Late

"I'm so sorry I'm late professor," Lily said dashing into the Transfiguration classroom. She took a quick glance around the room, finding an empty seat next to Marlene.

Professor McGonagall sent her a sharp look. "Don't let it happen again, Miss Evans."

"Of course," Lily breathed, still panting slightly from her run down the corridor, and settled herself in her seat.

McGonagall turned back to the pedestal on which sat a chicken. "Now as I was saying, the combination of the concentration and the incantation…"

Lily heard a chuckle behind her. She turned, and after seeing who sat there turned right back and rolled her eyes.

"Nice, Evans."

"Not now, Potter."

She wasn't trying to push him away, at least not right now. Since they had arrived at Hogsmeade Station on September first, she and James had made a mutual effort to be polite, if not downright friendly, towards each other. The arrangement so far had worked out just fine. They still fought all the time - over really dumb things, Sirius would say – but the times they weren't fighting they worked surprisingly well together. Granted he didn't ask her out and she didn't reject him.

"Come on, Evans. Where were you? You're never late, you must have some excuse."

"Not now, Potter. Marlene, did I miss any notes from the first few minutes?"

Marlene looked at the board, where the first section of notes was magically fading. "Sorry Lily."

She whipped back around, her red hair flying with the motion. "Do either of you have those notes?"

Sirius shook his head but James held his up. "Why were you late?"

Lily stared. He was always late. Why did she need an excuse?

"Tell me," James said, waving his parchment just out of Lily's reach.

"You are awful." James grinned and ruffled his hair. "If you must know—"

"And I must."

"—I was talking to Dumbledore," Lily finished quickly.

James thought about that, thinking of the possible reasons why she would need to talk to him….

Lily, seeing James' hesitation, snatched the notes from his slightly relaxed hand, earning a loud "Hey!" from the bespectacled boy and attracting the attention of the professor.

"Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, I expect your full attention in my class! I expected much more from the Head Boy and Girl." Her lips were pressed together and her eyes strict. "That will be 10 points from Gryffindor. If I have to tell you off again it will be detention."

"Sorry," they mumbled in unison.

They glanced at each other. James' eyes had a look of mischief underneath the surface, but Lily's were guilty and truly apologetic. She had already disappointed McGonagall today, and James was not going to make it three.

The rest of the class went by quietly, with limited interaction between the Heads. She gave his notes back after copying them, and he thanked her.

After class, Lily, Marlene, Mary, and the Marauders made their way to the Great Hall.

"I'm still not sure I can recreate that feather pattern, though."

"Lily, of course you can. Maybe not on the first try, but if you add the turn after you say the incantation, and concentrate specifically you—"

"Moony, please stop. You're making me loose my appetite," Sirius said.

"As if that could ever happen, Sirius," Mary chimed in.

The seven of them chuckled as they sat down at the Gryffindor table, Sirius promptly stuffing his face with different varieties of meat.

"Slow down, mate," James laughed, taking a bite of his own food. Remus and Peter took large helpings as well.

The girls looked at the four of them, not surprised in the slightest.

"Marlene, what did you get for question three on the charms homework?" Lily asked.

"Which one was that about?"

"Seriously girls, please. Not at lunch," Sirius said.

"No, Padfoot, I was wondering about that one, too," James said.

They all looked at him. Since when did James Potter pay attention to the homework?

James looked at Lily. Please just go with it, he thought. He had vowed to be better this year, and he was keeping his word. He would do anything to stay in Lily Evan's good graces. For him, this year was all about her, about Lily, about Lily and James, together. But she didn't know that. She couldn't know that.

Lily looked at him from across the table - her expression was of question, surprise, and disbelief - and yet a smile rose to her lips.

"See," she began, still smirking. "At least one of you is sensible."

Remus turned around. "Hey!"

They laughed.

After Charms, Defense, and dinner, Lily sat with James near the Marauders in the Common Room so they could work on the prefect patrol schedule.

