Hey Girl

James Potter didn't know what it was about Lily that set her apart. She was just a girl, just another Gryffindor. But she wasn't just that, she was more. She was happiness, joy, recklessness and responsibility all rolled into one.

Lily had that way about her. She could laugh about anything, and lighten any situation. She was also smart, funny and absolutely gorgeous.

Hey girl,

You got a smart way about you,

That makes me,

Wish that I was smart enough for you.

When James set his Charms book on fire during first year, she had laughed. In retaliation, he had tripped her on the way out of class. Instead of being embarrassed or angry, she had laughed. She had been yelling with laughter as she picked herself up off the floor and smacked him over the head.

Sirius and Remus had laughed too, when they had gotten over the shock of someone actually smacking James. The traitors.

Over the course of the first year, James had come to realize how special Lily was. At the tender age of eleven, he found his true love. He delighted in surprising her, and reveled in her laughter.

Once, at dinner, she asked him to pass the potatoes. He slipped a chocolate frog into the dish as he handed it her way. She took the bowl from him, and squealed when she saw the frog. It jumped onto her blouse, and she laughed as she picked it off. To James's surprise, she threw it at him. The frog got stuck in his hair, and melted from his body heat.

Lily, Sirius, Remus and Peter had all been clutching their stomachs, with tears in their eyes, as the chocolate melted down his face.

Lily had tried to help clean him up, but her feeble swipes with a napkin didn't do much more than spread the chocolate around. This, of course, had caused her to laugh even harder.

He had gone home that year with thoughts of Lily Evans in his head, and he couldn't wait until next term.

Hey girl,

You got a fine laugh,

And I think that I could get used to that,

But you're already used to,

Laughing at me.

But James had ruined it all. He had started picking on Snape in second year, and that had been his downfall. For all Lily's good humor about being picked on herself, she couldn't stand it when James picked on other people. She had given him a good piece of her mind, and hadn't talked to him since.

Lily's friends all glared at him when he came around. James had practically given up on Lily, he couldn't get to her. But he hadn't stopped watching her. James watched as Lily laughed less and less. Eventually, she had stopped laughing altogether, and his greatest wish was to make her eyes light up again.

Once, in transfiguration, James had accidentally transfigured his table into a picture frame. Lily had laughed at this, and he had gone away with high hopes for the future. But she hadn't laughed as much as she did the first year, and he desperately wanted to make her happy like that again.

James wished that her friends would make her happy. He wanted to hear that sound again, more than anything. So he had started showing off. If Lily wouldn't laugh with him, then maybe she would laugh at him. But she didn't laugh, she just walked away. Her friends all glared at James again as they passed him.

So what if your friends think I'm crazy,

Well I wasn't trying to impress those girls anyway,

They're all theory, no action,

And where I'm from we live like it's the latest attraction.

So James resorted to teasing her again. During third year, he showed off, poked fun at her, and was an all around git, in an effort to make her laugh. But none of it worked. He fervently wished that she would at least smile, but he never got even that. He watched helplessly as she dove further and further into the comfort of books. He moped around the library as she spent hours on end immersed in such books as, "Life Cycle of the Centaur Tick."

His mates noticed that there was something wrong with him. James Potter did not mope. But he rejected all of their attempts to cheer him up, and instead thought up ways to make Lily laugh.

Transfiguring Sirius into a dog accidentally-on-purpose hadn't worked, although it had given them other ideas. Messing up his astronomy chart so that the dots read "Chocolate Frog" hadn't worked either, although it had earned him a D on his homework.

The only thing that had made her laugh was overdoing his Cheering Charms on her, but that had been spell induced laughter, not genuine laughter. It didn't sound very different, but there was an unidentifiable quality that was missing.

He delighted in making her mad. Her anger was an emotion, and any emotion from her was a good sign. He figured heavily on the "thin line between love and hate" theory, although his reasoning was fallible.

James smiled every time Lily burst out at him.

"James Potter!" she'd scream. "You insufferable prat! What on earth did you do to Alice?!"

"Honestly, Evans, all I did was transfigure her into a pocket watch."

"Well, you just turn her right back, this instant!"

"Fine, Evans, no need to get your knickers in a twist."

Hey girl,

You got a short fuse,

And I got designs on lighting you up,

Setting you off, and watching you burn for me.

Every Hogsmeade weekend, without fail, James and Lily had a routine conversation.

"Hogsmeade this Friday, Evans," James would say offhandedly, resting a hip on the table where Lily would be studying.

"Thanks, Potter," Lily would reply, glaring up from her book. "But I can read for myself, you know."

"I was wondering if there was any chance you'd like to go with me," would be James's next words. He'd look down at her with a grin, and she'd turn back to her book.

"A snowball's chance in hell, Potter," Lily would say, refusing to meet his eyes.

As Sirius, Remus and Peter laughed heartily in the background, James's heart would sink. Again, he had failed to make her laugh. He entertained hopes that she laughed about him to herself, when she was alone. His optimistic side would cling to that hope for dear life, while his pessimistic streak would convince him that it was just a dream.

James would see her in Hogsmeade, walking around with a group of girls. Not once was she with a boy, he noticed, a fact which never failed to make him grin confidently. No one could measure up to his standards. Surely that was why she never dated.

