Should I admit that I don't have much hope for Lily's parenting skills, either??
I've never read anything in canon that points to a well-rounded, self-respecting witch falling for James Potter. If, as a teenager, an old friend of mine (regardless of how odd that friend was) was picked on mercilessly by a gang of popular students, those popular students would have been on my 'hate' list and most likely no amount of groveling/good behavious would have freed them from said list.