"No I can't patrol tomorrow night or Thursday," James said. "Quidditch," he added glancing over at Remus, after getting a you-lazy-arse look from Lily.

"Well I can't patrol on Wednesday or Friday. I'm tutoring." Lily said.

"Okay… pass me the schedule, will you?"

Lily passed the parchment to James, their hands touching as she placed it in his hands. His warm, calloused, strong, hands. They made eye contact for a split second, James looking away immediately, towards the schedule. But Lily kept looking at him. His black hair was messy as always, his glasses were sliding off his nose, and his eyes were deep in thought as he reviewed the parchment. He looks rather nice, she decided. She found herself thinking of the days when that messy hair would make her furious. Now, Lily was glad she had a friend in James Potter.

James could feel her eyes on him as he looked away. He almost blushed, but restrained it with the memory of her rejection. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up. But the way she's looking… No, that couldn't happen. He had to keep his cool. He had to show her how he could be right for her. How he could be perfect for her. Keep your cool.

"Shall we just do it tonight, then?"

"What?" Lily asked, snapping out of her stare. She quickly collected her thoughts. "Oh, yeah, tonight works for both of us… so tonight we'll patrol."

He flashed his winning smile, keeping it cool.

"Great."

Fifteen minutes before curfew Lily sat in one of the big arm chairs by the fire, attempting to get some of her transfiguration homework done.

"Hello, Evans," James said as he strutted over to her chair, sitting on the armrest.

Mary and Marlene, who were sitting on the adjacent couch, eyed the two of them. Lily didn't notice her friends, but James did. He smiled politely back at them, no hint of sarcasm or jokes in his eyes. Marlene looked at Mary, trying to convey the message that she knew they were both thinking: They're getting rather friendly. Mary raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement, her lips pulling up subtly at the corners.

"Hello, Potter."

"Ready to go?"

"Almost….. Yes," she said as she finished the question. She would have to finish after patrol. It was going to be a late night. "Let's go. Bye you two," she added to Marlene and Mary with a casual smile.

The pair of them made their way out of the portrait hole and down the seventh floor corridor. They took turns checking broom cupboards, making their way down to the first floor. Lily agreed to stop by the kitchens to appease James' stomach, but only because they had made haste coming down.

They got some Treacle Tart and sat alone in the Great Hall, the night sky beyond the ceiling was clear and star-ridden. It was truly beautiful. James sat across from her, quite like how he had at lunch. He watched her – perhaps too intently – as she scooped the tart on to her fork. She looked up at him and smiled, taking a bite. Her beautiful green eyes shone when she looked at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"What?" Lily asked, noticing his stare.

"Nothing," James smiled. He ran his hand through hair and pushed his glasses up, looking at her curiously.

"What?" she asked again.

"What did you talk to Dumbledore about?"

Lily looked down at the dessert between them, a curtain of red hair falling down and covering her face. She quickly tucked it behind her ear again, but as she did, James noticed a look of darkness in her eyes. She inhaled.

"Voldemort."

"Oh." That was not what he had expected. He saw the look in her eyes change. She was strong. She was brave. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She looked up at him, smiling just enough. "Things are getting worse. I'm worried. The attacks on Muggles are getting more common everyday, people are dying and more and more people are joining him… I'm worried he'll get to my family… that I won't have the chance to fight for them… to fight for me."

She wasn't sad about it. She knew the truth about the war and accepted it, preparing for the worse and hoping for the best. Lily was angry at Voldemort. He was hurting her friends, her family, and her world. She was not going to take this laying down.

Lily stood up.

"We should finish patrol."

James stood up, their plates vanishing as he did so, and walked along the edge of the table as she walked down the other side, her shoulders back and eyes forward. He didn't want her to worry any longer. When the table ended he went up to her and held her shoulders.

