Disclaimer: Jk Rowling owns all of the characters and places you recognize.
She stood in front of the sink and mirror, splashing water on her face and wiping herself with a fresh towel afterwards. She was washing up in the main bathroom—a fairly small room with a sink, shower, toilet, and a huge wooden window next to the sink. It also had little wooden cabinets containing toiletries and old shampoo bottles.
A light, wispy wind blew into the room and stroked Lily Evans's hair. Her neighbourhood was a typically warm place to live in, especially during the summer holidays with everyone subject to the heat of the sun, but the evenings weren't so bad. Lily would even go so far as to declare that evenings at Cokeworth were pleasant, what with those easy-going breezes out and about.
She took her toothbrush and squeezed toothpaste into it. Lily's father was a technician, and being a technician's daughter had its perks, one of which was being able to own awesome, state-of-the-art objects despite them being a middle-class family. Electric toothbrushes were their newest obsession.
Lily pressed a button, and off went the blue device, its bristles spinning on a circular plate, as if the toothbrush had a mind of its own. Actually, she thought with a laugh, almost like it was made of magic.
And when she stuck it into her mouth and scrubbed her teeth, it produced an unrivalled giddy sensation. Lily had yet to see her wand achieve the same effect.
She kept brushing her teeth, listening to the mechanical buzz the toothbrush produced and feeling light-headed. Toothpaste was spilling out of her mouth and into her shirt, but Lily stood with her mouth open, like some kind of manic fever had taken over her. Perhaps introducing the family to the wonders of electric toothbrushes was the worst decision her father had ever made, because it was never the same since. Nobody could get out of the bathroom in less than fifteen minutes anymore.
It was highly possible that this was only because of the novelty of the electric toothbrush. Perhaps this would blow off in a few weeks. Of course, she'd be gone from the household in a few weeks.
Lily almost felt too bad about going back to Hogwarts because of its inability to power the electrical device, but then there was always magic, and magic was…
"So this must be the Lily's compound," said a deep male voice that sounded so startlingly familiar, Lily thought she'd finally lost it and the prolonged brushing time had started giving her daydreams.
She glanced sideways—just to the wooden window—and her heart leapt to her throat. She let out an unwelcome shriek and hastily covered her mouth. A tall, thin boy was holding onto the top rail of the window, a lopsided grin on his face framed by a mass of unkempt hair. He sat obliquely, with one leg against the window sill and the other hanging loose outside the room.
Toothpaste dripping into her shirt, Lily tried to collect her thoughts.
James Potter seemed amused, at the very least. "That's quite an attractive sight, I must say." He stepped into the room.
Lily wasn't about to let him make fun of her, especially not in her own house. "I have an electric toothbrush, Potter. Don't make me use it on you," she said, pointing it at him like a weapon. It was still turned on, and she hoped that the buzzing sound paired with the whirling movement was enough to frighten him.
Potter— bless the boy— probably didn't know what an electric toothbrush was, but the way she pointed it at him made him raise both of his hands alarmingly.
"I like your pyjamas," he said, tilting his head sideways.
"So you know what a pyjama is?" Not a very good comeback, she had to admit. Lily slowly lowered the toothbrush and washed her mouth, very aware that Potter was watching her keenly while she gargled.
He chuckled. "Should I be offended?"
She took a towel and wiped her mouth. "What are you doing here?" she asked, placing her hands over her hips.
"I came to see you, naturally."
"And you snuck into the bathroom, of all places. I could have been… well…" Lily turned red at this.
James looked around. "I wasn't aware this was the bathroom when I snuck in. What kind of bathroom has windows large enough to fit people, anyway? And—" he glanced at her and smirked, "I'd like to save those naked days for when you are exclusively mine, and I can call you Mrs Potter, eh?"
With narrowed eyes, she took her toothbrush and turned it on again.
Potter stepped backwards, repeating his raised-handed motion. "Alright, alright. My apologies."
"What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "Like I said, I've missed your exquisite beauty—"
She silenced him with a look.
"Er, I came to give you something."
Lily's eyes grew with curiosity, but she also regarded him suspiciously. "And how did you find out where I live?"
He grinned. "I nicked this from an owl. He was carrying my letter along with a few others, you see, and I saw yours in the pile." He handed her a regularly shaped envelope.
Glancing at the address, "Is this from…?"
"Hogwarts? Yeah."
Lily observed the envelope with the school crest on it. Hogwarts seemed to have delivered their letters early this year. She remembered that stealing letters from delivery owls was illegal. "Dumbledore is going to find out, and Professor McGonagall won't be happy."
"It will be worth it," Potter said, brushing his hair with his hand nonchalantly. "And behind those stern sermons and detentions is a teacher who is rather fond of me. Well, go on, open it," he insisted.
"In front of you? Why should I?"
He laughed and turned around, even covering his eyes with a hand. "Better?"
Lily didn't want to open it with Potter around, but she couldn't resist waiting any further. She wanted to get on with it—regardless of his presence or absence.
Then—
She yelped for the second time that night, covering her mouth again.
"Shite. I'VE—I've got—"
Potter faced her and smiled warmly. "I was hoping it would be you."
