Hate Is A Strong Word (A Jily Fanfic)//FINISHED!

A Recap of Events

Yay I'm back with more to the story! Sorry for taking so long.
Also, I feel that I haven't really explained what I felt Mary and Marlene looked like, so I'm going to try and start adding more of those details. I also went back to chapter one to add their descriptions in there, too.

Lily
"I KNEW IT!" Mary shouted. Other Gryffindors who were sitting next to them at the Halloween feast turned to stare at her, but she barely seemed to notice them. Lily had just told Mary, Alice, and Marlene about her day with James. When she had gotten to the part about the kiss, Mary had lost her mind.

"Be quiet!" Lily commanded her. Her face was flushed with embarrassment. Mary batted her eyelashes in a mock imitation of Lily. She pushed out her he delicate pink lips and pretended to blow kisses to the air. She twirled strands that had escaped from her pale, blonde ponytail, causing Alice to almost snort out her drink from laughing.

Although Mary was trying to mock Lily, she still managed to look perfectly pretty and actually flirty as she did it. Guys always seemed to like Mary. She, like Alice, was dating a boy who had already graduated from Hogwarts. She'd always been one to love talking about relationships. Although she would have no trouble finding a guy to be with in school, she tended to focus on meddling with the relationships of her friends.

Lily hit Mary playfully, although she glanced sideways to see if James had seen anything from done the table. When her eyes found him, she saw that he was also reciting a story to his friends. His hazel eyes were bright and full of joy. He was practically beaming. Lily couldn't help but smile at the look that was on his face.

Marlene elbowed her with a smirk. Eager to get the attention off of herself, Lily turned to her.

"So, Marlene," she said, "how was your day with Sirius?"

A touch of red splattered across her usually cocoa-colored cheek bones. Lily grinned at her friend.

"Well..." Marlene said. Alice and Mary were questioning her with their gazes. Marlene was tapping the table nervously. She didn't like that the attention had suddenly turned to her. She tucked one of her brown ringlet curls behind her ear before she spoke.

"Nothing much," Marlene said simply. Lily heard the nervousness in her voice. She couldn't hold it back anymore.

"I saw you snogging Sirius in the Three Broomsticks!" Lily blurted out. Alice sucked in a shocked breath as Mary smiled even brighter than she had before.

"Marlene congratulations!" Alice cried. Lily laughed at the look of shock on Marlene's face. Marlene's dark eyes found Lily and glared at her for a moment.

"What?" Lily asked, holding her hands up as if to say she was innocent. "Did you expect me not to tell them?"

"I didn't realize that you saw." Marlene muttered.

"That's probably because you were busy..."

"SHUT UP!" she bellowed. Her brown curls bounced as she shook her head. Lily and the others laughed playfully.

James
As he finished his recap of the day with Lily Evans, James could feel his smile spreading wider over his face. Remus was smiling, clearly happy for both of his friends as Peter, who had just been stuffing his face with food from the feast, gave James a smile that was full of chicken and different sauces.

Sirius was grinning, too, but his look was more joking.

"That's all very nice, Prongs," Sirius said with a wave of his hand. "A little snogging is nice and all, but wait until you hear about my day."

"I don't have to," James said, catching Sirius off guard. "I saw you snogging Marlene in the Three Broomsticks."

Sirius only gaped at him. He had obviously expected it to be some grand news and was disappointed that James already knew.

"Is this true, Padfoot?" Remus asked him.

"In fact, it is," Sirius said with his head held high. "It was quite wonderful." He paused. "She is quite wonderful."

He added the last part silently, almost to himself, but James had heard it. He hit Sirius lightly on the arm.

"Look how far we've come, eh," James whispered into his ear. Sirius grinned at that. They had come a long way from being hated by Marlene and Lily to being their dates.

The food in front of them vanished suddenly. Professor Dumbledore spoke a few words, wishing everyone a good Holiday, before sending everyone off to bed. James met Lily at the end of the Gryffindor table.

She smiled at him as he approached. The sight of her caused him to remember in a sudden flash how it felt to kiss her, how soft her hand was in his, how she smelled of sweet citrus...

"You okay, Potter?" she asked him.

"Oh...um...of course."

She smiled at him again before turning on her heel to start their evening patrol of the halls. As they walked, they didn't speak of the events of the day, but of upcoming events in their life.

They spoke of classes and testing, of friends and relationships, of duties and meetings, and of the upcoming dance that they had planned for the Seventh Years.

"I scheduled it two weeks before Christmas, so anyone who went home for the Holiday wouldn't miss it." Lily said as they passed the Hufflepuff Commonroom entrance.

"Are you going home for holiday?" he asked her. "Because Sirius and I are."

"I don't think so," she said quietly. He could see on her face that if was clearly an uncomfortable subject.

"Ah," he said, not wanting to question her further. "Well, it's still nice that you considered that we want to go to the dance, too."

She smiled at him and a question suddenly arose in his mind.

"Would you want to go with me?" he asked her. "As a date?"

She looked confused for a moment.

"To the Christmas dance slash ball thingy," he said, throwing his hands into the air.

Usually James would have taken time to prepare how he would ask her, but a sudden confidence had overtaken him. She stared him. Suddenly, his legs felt like jello.

"Um...unless you've already found another date," he sputtered out. She rolled her eyes at that.

"Ugh, you're so thick sometimes," she said, throwing her hands up into the air in exasperation. "Did nothing happen between us today?"

"So is that a yes, then?" James asked.

"Ugh!" she said, walking faster.

"Well, if you're not going to give me a straight answer, then I'll just have to ask someone else." he teased. She laughed at that.

"I've been waiting for you to do that since third year!" she said with a teasing grin.

"Ouch, that hurts Evans," he replied, crossing his arms. He loved that he could be playful with her like this. "Aren't you glad I stuck around, though?" he asked.

"Yes," she said quietly. "I really am."