Jily Oneshots (pt2)

Friends

The Marauders were an infamous group in Hogwarts, renowned for the trouble making and pranking. Lily personally thought they were funny, even if their pranks sometimes went too far. Lily had, before fifth year, regarded them as easy-going students. But she didn't know much past that. She didn't particularly spend time with them; they had never been her friends. The majority of her time had been spend studying, or hanging out with her best friends, Elizabeth and Annabelle.

But then Fifth Year arrived, and her world was invaded by them. Or more specifically, James Potter. He had asked her out incessantly since that year. He would ask her out whenever he saw her: in the hallway, outside on the Pitch, in the classroom via notes, in the medium of messages from Sirius or Remus, even, mysteriously in her room. How he got up there, she'd never know. But that was the aura of the Marauders. She, every single time, refused to accept his proposals. She, at first, had been flattered by his asking her out. But she soon grew impatient with his persistent manner. As his popularity flourished, his pomposity grew. And she resented that more than his other unadmirable qualities.

His black hair stood out in every direction, his hazel eyes gaze probingly at everything he encountered, full of mischief and sparkle. He was extremely tall, around six foot three, much taller than her five foot six. He would tower over her when he asked her out, and she would glare up at him, refusing him over and over again. Yet he refused to give up. Even she admitted his persistency was amazing.

But, halfway into Sixth Year, he'd matured a little, and Lily began to see James beyond his arrogant exterior. She saw what his best friends saw. She remembered pleasant nights spent in the Common Room doing homework with Elizabeth, Annabelle, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, all having fun laughing with one another, and she found herself becoming good friends with the Marauders. Sirius, with his elegant black hair falling into his face, would lounge on a chair, flirting with Annabelle. Meanwhile, Remus and Elizabeth would converse about everything, arguing over the minutest details of history. Peter would be listening intently and playing along with whoever was nearest him, often Sirius and Annabelle. That left James and Lily to talk, thus forcing Lily to forge a friendship with James. That friendship had eventually led Lily to have a crush on James, and that resulted in them dating.

Over the next two years, Lily and James shared an off-and-on again relationship. They would date, then break up, and yet they always came back to each other. It was an endless cycle. They would be happily dating when some irrelevant reason broke them up. Then, they would brood about their lost partner respectively, and then their misery would cease once they were back together again. It had been two months since they had last broken up, and Lily and James had remained close friends.

Once they graduated from Hogwarts, they had lived in flats in the same building, enjoying being free from education, doing work and hanging out. However, now things were going to change. Lily was moving to America. She had been offered a job as a Head Department official for the American Ministry of Magic. She'd been thrilled when she received the offer. She clearly remembered the interview from a month back:

Lily walked into the foyer of the large building, her stilettos echoing off the marble floor of the vast room. She was wearing a skirt with a pink shirt, and her shoes had been given to her by Elizabeth last Christmas. They were beautiful and she loved them. She ambled up to the front desk and she spoke politely to the secretary, "Hello, I'm Lily Evans, here to see Felicity Williams at ten thirty."

The secretary smiled, "of course. Come sit and she'll be down in a moment."

Lily smiled and said a thank you. Then she walked to the leather seating and plopped down on the plush couch. She felt anxious as she anticipated the arrival of Felicity. Her current boss, Jeremy, had called her into his office and he had told her to go here. He hadn't said what for. So here she was, no idea what was going on.