Lily didn't care who was in front of her at the moment. She pointed to herself excitedly. "Head girl!"
"I know."
"I could hug you right now," she said, wanting to take it back when she saw his eyes brighten at the statement. "Except I won't. Keep dreaming, Potter."
He sighed. "That, I will."
She walked in a circle, staring at the printed words, and still in quite a shock. Not to say it was completely unexpected—Lily had the feeling it could be her, but the matter fled her mind until she saw the letter.
"I wonder who's Head boy, though." She cringed at the mental image of Severus and the idea of having to deal with those awkward situations—holding meetings together and being forced to cooperate. "I hope it's not—"
"He's in front of you," said Potter in an even tone.
But Lily noticed that something was different. He stood a bit straighter than usual, looking at her steadily and waiting for her reaction. He seemed apprehensive, a bit vulnerable even. That didn't stop Lily from gaping at him with complete surprise. "Blimey. No, it can't be you. You weren't even—"
He took out an identical letter and opened it in front of her.
"You weren't even a Prefect! How can you be—"
"Lily?" said a clear, loud voice from downstairs. "Aren't you taking a bit too long to brush your teeth? What's going on in there? We haven't got all night, you know."
"Mom! I, uh, yeah—sorry!"
"Were you talking to someone? I seem to have heard a deep voice just now."
Glancing at the mirror and realizing how weird it was that she was in the bathroom with Potter, Lily grimaced. "Oh dear, this is not going to look good."
"What, love, you think she's keeping a boy in our bathroom? Our Lily Evans?" said her father in an amused tone.
"Don't be absurd, dad!" she yelled. "I was practicing wandless magic!"
Potter raised his eyebrows and let out a low snicker, making Lily hit him with her elbow.
"Isn't that prohibited?" her dad said loudly.
"I'll be down in a minute!"
He laughed heartily. "Make sure you don't bring any men with you."
"I like the sound of men," Potter whispered much to her anxiety.
"Zip it."
By minute, Lily knew that it meant thirty seconds, because she'd definitely spent too long in the bathroom not to warrant any suspicions. She could send Potter out through the window, but her parents would definitely hear. They might even go outside and catch sight of him. She could hide him behind the shower curtains, but what if her dad was going to shower? Definitely not a good idea. It was during times like this in which Lily wanted to curse herself for not carrying her wand at all times. Then again, complex spells were hard to master and what if she did something wrong?
"What the bloody heck am I going to do with you?"
Potter took out a silvery material and winked at Lily just before wrapping it around himself and disappearing.
She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room, but Potter was gone, or he seemed to be gone at least. Then, she realized what the silvery cloth was. "I see. You sly little… it makes sense. That's how you were able to get away with all of those pranks," she whispered.
The footsteps had got louder. Soon enough, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
"Lily? You done?"
"Yeah." She opened the door and smiled at her father, who was glancing around the room.
"I'm alone, dad. Jeez."
"I was kidding, sweetheart. Your father is an old man whose youngest child is growing up too quickly. Someday, a man will whisk you off your feet, and I won't be able to do anything about it. Let me spoil you and be a suspicious father while I can."
Lily looked behind her and blushed. "Don't go saying stuff like that."
He laughed. "Too much mush for you? I'll see you downstairs later. Can't miss Doctor Who, can we?"
She quickly headed to her room, knowing that Potter was close by. Lily shut the door and locked it.
"Potter?"
He took off what can only be an invisibility cloak. "So this is your room," he said. Lily was secretly glad he didn't mention her dad.
She realized how disorganized her bedroom was. Pictures hung on the walls and were scattered all over her desk. Her drawers overflowed with all sorts of things. On one corner of the room lay her magical items—all of the textbooks she'd ever bought since the first year at Hogwarts, her uniforms—ironed out and neatly folded, food and candy from Hogsmeade, and the cage of her pet owl, which was currently flying outside. Her bed sheets had a few ink blotches—all acquired from trying to do the holiday homework and essays on her bed.
"I'm sorry if it isn't up to par with your standards—don't go touching my stuff."
"I like it. Is this a telly?"
"Telephone," she corrected. "You're going to make a mess of my room."
"You aren't exactly the tidiest person around, Evans. You and I know that."
"Well, you don't exactly have the most relevant opinion around, either," she said.
He took one of the photos on her desk. "Your pictures don't move."
"And here I thought you actually paid attention in Muggle Studies."
"This must be you," he said, taking a few more photos and looking at them.
"Don't look at those!"
Potter's face suddenly turned grim and his shoulders fell. His mood seemed to have taken a dive, as there was a subtle shift in the atmosphere. A particular photo caught his attention and he stared at it intensely. "You and Snivellus..."
Lily sighed. "I told you not to go messing around with my things."
Potter placed the pictures back on her desk. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you well enough the first time, then." He spoke coldly, and Lily wasn't very used to it.
"Yeah, well, I better get you out of here before my parents or Petunia spots us."
"I'm sorry for coming here at all," he said quietly.
She opened the bedroom window, refusing to acknowledge his mood swing. "I'll see you in the train, Potter."
