Chapter 1
She was in the Gryffindor common room, curled up on the rug, by the crackling fire. It was late at night, and everyone else had left, one by one, leaving her alone. She was scribbling feverishly, trying to finish a History of Magic essay due the next day – no, actually, later that morning. She looked up, chewing on her quill thoughtfully, and gasped when she saw someone standing at the base of the spiral staircase leading up to the boys' dormitory, watching her. He stepped forward, into the light, and she scowled.
"Potter. What are you doing here?"
"It's called the common room, Evans. That means I have as much right to be here as you do."
She made a face at this, and he chuckled, and made his way slowly towards her. He sat down in an armchair, making himself comfortable, as if he was going to be staying a while. He smiled, his eyes on her face. She glared at him, and then went back to her essay, looking up every so often, invariably finding him watching her, an amused expression on his face.
Finally, she said, irritably, "What the hell, Potter? Are you just going to sit there and stare at me all night? Because it's really starting to get on my nerves."
To her surprise, he only grinned. "I guess so. It's a pretty beautiful sight."
She snorted. "Oh, please! Could you be any cheesier?"
This time he actually laughed. "Um, no. I guess not."
Forgetting, for a moment, 6 years of history, she smiled back at him.
"What are you working on?" he asked, seeming genuinely interested.
"Binns' essay on Merlin's involvement in the ancient Goblin wars. I'm not even close to being done though." She grimaced.
He gasped, and stood up suddenly. "Oh, damn! I totally forgot about that! I got back late from Quidditch practice, and… I've only got maybe three pieces of parchment done! Er… I'll be right back."
He ran up the stairs, four at a time, leaving Lily sitting on the floor, staring at the staircase up which he had just gone. She laughed softly, shaking her head, her fingers resting lightly on her lips.
"James," she murmured, and then shook her head crossly and bent over the parchment and books, once more.