Submitted: 24th March 2009
Characters: James Potter and Lily Evans
Timeline: Their seventh year
Rating: K+

Just one

"One date, Evans, one."

"No, Potter. And get you're hands away from my text book, you're getting it covered in soil."

James Potter sighed. He didn't get it, why couldn't she say yes? Did she really think he was that bad? All he wanted was a couple of measly hours where he could sneak her down to Hogsmeade, using one of his many ingeniously discovered hidden passages. Once there, he would proceed to buy her sweets and chocolate and other such things with which to woo her. When that stage was complete, she would agree to go on a second date with him, only because he treated her so well, and he would take her out to dinner after sneaking her back to Godric's Hollow with the nifty use of an invisibility cloak, floo powder and McGonagall's fireplace. These two would lead a third date where he would simply take her out on a boat in the lake, because she liked things simple sometimes, and allow her to read one of the books he would have bought her especially (the book he had in mind was in continuous flux because her darn friends kept buying it for her first) while he pretended to read his own, though he would most definitely just be watching her smile with the wind blowing her stunning hair across her bewitching face. Then she would be completely smitten and apologise profusely for the cruel ways she'd treated him over the past years, an apology he would refuse to accept because he would be sure she knew that she couldn't really do anything wrong. Finally he would propose (he was still working out a few kinks in that section of the plan) and she would jump at the chance to marry him and they would live happily ever after. Not that he was thinking too far ahead, or anything.

"Do you want mine? We could trade. Mine's completely dirt free, see?" He grabbed his own book, not noticing the smudges of soil which were rubbed on to the cover by his fingers, and pushed it in front of Lily's face.

She allowed her eyes to focus quickly on the book. Her nose twitched. Slowly and precisely she lifted her head to look James straight in the eye and rose an eyebrow. His smile wavered. "Um, what?"

Lily glanced down at her bubotuber, making sure it was firmly planted, before lifting her eyes back to his face. "Look at the front of your book, Potter."

He did so and, rather ashamedly, replaced his book on the table. "Ok, don't have mine. How about I buy you a drink to make up for it instead? The three broomsticks, you and me. Or maybe the Hog's head, if you want go somewhere quiet. Basically anywhere you want. Oh! How about a picnic?" He grinned triumphantly. No girl could say no to a picnic, they are far too romantic.

"No."

He huffed, throwing his arms in the air. "Why not? What did I ever do to you? …You know, that was more permanent than died hair and missing clothes and harmless little pranks like that…"

She looked at him.

He blamed Snivellus for this, he really did. All those times James had simply been getting some justice for his, ever so slightly, bruised ego and Lily would wrongly decide the entire battle was James' fault. Maybe he should throw some hexes in the Slytherin direction some time tomorrow… When Lily wasn't around, of course.

"Is it really that hard for you to be around me?" He ducked around her as she moved to the next pot, crumbling soil into the bottom.

"Yes."

He gaped. "That was quite harsh."

"Tough."

"Evans!" He chose to resort to whining and begging. Not that he should be embarrassed because this was Lily Evans he bargaining with. "Come on! You're being incredibly judgmental! I mean, you're never nice to me, but I refuse to take it to heart because I know that you are really an amazingly kind person who is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the out!

"I've got an idea. Just one hour, you and me. We could just get to know each other a bit more. You know, chat, share our childhood stories, our hopes and dreams…"

"No." Lily carefully planted the last bubotuber seedling, her teeth slightly bared, and began to pile soil on top.

"You're not helping me here!" He moved round to hover behind her, staring at the back of her head as she continued to work. Bloody hell, her hair was so thick and wavy. And the colour! It was like fire! Impishly, he wondered if she'd notice this time if he attempted to touch it…

"At least two metres away from me, now, Potter. And I don't want to help you. I'd assumed that was fairly obvious. Actually, you were supposed to be helping me pot these darn plants but that didn't seem to happen." She tapped the last of the soil and clapped her hands together, so the excess fell on to the floor.

James slowly took two steps back. "I couldn't do that. You looked so at home with the gardening. And so peaceful. Why would I take that time away from you?" Look at the way it swished when she moved! It was mesmerising! Hair shouldn't be that….swishy!

And then she whirled round and all he could see were those amazing green, no, emerald eyes and the way her red lips stretched, puckered and relaxed as she told him off. Again.

"You were the one who got us this detention in the first place! Why would you send more paper planes if you saw I wasn't taking them?! And why, in Merlin's name, would you not stop when you reach ten? Or even twelve?! And that look on my face, that's not peace. That's exhaustion. It's nearly bloody one in the morning and I have been potting these plants for hours, on my own, and my back hurts and my feet hurt and my eyes hurt and I want to go to bed and it's only Wednesday and you have spent the last five hours talking and talking and hassling me and I swear if it takes me more than fifteen minutes to get back to my dormitory, wash my hands, change and climb into bed, you will wish you were never born." She finished her tirade with a glare and a promise that he knew she would uphold; she always did.

She bent down quickly, resting a knee on the floor, to put her text book away and untwist the strap on her bag. James was instantly hypnotised by the small clumps of hair that fell across her face like a curtain. She was perfect. So perfect, in fact, that he didn't quite notice the way she paused and tapped her knee with her long, elegant fingers.

With a barely audible sigh, she rose to her full, relatively unimpressive, height, her bag on her left shoulder, and turned to face James. For ever so slightly longer than necessary, Lily peered at him, as if trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle. He began to shift uncomfortably under her gaze.

Raising her eyes briefly to the glass ceiling, she quickly managed to dispel the tension she had quite knowingly created. After placing one of her hands onto her right hip, which jutted it out to a rather delectable angle, she finally opened her mouth. "Well? Are you coming or not? It's a long way to the common room and I know you know some short-cuts."

After a moment of shock, complete with the wide eyes and slack jaw, James grabbed his book and attempted to shove it in his bag, with relatively slow progress, completely missing the twitches pulling on the corners of Lily's mouth. When he turned to face her, his hair was wild and messy, his eyes sparkling with joy and that ever present glint of mischief and a huge grin was plastered on his face.

"I'm ready, let's go!" Almost vibrating with happiness, James allowed Lily to leave the greenhouse before loping after her and leading her through one of his many shortcuts from the grounds to the Gryffindor common room, talking her ear off the entire way.

He didn't take her his shortest route, though, even if that was what she wanted. He wasn't a complete idiot.