December 1976

When Annabelladonna got to the entrance of the gryffindor common room where she was meant to meet the marauders she saw only Remus. He was sitting on the ground with his head resting against the wall and his eyes scanning the book in front of him. He looked relaxed, like he didn't have a care in the world. Annabelladonna liked seeing the normally tense boy so at peace. Even if he avoided her at all cost that didn't stop her from worrying about him each time fresh scars appeared on his face accompanied with a fake smile. The girl sat down on the floor a few feet away from Remus. She remained quiet as she pulled her legs against her chest and placed her chin on top of her knees.

"The boys are getting ready they will be down in a minute. Do you want to wait in the common room?" Remus gestured lazily towards the painting of the Fat Lady

"Sure, I am quite curious to see what it looks like." When Remus heard her words he muttered the password to the portrait that guarded one of his favorite places. Remus loved the instant heat you felt upon entering, it filled every part of your body with warmth and made you feel safe. He loved curling up by the fire and taking small naps: He loved getting absolutely fucking wasted at the parties they held to celebrate Gryffindors latest Quidditch victories: But most of all he loved it when he and the boys were sprawled out across the common room, whether they were planning their next prank or just enjoying each other's company Remus was always fond of those moments.

The door swung open and with it drifted the muffled noise of laughter. When Remus and Bella stepped into the room they noticed Lily Evans surrounded by a few girls. It seemed like she was so enthralled in the story she was telling that she didn't notice the two walk in.

Annabelladonna had talked to Lily a few times and she quickly found that no matter how bad of a day she'd had Lily could always manage to make her smile. There was just a happy aura around the red headed girl that never seemed to waver. No one could be sad around Lily for too long, no matter how hard they tried to stay down she always found a way to make them see the positives. It was almost as if Lily was some holy being, she held a power over people's emotions, she graced them will warmth and kindness. Lily was viewed as an angel by many. She was one of the nicest people at Hogwarts, the only person she wasn't nice to was James Potter.

If Lily were to make a list of all of the people she hated, it would only be two or three names, and the Potter boy's name would be number one. He annoyed her to know end and somehow every little thing he did managed to get on her nerves. You wouldn't want to be there if he asked her out when she's having a bad day because the small girl could turn into a blazing ball of fire if she wanted. Even if Lily was only angry at one person she unknowingly made everyone feel as though they wronged her somehow. The redhead spoke with such a passion that you could practically hear the hurt and the strain in her voice if she was speaking too loudly. Lily Evans was a fallen angel when aggravated she shot down in a burning blaze of glory but when her emotions faded and she floated back into her normal soft spoken ways. The blinding red fury dulled into a delicate whiter hat gracefully descended balk into a state of calmness. The girl struck like an earthquake, if you aggravated her she could bring your house down with one fell swoop but she would eventually calm and gracefully come to a halt. James saw her anger far more than he would like to. Lily hated every single thing he did: she hated the way he would never fully tie his tie: she hated how his hair rested atop his head in wild untamed curls: she hated how god damn persistent he was: she just hated everything single thing about James Potter.

When Lily finally noticed the pairs presence a smile fell upon her lips and she politely excused herself from the conversation she was in. The angelic girl practically floated over to them, her steps were so light it made her look as if she was hovering.

"Annabelladonna, have you come to see what you're missing out on." Lily said gesturing to Gryffindor's spacious common room.

"I'm afraid not Lils, Remus and I are unfortunately waiting for three idiots to join us."

"Ah, good luck then, they seemed especially rowdy at breakfast."

"Yeah, I'm kind of scared. James said that he had something to give me and knowing him it's probably going to blow up in my face."

"At least if he does give you a gift that explodes then he'll get detention with Professor McGonagall."

"He likes detention with her though, I think that's part of the reason he gets in trouble so often."

"He likes detention? How could someone like detention?" Lily couldn't understand what it was like to get in trouble and not bury yourself in guilt. The concept that James liked the trouble he attracts was not a new thought but she had always assumed he at least hated the consequences.

"I don't really know, I think it reminds James of his family. I see a lot of similarities between McGonagall and his mother, especially when they're angry. Euphemia has the same talent of being equally as terrifying and she is loving" (which was practically limitless.)

"He must care for his family a lot if the memories with them make detention bearable. I got detention once and it was downright torture, maybe that's just because I had it with filch but it was awful."

"Yeah I've never sought out detention, most of the time it was just my friends and I doing stupid stuff. We never caused anyone pain, it was all harmless, the janitors just didn't like us though. We usually cleaned it all ourselves but looking back it was kinda disrespectful of us to make a mess."

"At least you cleaned it up, that's way more than Potter and his band of toe rags can say. Besides you Remus you're not an idiot."

Suddenly James Potter had appeared at the bottom of stairs as if the mere mention of his name summoned him.

"I heard my name, Lilypad I know you've always been madly in love with me but now you're not even hiding it."

"Piss off Potter, I'd advise that you leave before the sight of you makes me nauseated."

"You must be mistaking the butterflies in your stomach for nausea, silly girl. Sadly I am not here for you, I must steal ickle Donnikins if that is alright."

James didn't wait for an answer as he looped his arm through Annabelladonna's and started leading her towards the other boys. Once they were out of sight James immediately deflated, he let out the breath he was so consciously holding and let his shoulders sink. They were a few strides in front of the other boys now and the pair had started making their way to the passageway that would take them to Hogsmede. The other three marauders were to engrossed in their conversation to know that James and Bella were ahead. Remus and Sirius were talking quietly and Peter ,who was in between them, was hanging on to every word they said. James started fiddling with Bella's sleeve, he was still a nervous wreck from seeing Lily.

"I didn't know you knew my Lilian. Does she ever talk about me? If she does is it good or bad? Should I have asked her out back there? What if she would say yes and I just missed my chance? Why aren't you answering?"

"James I would answer if you let me speak, calm down. Take a deep breath, you don't need to be worrying about this. If she would've said yes back there then she would say yes next time. You didn't miss anything, you did just fine."

"You really think she would say yes?"

"It's a possibility James but you've gotta start laying it off a little bit. She gets really overwhelmed and maybe if you turned the intensity down a bit she would start to gravitate towards you more naturally rather than it being forced."

"I just really want her to like me. I don't know how much longer of this I can take."

"It'll all be okay in the end Jameson, if she doesn't like you then it's not meant to be."

"But we are meant to be I know it. I get this feeling every time I see her and I can't stop it. I just wanna be closer to her, even if it was just as friends. Having her near me just makes everything better, even if she is insulting me she just makes me feel so alive."

"Yeah I know what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Remember Ares's friend Gwaine, he came around all the time while you were staying with us."

"I think so. Is he the Lily to your me?"

"He made my life so much brighter. He added color and made every moment with him seem like we were living in a beautiful painting. Without him it's all sorts of muddy grays and lonely days."

"That's exactly how it is with my Lily. I just wish she would see me for something other than an arrogant toe rag, I don't even know what a bloody toe rag is."

"Don't worry James. I'm sure she'll notice you someday and if she doesn't then she doesn't deserve you. Come on, let's go get you a butterbeer."

1738 words

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