"Lily." She looked up at him, surprised, but she did not shy away. "You know, there are dozens of people on our side, too." He looked into her eyes, holding her gaze. "And once we're out of school, we'll join. And so will plenty of our year. It's not too late. Don't loose hope. I promise you, we will have the change to fight."

He pulled her in to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. After a few moments, she wrapped her arms around him, too. She leaned her head against his shoulder and hugged him tighter. Her hair tickled his chin and he ached to rest his head on hers, but for now this was enough.

"Thank you."

She pulled away and smiled at him sincerely.

"You're welcome," James said, an incomplete smile on his face – his smile was genuine, but his eyes betrayed him. He wanted to always be there for her, to be able to hold her tight and tell her she'd be safe forever. But he knew that could never be the case; she simply didn't see him that way.

As they walked towards the dungeons, continuing their route, Lily couldn't help but think about the careful concern in James' eyes as he looked at her.

Lily and James were among the few people left in the Common Room when they returned from patrol.

Lily went right to the couch by the fire and started working on the charms homework. James looked over her shoulder.

"You haven't done that yet either?"

"Well, I was a bit busy, Potter."

"Oh I know, I know," he chuckled. "Do you mind if I work here?" James asked, pointing to the seat next to her.

"What? Oh, yeah, go ahead," Lily said, distracted.

They worked well together, asking each other questions as needed. The other students left one by one, and soon they too were finished.

"James, have you started the Potions essay yet?"

"No, Lily, I haven't. It was assigned today."

"Well when were you planning on starting it?" Lily asked, turning to look at him. "It's due on Friday."

"Clam down, Evans. I'll start it right now if you're that worried about my Potions marks," James smiled, facing her as well.

"Oh don't tease me, Potter," Lily said, pointing her finger at him and leaning forward, smiling despite herself.

"I wasn't trying to, Lily," said James, still laughing, but at a considerably lower volume.

Lily paused to look at him, a smile still glued to both of their faces. He looked so happy.

James noticed the way she looked at him again. Like she was trying to understand him, like she was seeing something new.

His impulses took over. He saw her smiling lips and looked into her sparkling green eyes. He leaned in quickly, desperate to be closer to her. When she didn't immediately turn away, he closed the gap between them, kissing her suddenly and softly. The feeling of his lips on hers was as perfect as he had imagined, but she hadn't moved… As he prepared to pull away, he felt the slight pressure of her lips change and she kissed him back, ever so slightly leaning into him.

He leaned back carefully, ending the kiss quickly.

All too soon he became aware of his actions. He could have ruined their perfectly built up friendship, their chemistry, their chances! All he had worked towards these past few months… they could be nothing now. He looked down at her, finding her eyes closed and her face calm.

"Sorry," he said, watching her eyes open slowly at the sound of his voice.

Lily looked at him, finally seeing what she had been looking for. There he was, the new and improved James Potter, there to help and there to love.

"Oh, don't be," Lily said firmly, leaning in to kiss him again.

Her lips were gentle, but insistent, against his. James embraced her with an enthusiasm that pulled them both down to the couch. Their lips danced with each other, their hands wandering, their feet tangling. Lily ran her fingers through his hair, he smiled at the feeling. How long he had waited for this moment. One of his hands was at the small of her back, pulling her in, and the other was at her neck, his fingers woven into her long red waves. She smiled too, feeling his grin against her lips.

She leaned back too look at him. Both of them smiling, both of them suddenly cautious.

"Sorry," Lily said, realizing their position.

James smile widened.

"Oh, don't be." He laughed, so relieved to see her as happy as he was.

It was better late than never.

A/N: Hey there.

So this felt different to me. It was mostly from James' view, for one. I also focused (very little, but more than usual) on plot, and I don't know if that took away from the L/J relationship and story.

I was also too lazy to edit it so I'm just kind of hoping there are connections and the story flows… sorry if it doesn't. As I was writing it, I kept changing where I wanted it to go, and I couldn't really find an inspiration, so it took a while. But hopefully it all worked out in the end!

Please review! You are great!

Charlotte