Lily Evans supposed there were multiple events that led up to this current one that left her gob smacked. There was, she imagined, the fact that it had been a particularly grueling day, and everyone was fairly tired and sleep-deprived.

It had been a Quidditch match that started at 9 o'clock sharp, followed by a very long-winded professor who insisted on assigning a 12 inch paper due the next day (not to mention a smallish test). The excited Gryffindors had quickly lost their stride after the Slytherin Chasers made quick work of the Lions Keeper. Several injuries had contributed to this loss, but the sixth year Captain James Potter still felt the loss keenly.

This only contributed to the tired and sleep-deprived state of James Potter. There also was the fact that this hormone riddled teenager had been asking out said gob smacked Lily Evans for three years, and after a failed attempt (which had occurred earlier that day, ending with a "I'd rather give a good luck kiss to a squid" and the boy in red and gold Chaser attire running off to play a Quidditch match), he was always seemed fatigued.

So as it was, when their entire group, (which consisted of two couples, the Quidditch Captain, and the yet to be gob smacked girl) decided to study for the test, smallish or not, James Potter found himself quite tired and entranced by the way Lily Evans's hair fell across her face (which was making the most adorable frown) when she was studying.

"I still don't understand why Professor Merryweather believes that we'll learn anything from this chapter," a long-legged boy with black moppish hair said while the girl on his arm giggled. "I mean, when are we going to use a charm to turn my opponents legs to jelly?"

Dorcas Meadowes, whose sat between the legs of a tall and lanky boy of 16, reached up and started the process of putting her hair up, consequently leaving Remus Lupin with a face full of hair. "That's assuming that you'll learn anything. So tell me Sirius, what is the curse to turn your opponent's legs into Jelly?"

The girl on Sirius Black's arm continued to giggle until the affronted look on his face stopped her immediately. "Well, that's not the point,"

The girl who had yet to be gob smacked rolled her eyes. "No, Sirius. The point is that we have a test to study for, and the fact that you think these charms are useless is not relevant to the fact that there is, in fact, a test tomorrow that we have to study for."

The boy who could not quite get the point, but was starting to, scoffed a little and said, "Alright, Evans. Don't have to take the mickey out on me."

The giggling girl moved to her knees and said (in a very giggly tone of voice that sounded a tad bit like she was trying too hard to be seductive), "Well, Sirius, I'm going upstairs to study, but if you'd like to come up, I'm sure I could find something else to…study."

Sirius Black smiled up at her and whispered, "I'll be up in five, just give me a mo' to finish up down here." The girl stood up and trotted her way up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

The very attractive Quidditch Captain who hadn't taken part in the conversation finally looked up, putting his glasses on. "So who was that then?"

His best friend looked up and said, "Mary, I think it was. Meadowes, do you remember?"

Said girl didn't look up from her book, but said, "Yeah, she's in our year. Mary C something… I think her last name starts with a C."

Sirius Black seemed to mull that over and (after a many few moments) said, "Mary. Such a dull name, Mary. Might have to break up with her."

The red headed girl with the adorable frown looked up as well. "You're going to break up with a girl because her name was too dull for you?"

Sirius Black adorned the affronted look again. "I might just, yeah. C'mon Prongs, back me up."

James Potter looked at his best friend, and, with a sigh, said, "Alright. Mary is a fairly dull name. It's not the dullest, but it's not the most exciting," The red-headed love (of his life) took it upon herself to recreate the affronted look that Sirius had had on not too long before that, and James quickly amended his statement to, "However, that is nothing to break up with a girl over."

Lily, looking fairly proud of herself, smiled a little and looked down at her book.

The girl with her hair in a pony-tail turned her head to better look at her boyfriend. "So what do you think Remus? Do you think Mary is a perfectly dull name?"

Remus Lupin, participating in this particular conversation for the first time, seemed to mull it over in his mind for a few moments, finally replying to his girlfriend, "Well, Mary isn't the most exciting name I've heard."

Remus Lupin's girlfriend leaned in a little closer and said, "What do you think about Dorcas?"

The boy in question leaned in a little closer and said, "I find that Dorcas is a perfectly exciting and…stimulating name."

The couple quickly closed the gap between their lips, making the rest of the group groan.

Remus broke apart, looking slightly insulted, and burst out, "What? It was only a peck!"

His girlfriend brought a hand to his face saying, "That was," She turned her face towards his and leaned even closer, "This isn't."

While everyone else had slight grimaces on their faces, Remus Lupin did not. He broke apart a few seconds later, saying, "You're right. That isn't." He immediately went back to giving his girlfriend's lips the attention he thought they deserved.

James stood up slowly, looking even more out of it than he had been before. He gathered up his books and announced, "I can't even see straight anymore. I'm going up to bed and if I fail the test tomorrow, then I fail."

Looking down at his books, Sirius agreed. "I'll be right behind you mate. We'll fail together."

Lily Evans, who was soon to be gob smacked, looked up at the departing party and said, "Well have fun with that. I'm gonna study some more." She looked over at the amorous couple and revised her statement, saying, "Well, possibly up in my dorm."

Sirius started getting up and said goodnight to his roommate. "Night, Prongs."

James reissued the statement, and Lily began hers, "Night, Potter."