Sirius, on the other hand, would always have a date for Hogsmeade. A different girl every few weeks, although all of the Marauders enjoyed the girl's company while it lasted. Sirius never dated boring girls.

The whole world lives for the weekend,

I just watch as my weeks bleed right into them,

Without a line to divide,

What is theirs and what is mine.

During fifth year, James had finally reached his boiling point.

Seeing Lily by the lake had driven him over the top. Always a good actor, James nonchalantly continued to play with the snitch he had filched. When Sirius declared that he was bored, James had jumped at any distraction.

This distraction happened to come in the form of Severus "Snivellus" Snape.

The poor guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. James was moody and snappish. Lily was like an itch he couldn't scratch, making him uncomfortable all of the time.

Tormenting Snape had relieved some of his anger, only to have it come back in full force when Lily stood up to defend the greasy-haired git.

"Leave him alone!"

"I will if you go out with me, Evans!"

The day had not turned out nicely.

Later on, James had sought Lily out. "Evans, listen. I didn't mean for that to happen."

Lily had rounded on him. "You didn't mean it?" she spat. "That doesn't make a bit of difference, Potter. You treated Severus like hippogriff shit today!"

That was another thing he loved about Lily. She was straightforward, and she saw everything in black and white. Right and wrong. She also wasn't above cursing, if it was appropriate.

"You are scum, Potter," she hissed. "You can't control yourself enough to resist the urge to torture Severus. You make excuses for yourself all the time, instead of owning up to your mistakes."

James was stunned. She had never spoken to him like this before. Apparently, she'd been saving it all up, because she wasn't even close to finished.

"You strut around this castle like you own it, with your ever-present sidekicks there to assure you of how wonderful you are, on the off chance that you've forgotten. All the girls love you, and you know it. You're always showing off for them."

"I am not!" James denied.

"Don't lie to me, Potter," Lily said.

James just gaped at her, stunned at her outburst.

"You're just a little performing monkey, James. You make everyone laugh, but no one takes you seriously. You are a sorry, miserable excuse for a human being. I don't hate you, James, I pity you. Your life has no meaning."

With that, Lily had walked away without so much as a backward glance. James had sunk to the floor and leaned against the wall.

He knew she was right. All his life, he had done what everyone expected him to do. He had made everyone laugh, and most people thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. But what did he think? No one ever asked him what he though, except to plan out another prank.

He sat in the corridor for a long time, thinking about his life. Thinking about what he could do to change it.

Finally, he had gone back to Gryffindor tower and climbed into bed. As he drifted off to sleep, a stray thought raced across his mind.

She called him James.

So what if your friends think I'm crazy,

Well, I wasn't trying to impress those girls anyway,

They're all theory, no action,

And where I'm from we live like it's the latest attraction.

I would like to stand here and tell you that, from that moment on, everyone saw a change in James. But the change took time, and old habits are hard to break. It took him most if sixth year to get himself under control, where he didn't hex people in the hallways just for the fun of it.

As he started reining his impulses in, he noticed Lily looking at him with a different look in her eye. One day, he had run into Snape in the hallway. Snape had waited until James had passed, and then sent a curse at him behind his back.

Only James's quick reflexes had kept him from getting seriously injured. Sirius had grabbed Snape by the arms, preventing all chance of escape. James knew that this was the perfect opportunity to exact revenge.

But then he had thought of Lily.

You can't control yourself enough to resist the urge to torture Severus.

"Let him go, Padfoot," James said.

"Are you joking?" Sirius asked, looking at his best friend in astonishment.

"I said let him go," James repeated, in an even tone.

Sirius had released Snape, who ran away without a shred of dignity. James just watched him go.

"What was that all about, Prongs?" Sirius asked in a loud voice. "He cursed you, behind your back! Like a coward!"

"That's his problem, not mine," James said, shrugging. Turning to continue down the hallway, James had been astounded to see Lily standing against the wall. She looked strangely as if she were about to cry.

"What's the matter, Evans?" James had asked gently, walking up to stand directly in front of her, mindless of the fact that the rest of the Marauders were gaping at him in open-mouthed surprise.

"Lily," she whispered.

James frowned. "What?"

"Call me Lily," she said. "That is my name, you know."

"C'mon, Ev - Lily, I'm not that thick," James had replied, the corners of his mouth turning up, despite his efforts to keep a straight face.

"You could have fooled me," Lily answered, openly grinning now.

"Hey!" James replied, in a mock-indignant voice. "I resent that!"

"It's your own fault," she said. "You act like an idiot all the time, what did you expect?"

"Why, Lily Evans, I'm hurt," James said.

"Oh yeah?" Lily replied skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," James said seriously. "That one hit me right - here," he said in a sad voice, pointing to his elbow.

Lily had laughed aloud. James's heart had jumped at the sound, the laugh he had been trying to bring out for more than five years was echoing down the hallway, a merry, carefree sound.

James smiled. Things were definitely looking up.

Go on, Go on, your cruel intentions,

Won't solve your problems,

Everyone's gotta hit bottom,

Bottom out in the long run,

And those are the times you need love.