Twisted Love

Chapter 1: Loathing a Quidditch God

It was such a beautiful afternoon. The snow thickly covering every inch of the Hogwarts grounds was so white, it was blinding. Lily Evans sat in her seat by the huge window and dreamily surveyed the dazzling scenery that seemed to stretch out forever in front of her clear, green eyes. Everything seemed better than usual, somehow; the lake was larger and more sparkly, the sky brighter and bluer, the snow purer and whiter. Even the Forbidden Forest, as she shifted her eyes quickly away from it, seemed to glisten in its dark glory.

Yes, it certainly was a perfect day for the last day of school.

Lily continued to stare mindlessly out the window, a grin lightening her pretty face. Tomorrow, the Christmas holidays will begin. She'd already decided to stay this year. She had no problem convincing her parents. All she had to say was that the OWLs were coming nearer and they'd practically forced her to stay and study. And she was going to, of course, but it wasn't her fault if she got distracted by other...interesting things. Lily's grin widened as she reminded herself that she'd managed to convince her two best friends, Crystal Westwood and Olivia Moon, fellow Gryffindors, to stay with her. Crystal hadn't been so sure, but once she heard the news that James Potter was staying also, she'd been talking about nothing else since.

At the thought of James, Lily felt the up-turned corners of her mouth tugging down a little. Normally she tried to ignore the conceited boy and his silly antics that everyone else thought was so amusing. That had been fine with him, as he didn't pay much attention to her either. But lately, he seemed to be everywhere where she was. Whenever he saw her, he rushed over to make conversations and help her eagerly, like offering to carry her bag. If she wasn't mistaken, he had a crush on her. When he had developed the feelings he seemed to have for her, she didn't know, and she certainly didn't care. All she knew was that James Potter was a smug little git who didn't deserve anybody's attention and that she was going to stay further away from him now.

"Miss Evans!"

A stern voice, that of the Arithmancy teacher Professor Moore, suddenly called, snapping Lily out of her thoughts. She quickly turned her head away from the window and glanced sheepishly at the short, irritated witch.

"Sorry, Professor," Lily instantly apologized. She was aware of everyone's eyes on her, including the sympathetic stare of her friend Olivia. "It was so beautiful outside that I..."

"I should think, Miss Evans," Professor Moore cut in sharply, obviously annoyed at the distraction Lily caused, "that with your poor progress in this class, you'd pay more attention."

Lily's cheek colored. True, she was having some problems with Arithmancy; she was never good with numbers. Recently she had begun to think what part of her stupid brain had made her take the class in the first place. However, she excelled in every other classes and wasn't used to criticism from teachers.

"I...I'll try to do better," she managed to whisper.

"I should hope so. Your OWLs are all coming soon, and I have no wish to see anybody failing." The professor glared at her once more before turning her back and continuing to scribble something on the board.

Fortunately for Lily, the class ended quite soon after that and she and Olivia rushed out of the classroom together, feeling immense joy bubbling up inside them. It was the last class they had that day. Nothing but the wonderful Christmas holidays was waiting for them.

"Moore is such a sourpuss," Lily said, wrinkling her brows distastefully. The two girls were walking quickly towards the Gryffindor Tower, barely dodging huge crowds of people that were talking excitedly to one another.

"Yes, she seemed grumpier than usual," agreed Olivia. Her dark eyes sparkled. "Must be pretty lonely by herself during holidays. With that nasty temper of hers, I wouldn't be surprised."

The two friends giggled.

When they finally reached the Fat Lady, Lily gave her the password ("Chocolate Frogs!") and the portrait swung open. In front of the warm, blazing fire stood James and his three friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, laughing loudly and talking animatedly as usual. James was in the center of attention, of course, and was toying with a small, fluttering snitch. As soon as he caught sight of Lily's dark red hair, he ruffled his black hair, making it messier, and casually walked over to block her path.

"Evans, heard you were staying for Christmas," he said, his trademark grin that every girl thought was absolutely adorable hanging lopsidedly.

Lily stopped chatting with Olivia and slowly raised her eyes to meet his hazel ones. "Yes." Her tone was completely indifferent, with a slight hint of frustration. "Now if you'll excuse us..."

She started to walk away, Olivia at her side, but James was too quick for her. He immediately got in front of her again, this time an intense look in his eyes. "What say we hang out at Hogsmeade on Christmas Eve, Evans?" His voice was airy and light, but Olivia noticed he was clutching the snitch a bit too tightly.

Lily's cool expression didn't change. It was as if she'd been expecting this all along, and didn't think much of it. "I have other plans," she answered curtly.

"And what might that be?" James challenged, raising his eyebrow. He was attempting and failing to hide his disappointment.

"Nothing that concerns you, Potter." Lily's usually merry eyes were stained with great dislike as they swept over his body. Without another word, she and her friend disappeared up the stairs leading to the girls' dorm.

"Tough luck," said Sirius, his slim body sprawled on a soft cushioned sofa. He eyed James, who sat down and began moodily tossing the snitch and catching it again. "Personally, I don't know what you see in her. Sure, she's pretty-"

"And smart-" Remus put in.

"And nice," added Peter, who had gotten Lily's generous help in Charms, her best subject and also one of his worst, more than once.

James scowled. "Yes, I didn't know that already," he commented sarcastically. He continued to toy with the little snitch, always catching it perfectly before it got away. Peter stared at him with an awed look on his round, little face. "I can't figure out why she hates me so much."

