A/N: I may be a judge for the Houses Competition, but that doesn't mean I can't write from the prompts in the competition when I feel inspired to do so ;)

Category (Standard)

Prompt ("I thought you meant the other woods,")

Word Count (750-1,500 / 1,458)

Theme: (Love Conquers All)

_-~** The Wood Lilies **~-_

Damn her logic. Damn her kindness. Damn her loyalty.

The last two days have been complete nightmares in their own merit, but today is already the worst day of the week. When James challenged her to stop calling him a total sod without getting to know him first, she knew it would only solidify her disdain for the pompous Gryffindor. Sometimes she wondered why James and Severus weren't swapped, but only the Sorting Hat can know a person's true character.

Lily decided yesterday that this must be the reason why she accepted his challenge with a grin and a snort. There's nothing about James that she couldn't already know – they do share the same common room and class schedule every year, for five years now. James Potter is as easy to read as the books she studies!

It was going to be easy, within reason. Dealing with James bloody Potter is never easy but he doesn't do much else besides swagger from class to class and visit Hogsmeade every chance he gets. Lily already did much of the same with less arrogance and quieter company. She had been proven right – until today.

Today… Today, he had asked her to meet him by the edge of the woods near the Black Lake. She questioned Remus, the only boy from the group she actually trusted, whether or not this was part of James' routine. Remus assured her that every two or three days James does leave very early in the morning. Unfortunately, he had no idea where he went or what for, so whatever it is – Lily is about to be proven wrong.

She figures that this is why she was in such a sour mood when her alarm quill tickled her nose this morning. Lily didn't want to get out of bed before the sun had risen, and not for James Potter of all people. It took her ages to drag herself out of bed, and picking out clothes was a trying task. In the end, she didn't care to impress her fellow Gryffindor and settled on an oversized sweatshirt from her father's alma mater and raggedy denim shorts.

By the time she got outside, though, she knew she was running late. There's no way to go back now. If she's lucky, James won't ask. After all, Sirius Black is late to literally every class. How James, Remus, and Peter get into their seats on time but never Sirius is a magic that even Lily can't hope to understand.

As she approaches the location that James designated at dinner, she can see immediately that there's nothing there. Why did he ask her here so early in the morning for nothing? Without even trying, Lily rolls her eyes and trudges down the hill.

"You're late," a voice booms unexpectedly from behind a nearby tree. Lily stops in her place and turns towards James poking his head around the trunk, brows arched and sideways grin in place. Irritating as always, she thinks to herself.

"I though you meant the other woods?" Lily tried, though not very hard, if she's honest. In an attempt to match his cocky attitude, she sports her own lopsided smirk followed by a soft laugh. Not for one minute will James Potter think that she isn't completely in control of her actions. She's late on purpose.

And it's mostly true, so is it really a lie?

James starts clapping. "You're learning! I knew this would be a fun challenge."

Lily groans. Well, she wants to groan but she doesn't want James to know how frustrated she is with him right now. Rather than displaying her clear disinterest in being outside during the sunrise for what appear to be no reason whatsoever, Lily gestures to the nothingness ahead of them. "Why are we out here, exactly? It seems to be a tight lipped secret, since Remus couldn't even tell me what to expect."

"I don't really care for my friends to know that I'm a gardener, honestly," James admits in a cool tone that he usually reserves for flirting with any girl that will give him the time of day - which is a far cry more than Lily feels is appropriate.

Lily laughs at him, "But you're practically failing Herbology!"

"Do you really believe everything that I say?" As soon as he asks it, Lily realizes that she's been cornered. If she tells him 'no' then she's proper lying to him, since she does generally think that he tells the truth about his many boasts; but if she says 'yes' then he has leverage on her. James can say that she might not hate him as much as she thinks.

And if she doesn't say anything, he might guess that she's thinking about what each answer to the question means. James always says that she's overthinking things. The question has crossed her mind before: if I'm overthinking, then you must be too. Lily shrugs her shoulders. "I heard that you needed a tutor is all." And she had heard such a thing a few weeks into the new term. If he wanted to pass his O.W.L.s, then he had been recommended a tutor.

James nodded but didn't reply aloud. Raising his wand, he started reciting spells that were only vaguely familiar. Lily had read about them somewhere, or had heard teachers reference them. They were illusionary charms, some of them protective spells. What could James Potter need to protect at the school that isn't already being protected by the school? Lily sneaks in closer so that she can see what is behind all of the magic he's set up.

Once the scenery reveals itself in full, Lily's mouth hangs loose. "A garden?"

"It's a bloody garden," Lily repeats herself, this time with an air of exasperation and amusement. James really was hiding a garden from his friends. "I never would have guessed!"

"And neither would anyone else," James affirms. "I'm not the one who needs a tutor. That's the rumor I started so that nobody had to know that I'm tutoring Severus. Professor Sprout asked if I would tutor him in exchange to relieved of homework for the term."

Lily almost didn't hear James reveal that he's been tutoring her best friend. She had known that Severus was struggling with Herbology this year, though it made no sense to her. He was brilliant with potion making, and he'd always performed well in the class in years past. When he admitted that he was one more failed assignment from having to take Herbology again next year regardless of his O.W.L. score, well, she had offered to tutor him.

I already have one, he had said, but if it doesn't work out, I'll let you know.

It had been a strange thing to say but not impossible. Tutors aren't there to fit with a student; they're there to help teach them. Alas, each student does learn differently, and Lily understood as much affecting one's ability to mesh with a specific tutor. She let it go without further questioning. As long as he was getting help, she didn't care from whom it came.

"Don't tell him that I told you," James asks. "We're not friends, I still think he's the worst, but he only agreed to get help if nobody knew the arrangement."

Lily glanced at the garden. Some rows of plants were better off than others. It quickly settles on her mind that this must be where he's been working with Severus. That's why he used so many charms to conceal this area. But if she's down here… Then that must mean that Severus is not far behind! "I should go," Lily mutters, wanting to give her friend the veil of dignity he deserves.

Before she moves to leave the garden, a patch of lilies catch her eye. Wood lilies, specifically, like the ones from the river by her house. Severus must have asked to grow them for her. A true smile parts her lips, but a sad feeling follows. She doesn't know why.

"They keep dying," James states with a ginger tone. "He was upset because he couldn't figure out what was wrong. I've put down enchanted soil. I figured it would put him in a better mood for our lessons."

Lily put a hand on James' arm, squeezing very gently, before nodding her head. Severus has a well-meaning heart, though he is misguided by his anger, and it couldn't be more apparent than with these wood lilies. Sighing in acceptance, in defeat, and in surprising joy, Lily turns her body just slightly; enough to meet James' gaze. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

Maybe - just maybe - James Potter isn't as bad as she's thought after all.