Barely conscious, the Quidditch Captain had no idea he was about to create the gob smacked expression that would occur on Lily Evans face multiple times throughout their short life together. "Night Lily. Love you."

As the brown haired boy with glasses meandered up the stairs slowly he had no idea that all movement in the Common Room had stopped. The two lovers had stopped their kissing, the troublemaker had stopped gathering his books which contradicted his reputation, and the red-headed girl whom the sentiment was aimed at had stopped breathing.

As Lily Evans considered the multiple events that led to this current one which left her gob smacked, (which included one rejection, a long-winded professor, a 12 inch paper, a smallish test, a lost Quidditch match, and the fact that it was two in the morning) James Potter had walked, unconscious, out of sight.

After a few moments all eyes turned to the Lily Evans, the red-headed girl who held the attractive Quidditch Captain's affections. She herself had quite mastered the look of gob smacked, with her mouth hanging open, and eyes slightly wide and accusatory.

The lanky boy who had, until very recently, had his hands in his girlfriend's hair, withdrew them and drew apart from Dorcas. He looked over at his fellow Prefect and said, "I've been telling you for months that he's serious."

The troublemaker gathered up the Charms books that he had dropped on the nearby table when his best friend had confessed something that only his closest friends knew until the previous moment had arrived. "Yes, darling. He's very serious."

Sirius grinned at the obvious pun, but his friend did not look as enthused. Remus glared at Sirius, throwing out a warning, "Sirius,"

The boy with whom this was all very (pardon the word) serious, endeavored to continue to make light of the subject. "Quit saying my name Moony. I know what it is."

The boy with the apt name Moony continued to glare. "Our best friend just told Lily he loves her. That is something only you, me, and Pete know."

Sirius laughed. "Moony, the whole school knows that James has been mad for Lily for ages. We were the only ones whom he explicitly told. Well, until now…" Sirius trailed off, looking at the aforementioned gob smacked Lily Evans.

Said gob smacked girl looked up at the two boys and, while standing up, said, "You boys are not to mention this to James. If he remembers anything, or asks any questions, or mentions anything of the sort about telling me about… what he just said, just change the subject. Do not let him know that I know or that we know." After the two boys nodded, the gob smacked girl who had yet to get over the gob smacking news, added incentive, saying, "And if you don't do this, I will send this jelly-legs charm your way, and I will obliviate you so that you forget the countercharm and you are legs that feel like jelly until my mercy kicks in."

As the rest of the Marauders ran upstairs (the small rat-like boy Peter had gone to bed hours ago without the real notice of anyone in the group), Dorcas looked at her friend who had collapsed back onto the couch.

After a pleading look, Lily answered most of her questions with, "Bloody hell."

The next morning, the boy who had made a startling declaration at 2 in the morning but did not realize it woke up feeling strangely liberated. When he told his friends of the feeling he did not notice the two whom he had studied with the previous night share a look. As the small mousy boy looked surprised and vaguely interested, Sirius jumped in and replied, "Probably a bug you caught in the Quidditch match yesterday. It was rather cold. Do you feel a bit sick?"

It was approximately a year later, and the red-headed previously gob smacked girl leaned over the shirtless Quidditch Captain beneath her to see the time. "James, it's almost 10. We've got class in an hour."

The boy with the hair that stuck up in all the right places (according to Lily Evans), reached up and brought his girlfriend to his chest. "Why can't we just stay here?"

Lily Evans looked into the eyes of her clueless boyfriend. "Because we have to eat breakfast."

"I thought I just had breakfast," came the cheeky reply.

The girl with the bright red hair chuckled into James Potter's chest. "Nah, that was just leftover desert from last night."

James Potter looked up at the love of his life and was overcome with her beauty. The reaction to seeing Lily Evans, lying next to him, on a Thursday morning, with the sun shining through her hair, was purely instinctual, and could not be helped. "I love you, you know that?"

The recipient of James Potter's affections giggled, in a manner very unlike herself. "I know."

The teenage boy was, first and foremost, surprised by his girlfriend's lack of reaction and decided (fairly quickly) to capitalize on this moment and tease Lily Evans. "Oh you do, do you?" He turned them over and began to tickle her, torturing the answers out of her. "Was this before or after the 78th time I asked you out? Or did Padfoot tell you?"

His questions continued until she finally relented, exclaiming, "You told me!"

At his questioning look, she continued. "You told me, after we were studying with everybody. I said goodnight, you said, "Night Lily. Love you." That was when I knew you were serious."

The boy above her stilled, and asked, "Was that after the horrible Quidditch match and the really long paper?" After her affirmative nod, he continued, saying, "You know, I felt weird. In the morning, I mean. Like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Sirius kept telling me I was sick."

The red headed girl who was once been gob smacked at this boy's off-handed declaration of love, giggled, and James Potter with her. "No, I'm serious! Every time I asked, he just told me I had gotten a cold from the match the day before. I thought I was sick for a week!"

Lily Evans continued to giggle underneath a shirtless James Potter, and after she seemed to collect herself, he took her face, saying, "You do know that I love you? Like really, properly love you?"

The red headed girl brushed the hair away from his face and said, "Yeah. I know. And, bloody hell, I really, properly, love you too."

The boy with the huge heart and the crazy hair grinned, and the studious girl with the adorable frown grinned back.