"Puzzling," said Remus mildly, "especially since half the girls in Gryffindor would kill to go out with you."

"And the other half pines for Sirius," Peter suggested helpfully.

Sirius ignored him. "I still think you should go for another girl, Prongs." He shot his best friend a grin. "There are many hot ones to choose from, you know. Even in other houses, like Ravenclaw and..."

"No," James interrupted. The bright fire illuminated his handsome face; it was hardened with determination. "I want Evans. Nobody else."

*

"Are you serious?" If Crystal's mouth had opened a bit longer, it would have hit the floor. She wore an incredulous look as she repeated Olivia's words, as if she just couldn't believe it. "James Potter asked Lily on a date?"

"He seemed really crestfallen, though, when she rejected him," said Olivia softly. She hated seeing anybody get hurt.

Crystal's big blue eyes grew even bigger, if that was possible. "She didn't!" she whispered, clearly awed. She always had an enormous crush on James for five years now, and she couldn't understand how anyone could turn down the attractive boy she'd long decided was perfect.

"Yes, I did," came a bored voice that belonged to Lily. She had just stepped out of the shower, a white towel wrapped around her body. As she started to dress herself in a green sweater that matched her eyes perfectly and jeans, her two friends crowded around her, eager to pump more information out of her.

"Why ever did you reject him, Lily?" This was the first question that popped out of Crystal's mouth. The blonde girl waited intently for a satisfying answer.

Lily didn't speak for a while; she busied herself with a Drying Charm that absorbed the moisture out of her wet hair. When she was done, she spoke quietly. "I hate him."

Olivia and Crystal exchanged curious looks. Sure, Lily hadn't been that ecstatic about James as everyone else was, but they've never heard her mention that she actually hated him.

"Go on," encouraged Olivia gently.

Lily took a deep breath. "Everyone seems to think he's so amazing, so wonderful, so adorable," she said slowly, her voice unusually bitter. "I don't see why. He's just a self-centered, arrogant creep. What's so great about him, anyway?"

Crystal eagerly began ticking off reasons with her fingers. "Well, he's great at Quidditch, he's handsome, he's funny-"

"Funny?" Lily interrupted, her eyes widening with disbelief. "You call hexing other people in the hallway funny?"

Crystal looked at Olivia for support, but she just shook her head. "It is rather awful when he does that," Olivia agreed, her deep dark eyes filled with mild disgust. "And you have to admit, he treats that Slytherin boy, Snape, like dirt."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Lily's voice rose in anger. "He's always torturing the poor boy, humiliating him as much as possible. And of course," she added shortly, "everyone thinks it's incredibly funny."

Crystal chewed on a strand of blonde hair, clearly torn between the urge to agree with her friends and the urge to defend James. "But Snape's so nasty," she said at last, a little tentatively. "He deserves it, the slimy git."

"Nobody deserves it," Lily said quietly. "And as far as I'm concerned, I'm never, ever going out with someone who has less humanity than a meat loaf!"

"Speaking of which, we should get going." Olivia glanced at her watch. "It's almost dinner time."

"Look, let's not ruin a perfectly exciting day with James Potter," Lily suggested cheerfully. "The holidays haven't even started yet." She gave her two best friends a smile and they smiled back.

As they made their way to the Great Hall, Lily forced the incident with James earlier that day out of her mind. She had much more important things to think about, such as her upcoming OWLs. She cringed inwardly as she recalled Professor Moore's harsh tone, demanding that she work harder.

I'll kill myself if I fail Arithmancy, she decided as she and her friends entered the bustling Great Hall. I'll just have to study harder. Way harder.

Dinner was wonderful, with one small flaw: James. He kept glancing at her, making it a little hard for her to concentrate on the chatters of fellow Gryffindors. She tried to ignore him, of course. That had always been easiest. But when he started to whisper with Sirius, his hazel eyes darting towards her all the time, she'd had enough.

Lily stood up abruptly and, to her friends' amazement, walked purposefully to where James and Sirius were sitting. The low murmurs between them immediately stopped as she stood next to them, forcing a smile. "Do you have something you want to say to me, Potter?" she asked smoothly, masking her irritation.

"Oh no, Evans," replied James calmly. A faint smirk crossed his face. "But you seem to, as you've kindly walked over yourself."

People around them were watching curiously.

"As a matter of fact, I do," retorted Lily, her green eyes burning with anger. She inched her face closer to his. "I would appreciate it if you stopped staring at me. I find it rather disturbing."

Sirius snorted at this. James, still smirking, leaned closer to her face. They were just inches away from each other now. Lily stared back defiantly at him. "And I would appreciate it if you got angry more often. I find it rather enjoyable," he said softly, mimicking her short speech. Realizing for the first time that having her face so close to his could be dangerous, Lily pulled back sharply.

"Shut up," she said with such force, she surprised even herself. Normally being such a mild character, she almost never used the two words. But it was worth it; James' face seemed be pale a few shades with shock and anger. Sirius immediately rose up from his seat; Remus and Peter tugged at his sleeves, making him sit down again. People who were listening to them all along whispered hushedly to themselves. No one ever told James Potter to shut up, least of all Gryffindors. And the fact that Lily Evans, one of the kindest girl in school, had done it was simply unbelievable.

"Say that again, and I'll kill you," said James quietly. He wasn't smiling anymore and his hazel eyes had darkened around the edges. Lily glared at him, desperately hiding her fear and disgust.

"You don't scare me," she said coolly. And with that, she turned and walked away, head held high.