He stuck his head out and lifted the rest of his body out of her room.
"Goodbye," Lily told him.
"Goodbye," Potter replied, and a second later, he was nowhere to be seen.
Closing the window and heading out the door, Lily descended the stairs and came to the living quarters, where her family was waiting. It was a weekend, the only time her parents weren't busy with work. They spent most of their Saturday evenings watching telly or playing board games. Lily used to perform tricks with her wand, but that stopped when Petunia started resenting her and after she'd received the third warning letter. Evidently, a lot of things had changed since she discovered her powers.
It was a good thing however, that the snacks remained constant. Saturday evenings still came with a lot of good-tasting food—mum's home cooked spaghetti, sandwiches, and a plate of each member's favourite snack. Lily's mum never complained about the cooking—quite the contrary actually. She said it took her mind off her worries.
When an hour rolled by and Petunia and her dad were occupied with arguing over the technicalities of Monopoly, Lily's mom pulled her to the kitchen.
"Something wrong with the spaghetti, Lily?
"No. What d'you mean, mum?"
"Why do you look upset?"
Lily looked for a mirror but remembered that the kitchen had none. "I…do?"
Her mother nodded. "Off with it. You've been wearing that face all evening, dear."
She squeezed her cheek. "I didn't notice."
"What's got you bundled up?"
"I don't think it's anything in particular… Maybe I just need to go outside for a bit… take out the trash…"
She grabbed the trash bags that lay at a corner and headed to the door. A quick walk would be nice and refreshing. It might even take away whatever off-putting expression her mum said she had.
Lily tossed the garbage bags and proceeded to stroll around the neighbourhood, past the line of identical houses alongside theirs. Street lamps let the way to a certain grassy meadow she had in mind and the sound of vehicles passing through the main street roared in her ears.
Lily reached her favourite childhood playground and sat on one of the swings. A single street light illuminated the area, but she could tell that the playground had got old. The swing creaked loudly when she moved and she caught the smell of rusty metal. Someday, when she was old enough, Lily would definitely return to this place and restore it to its original beauty.
She looked at the sky—an almost pitch black expanse save for a faint glow from the moon and the tall buildings from the distance. "No stars tonight, huh."
Something behind her shifted. "You're in luck, Evans. I'm still here."
She almost fell off the swing, seeing Potter suddenly materialize in front of her. "Argh! You scared me."
"You were out looking for me."
"No, you git. I went for a walk."
He snorted in the manner of someone who didn't believe her. "You were definitely looking for me."
"The world doesn't always revolve around you, Potter."
"Yeah…" he said, abruptly looking away. "I sort of… realized."
"The more important question, though… Why are you still here?" she asked. "Honestly… You followed me, didn't you?"
He shrugged. "Decided to stick around."
"For an hour?"
"It helped that I could see your family through the windows."
All of those muggle games and telly… and someone had been watching them the entire time. Lily felt a wave of embarrassment and discomfort. "You stalker." She stood up and hit him in the stomach. "That is seriously the creepiest—"
Potter looked like he wanted to laugh but was hiding it.
"You think this is funny, do you?"
"This is the first time we've ever gotten, well, this much interaction without you yelling at me by the end of it."
Lily gave him a look. "If you do that again, I am going to call the police."
"Noted. Anything else?"
She pressed her lips. "I uh—look, thanks for handing me the letter… even if it would have arrived either way."
"You know, that's a wonderful way of saying, 'Thanks James, but your help is not needed.' " He smiled.
"Thanks, Potter, but your help is not needed."
"You're very welcome, Evans," he said, doing a quick little head-bow and patting her shoulder.
She felt like laughing. Having to work with him all year might not be so bad after all. "Congratulations, by the way. I thought Remus would be Head Boy, but I suppose you'll do."
His eyebrows shot up. "That Remus bit breaks my heart a little. But, well, that's another first—hearing you complimenting me, that is." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, that wasn't exactly a compliment…it was, er, it sounded really nice. I've—I've got to hear more praises from you." Potter didn't seem like his usual self, standing a bit awkwardly and leaning forwards.
"Don't screw up, then," Lily said.
"I—Head boy's an awfully big position, don't you reckon? I guess I should tone down my pranks."
He really did seem… different. The less conceited atmosphere was a huge indication, if anything. Lily couldn't wrap her head around the idea, but Potter was maturing.
"I've got to go home. My dad's probably wondering where I went."
"Ah…" he seemed disappointed. "Shall I walk you?"
Lily turned red. "No. My dad would freak."
Potter grinned sheepishly and placed his hands in his pockets. "It was worth a shot."
"I'll see you at the train station?"
"Will do. Goodbye, Evans."
"Goodbye," Lily said, and she retreated to her home with a gigantic smile on her face.
A/n: I was brushing my teeth and inspiration struck.
JK Rowling did say in one interview that Lily didn't really hate James pre-seventh year. It was more like she felt slightly attracted to him but was turned-off by his attitude. With this in mind, I tried to explore the possible dynamics between them… and perhaps I just missed writing LJ banter.
Happy New Year!
-El Padfoot