Lily sighed.
Lots of girls at Hogwarts would have given anything for James Potter to repeatedly confess his eternal love for them, but frankly, there's nothing Lily wanted less. OWLs were coming up, and the last thing she needed was a distraction; there was a picture of Potter and his stupid gang right next to the dictionary definition of 'distraction'.
As, Potter sang the last verse of the poem, 'So, will you go out with me, E—vans?', she shrugged.
'Let me see, umm…..' Lily pretended to think as James' face lit up.
She walked up to him, her face dangerously close to his, and her lips formed one word, 'NO.' Though unhappy at her umpteenth rejection, James had to supress a smirk, this girl was something different.
James began singing a new song, which really sounded like something Peeves would have composed, but smacking him over the head with her Potions textbook, she threw her braid on her shoulder and walked away, more bored with his tactics than angry.
'Could he come up with a single way to ask her out which didn't make him seem like the utter and complete git he is? I mean, seriously. A poem, engraving ILY L.E on that stupid Snitch of his, a song Merlin, what is with that boy?' Lily thought, as she shot a hex at Potter who was still trying to follow her.
As James danced madly around the Common Room as a result of her hex, Lily was, at last, able to get away. Screeching 'Shut it, Black!' to Sirius who had tears in his eyes from laughing that hard, she disappeared around a corner.
Finally finding some peace and quiet in her own dormitory, she pulled out a huge pile of books from her bag, and began to study. A few hours later, a voice rang out from behind the books, 'Evans, did you borrow the whole library? Pince won't let me borrow more than one at a time, and you get a, what, entire section?' Kyla spoke in her clear voice, with just that little twinge of playfulness.
'That is your fault. You did get chocolate all over the last book you borrowed.' Lily teased with a small smile playing at her lips.
'No one asked for your version of things, smartarse.' She plopped onto her bed, and clutching and aiming her scarlet pillow, she threw the pillow at a laughing Lily, ensuing in a pillow fight. Feathers flew around as a redhead and blondie screeched and laughed.
Ten minutes later, Kyla was asleep on her bed. Lily just sighed; she still had three books to go. She screwed up her face in concentration and quickly went through the ingredients for a Calming Draught; she had a hunch she'd need it soon enough. An hour passed, and Lily Evans reread the last page, and closed it. She banged her head on her table lightly, exhausted. She pulled her hair out of its elaborate braid and ran her long and delicate fingers through her crimson locks. Pulling her hair up into a bun, she rummaged through her trunk, and settled for her oversized Beatles T-Shirt.
As she packed away her books, her head shot up, as she realised she left her Potions textbook in the Common Room. She hadn't even finished her homework! She swore under her breath, and began thinking. She was dead tired but at the same time, could she risk losing the book? Imagining Professor Slughorn's face if that happened, she tiptoed out of the girls' dormitories.
Lily was halfway down the stairs when she realised that all she was wearing was her shirt. Her face went as red as her hair, but she calmed down once she remembered that it was two in the morning, and that no one would be up. She crept down, not wanting to wake anyone, her footsteps inaudible. Her bare legs felt cold against the December chill, but she rubbed them together, telling herself it would only be a while before she would be asleep in her warm bed. Blowing on her palms, she neared the Common Room.
A warm yellow light shone from the room as Lily thought, 'Is someone in there? Merlin, how am I going to go in?' She had left her wand in her room, and had no way of knowing if anyone was in there. She listened for a few seconds, and though she thought she heard a laugh, she still went in.
'Beatles, is it, Evans? Got to hand it to anyone who listens to 'em. Tellin' ya Prongs, she's too perfect for you.' Sirius' smooth voice rang out from behind Lily.
As she whipped her head around, Sirius winked at Lily, his mouth curling into a smile. "Ah, shut it, Padfoot.'
James shoved him off the couch and pretended to smooth out his hair, when all he did was mess it up more. Sirius cleared his throat and had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing.
'Well then, I'll leave you two to whatever you want to do.' He raised his voice on purpose waking up the sleeping Pettigrew and Lupin. Remus threw something at Sirius' head and went back to sleeping half on the floor and couch, and Peter rolled around until he fell back asleep.
Kyla came grumbling down the stairs, her usually perfect blond hair sticking up in every direction. She caught James' eye and mumbled, 'Next time you have your late night visits with Potter boy here, try not to wake me up.'
Kyla rubbed her eyes and looked around he deserted room, and caught sight of Sirius. When their eyes met, they both went inexplicably red. Kyla turned on her heel, and rushed to her room, Sirius did the same.
Lily's eyes searched the room for her book, and found it clutched in James' hand. 'Potter, my book?' James went red and awkwardly held it out.
'I meant to bring it to you, but Merlin knows what your stairs become. I remembered Slughorn gave us the moonstone assignment, so I did yours. It is Saturday tomorrow, I know there's no school, but if I know anything about you, it's that you finish off your work as soon as possible. I tried the best I could, though you might want to edit it a bit. I tried coming up a couple of times, but it didn't work. Sorry about that.'
Lily took her book from his hand along with the foot long essay and studied his face. He was sincere, and he really meant it. It was almost something that a normal human being would do. When she told him exactly what she thought, James smiled a genuine smile, one that spread all over his chiseled face. It was nothing like the half smiles, the 'seductive' smiles he'd give her every day, it was a dorky smile that brought a smile toher face.
Lily smiled back at him, the light from the flames flickered in her eyes, and turned to go back upstairs.
'Lily, one last thing.' She stood facing him as James winked, 'That Beatles shirt is amazing.' 'Not as much as you though!' He added before whirling off into his own dormitories.
'Still the same.' she muttered as she pulled up her blankets around herself, her eyes drooping under the weight of fifteen library books. But that night as she slept, it wasn't the warmth of the fire that turned her cheeks red, it was James Potter.