to yourself."

"It wouldn't work," Remus answered, almost instantly, looking down at his plate. James just shook his head and turned to Peter, who had a slightly worried look on his face.

"Wormtail...well...we're lucky if Wormtail doesn't wet himself around girls. See, we all have some little problem."

They all laughed at the memory of Peter wetting himself in front of Amy March back in third year. "All right, all right," Remus said "So, how is your plan supposed to work, Prongs?"

"Well... I'm going to show her the more mature and civil side of me, gradually causing her to fall in love with me."

"That may work, Prongs. That may very well work," Remus said, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Yeah," Sirius laughed, "and I'm the Queen of England."

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The feast was over too soon for Lily. It wasn't as if she was avoiding James. It was just that she was in such a wonderful mood; she didn't want him to ruin it.

"First years, follow me please." As she and James led the first years through the castle, Lily began to remember her first time taking this walk.

"Hard to believe that this was us six years ago," James commented, pointing back toward the first years. At that moment a few ghosts passed through the wall in front of them. Several of the "midgets" as James liked to call them, shrieked. There was one boy who actually called 'hello' to them, however.

"Yes, and there's you!" Lily replied, remembering James doing the same thing on their first day and, to her surprise, a small smile crept across her face at the memory.

"You're right. He's a good candidate for the Marauders in training."

"You're going to corrupt little children? That's awful, Potter."

"What? It's our last year. We have to train replacements." Lily just shook her head as they approached the portrait. She gave the password, (tractus monachus) and escorted the first years into the common room.

"All right, everyone. This is the common room. You can study or just socialise in here. Now, girls' dormitories are on the right, boys' are on the left. You should probably head off to bed now. Your trunks are waiting in your room. Goodnight."

They watched the first years climb the stairs in silence.

"I think we should go and see Dumbledore now. I'm getting sort of sleepy," James suggested, suppressing a yawn.

"All right, let's go."

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They arrived at Dumbledore's office in silence. Lily hadn't felt like making small talk with the enemy. She gave him her infamous I Hate You Potter look, but didn't say a word.

"Congratulations to both of you. I gave you these positions because I believe that the two of you can do some good for this school together."

Lily couldn't help but snort at that. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, but continued as if he hadn't noticed. "With your combined talent and intelligence..." Now Lily had to try very hard not to burst out laughing. "...I'm sure this will be an easy task. If you follow me, I'll show you to your new dormitory."

They followed him in silence. Well, almost. James had taken it upon himself to provide them with some entertainment. So, after two minutes of what Lily considered blissful silence, he started humming. It took only a few more minutes before Dumbledore joined in.

Great. They're both mad, that's just perfect.

Lily endured several minutes of torture before they reached their destination. They stood before what Lily thought was one of the most beautiful portraits she had ever seen. It was one of a couple dancing. Like most of the portraits at Hogwarts, it was centuries old. The woman wore a beautiful floor length gown, looking as if she were a princess in some fairy tale.

"You may choose your password now, if you wish," Dumbledore announced. Before Lily could even think of one, James jumped at the chance.

"Lily and James forever." He gave her a wink as the woman in the portrait nodded and the portrait swung open.

"You wish, Potter! Professor, can he do that?" She gave Dumbledore her best pleading look, even throwing in the puppy dog eyes.

"I'm afraid he can. You get to pick the new password in two months. Now, let's get going and see where you'll be staying this year."

Lily nodded reluctantly, and followed Dumbledore and a beaming James through the portrait hole.

The room was absolutely beautiful. It looked like a miniature version of the Gryffindor common room. On one end of the room, two desks sat facing huge windows that overlooked the lake. There were a few chairs and a table sitting in front of the fireplace, and a few were scattered around the room.

"Miss Evans, your room is up the right staircase; Mr. Potter, yours is on the left. Have a good night's rest. I'll see you in the morning." With that he swept out of the room.

James looked over at Lily and grinned. "Race you," he said, and took off like a shot toward his staircase.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm as, she too, ran up her stairs. What she found at the top was amazing.

Her room was huge. It was decorated in lavender, her favorite color. She had a huge canopy bed, just like she had always wanted at home. She went over to the wall on the right and opened up the door there, revealing a rather large closet. Oh yes. I'll need this.

She looked around and spotted another door on the other side of the room. Making her way over to it, she pulled it open and gasped. It was the bathroom. It (like everything else it seemed) was rather large. But that wasn't what made her gasp. On the other side of the room was another door, and in it stood James.

"You've got to be kidding me. We share a bathroom? Great." She walked over to him and tried to look over his shoulder, but failed miserably. "What does your room look like?"

He didn't answer her, just moved out of her way and gestured for her to come in. She stepped in and was blinded. The whole room was red and gold.

"Have any House pride?" she asked.

"Just a little," he said, laughing as he held up his fingers a good two feet apart. "What does yours look like?"

"Go and see." She followed him back to her room and sat down at her vanity table.

"It suits you. Lavender is your favorite color after all."

"Yes it is," she said as he gave her room another glance. How did he know that?

"Well, I'm beat, Evans. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Potter."

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Lily dressed and got into bed that night, thinking about the future. This was her last year at Hogwarts. She wasn't even sure what she was going to do after school. Well, aside from getting as far away from her sister as possible.

Banishing all thoughts of the future and her sister out of her head, Lily was faced with the present issue: living with the Head Boy, who had turned out to be none other than James Potter. Well...at least he hadn't asked her out yet. With that last thought, Lily drifted off into a deep sleep.

Authors Note: Hey! Thanks for reading this story! Did you like it? Well, review and tell me please! PLEASE! Thanks so much to my super beta! This wouldn't be anywhere near as good if she hadn't helped me! Thank you SO much! Also big thanks to my muses, my Sarakins and Lil' Dick! It's my first Lily and James fic. It also has a bit of Remus/OC and Sirius/OC, but that comes mostly in later chapters.