Hey y'all. So this is just a sixth year Jily fic from James' POV because let's not lie, James and Lily are fabulous. Anyways, enjoy. Cheers

~Dani

Books were stacked high enough that I could only see the top of her head, vibrant red hair peeking out from above whatever textbook she was currently reading. I wasn't overly concerned about what it was, so long as she stopped reading it.

"Evans!" I called, and slowly but surely, the book in her hands lowered halfway down her face, revealing her sparkling -if slightly annoyed- emerald green eyes.

"What is it, Potter?" she asked, stress evident in her voice.

I laughed. "You say it as if I'm the one who's cramped up in a nest of books on such a beautiful day. Why are you reading this much, Evans? I mean, I know you're really into all the boring things in life, but even you can't like," I glanced at the title of her book, "History of Gillyweed." I said it slowly, trying to emphasize how ridiculous it was. How Gillyweed had history at all was beyond me, not even mentioning how one could write an entire textbook about it. But there was Lily Evans, eyebrows scrunched and nose wrinkled, reading it like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

She scowled at me, "Funny, Potter, "she said, "Just because you're planning on failing your N.E.W.T.'s doesn't mean everyone else does."

"Oh come on. They're not even until next year. You've got all of Seventh Year to worry about this stuff." I reached out and snapped the book shut, smirking slightly as the air from the motion blew pieces of hair into her eyes. "Give it a break. How long have you been studying here for?"

"Three hours," she said, and impatiently brushed the loose, red strands out of her face, "It doesn't hurt to be over prepared."

"Actually," I grinned, keeping my hand on the cover of her textbook as she tried, in vain, to open it again, "It does. For example, it hurts your social life. Your friend Alice is ready to drop you."

"She is not-"

"It hurts your health. All this stress isn't good for you."

"I am not-"

"And of course, it hurts what could be your love life." I dropped her a wink, and she shuddered in response, cringing away from me. If this was the first time I'd gotten that reaction, I might have been offended, but after time and time again, it was just routine.

"Get lost, Potter," she muttered. "Sirius probably wants help duct taping house elves together, or whatever you guys usually do while I revise."

I blinked. "What's duct tape? Is that taping ducks?"

She shook her head, and spared me a small smile. A pity smile, no doubt, but a smile nonetheless. "Never mind," she said, "Muggle thing."

I just shrugged. The muggle world never made much sense to me. "I'm not kidding though," I said, and she shot me a disgusted look, causing me to backtrack. "About taking a break," I clarified, "Not the love life thing. I mean, if you wanted- I mean, just forget I said-"

"Potter," she said, "Just stop talking."

I cut off, my mouth opening and closing a few times before I attempted to speak again, "So about that break..."

Lily let out an exasperated noise and let her head fall back over the top of her chair. "Fine," she said, "If it'll get you to leave me alone after."

"That's the spirit," I smirked, carefully removing History of Gillyweed from her grasp and setting it on the table. "Shall we go?"

She sighed, standing up. "Alright then."

"Excellent," I said, and tried to loop my arm around hers.

She swatted my hand away. "Don't touch me, Potter," she said, and I laughed, withdrawing. Just routine.

"Yes ma'am," I said, and let her lead the way out of the portrait hole.

Soon, we were out walking through the Hogwarts grounds, amongst the other students desperate to get away from the stress and worry of the approaching exams. It was the stereotypical sort of beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirpings, and the sound of laughter and shrieks of delight could be heard across the grounds. It was very cliché, but the girl beside me made everything better.

"Aren't you glad you came out, Evans?" I asked, and she nodded absentmindedly.

"Doesn't everyone love sunburns and mosquito bites," she drawled, but her mouth was turned up at the edges in a way I hadn't seen in a while.

I shook my head. "Always seeing the bright side of things, aren't we?" I said, and waved my wand over her head, muttering the spell for sunburn-protection.

"How'd you know that?" she asked, and it was probably the first question she'd ever asked me that wasn't tinged with annoyance or disapproval.

"Believe it or not, sometimes I do pay attention to things," I said, but evaded the real answer. That I'd looked up the spell after I heard Lily complaining about her burns at the beginning of the school year, and practiced on the Marauders -against their will, majority of the time, but that's irrelevant- until I got it perfect. Some things she just didn't have to know.

Luckily for me, she didn't pry, and we walked in silence until we reached the lake, the place where, despite not discussing it, we both knew we were coming to.

We sat down, and for a while, neither of us spoke, and the sounds of the other students faded into the distance. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was peaceful.

After a while, she was the one who broke the stillness. "You know, I think you're right," she said, and I shifted my body to look at her.

I considered some sort of sarcastic comment, but she seemed to be serious, so I brushed the thought aside. "About what?"

"About needing a break. This is nice." She smiled at me, a real smile, free of pity or snark, and I smiled back.

"This is nice," I repeated, and she allowed me to move closer to her so that our arms touched. Then, surprising both of us, she leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. For a moment, we both tensed, but then slowly relaxed, and she sighed. It was a nice, peaceful sound, and it made me realize that I'd never heard her sound so at ease. To be fair, I was probably the reason she wasn't at ease ninety percent of the time.

We sat like that for a while, with conversation coming and going, but that wasn't the important part. The important part was that Lily Evans was here, with me, of her own accord. She wanted to be here with me, and I wasn't going to mess that up.

After some time, we both decided it was time to head back to the castle. We split up, both of us looking to find our friends. We didn't talk at all at dinner, but I caught her eye once, and instead of scowling or turning away, she actually smiled. I kept watching her, even after she'd turned back to her friends, and prided myself in knowing that she looked more free than I'd seen her in a while.

I looked for her again in the common room that night, but when I finally found her, decided to just let her be. She was reading again, nestled in her nest of textbooks and homework. I sighed, but let it go. I knew, anyways, that I could take her out, take her away, but she'd always come back here. She'd always come back to her books.