Title: Studious Beginnings.
The first warm day in weeks, and Lily was spending the afternoon in the stuffy Gryffindor common room, trying to catch up on the piles of homework that had been assigned. A large mound of parchment was stacked neatly in front of her, and she had a quill in her hand. The O.W.L.s were well on their way, and the professors were wasting no time at all.
Lily spent every minute in class jotting down notes. There was simply no time for the occasional conversation or doodle. The professors were terribly serious about exams, and Lily's poor, delicate hands were taking a beating for it. And what they didn't cover in class, the professors made sure to assign for homework.
She scribbled fact after fact on the yellowed parchment, wringing out her cramped hands occasionally. She was about to write the concluding paragraph of her Herbology report, when the Fat Lady's frame swung wide open.
The lean figure of one James Potter entered her view. He looked around the room, until his eyes found hers. Lily's heart skipped a beat when he did so. He took a visible breath and walked over to where she was seated.
Lily carefully laid her quill on the table, and looked up at James.
"May I help you, Potter?" Her voice sounded irritated, but secretly she was pleased. Lily would welcome any distraction as long as she had a reasonable excuse as to why she wasn't currently writing a paragraph on the different uses of gillyweed.
James seemed nervous. His eyes wouldn't meet hers, and his stance wasn't the confident one she was accustomed to. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
Lily was getting a bit edgy. A James Potter that couldn't speak? It seemed too good to be true. "Yes?" she prompted.
He started again, " Look, I know we just barely became friends, but could you possibly help me out with—?"
"With what?" Lily interrupted, "If you're asking me to help you with various snogging techniques, I will remind you that you've already asked several times, and my answer is still going to be the same, Potter."
He blushed, and Lily couldn't quite believe her eyes. "Er, no, nothing like that."
Lily looked at him quizzically, and James continued.
"Well, right, er, I've happened to notice that you're quite nifty at potions, and erm, well, basically, I'm rubbish at the whole bloody subject," the words seemed to stumble out of James's mouth at a rather quick pace, "and I was rather hoping that you would possibly help a bloke out?"
Lily cocked her head. She could easily see his nervousness in his eyes. "All right," she agreed while eyeing him with slight amusement. "I'll help you."
He sighed in relief. "I'm pretty sure you've just saved my arse."
A smile wandered onto her face. "Would around eight o'clock in Slughorn's classroom work for you?"
James ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be absolutely spiffy."
"All right then, I'll catch you later tonight, Potter?"
He replied with a "Yes, ma'am" as he made his way through the portrait hole, his stance much more confident than previously.
Lily arrived several minutes earlier than eight in Slughorn's classroom. Her bag was heavy with a copy of Advanced Potion-Making, several additional library books on the subject of potions, a couple of props, a quill, and a pot of ink with parchment. She set her bag on the desk with a slight thump and then began arranging up her things.
She hummed a soft melody under her breath as she worked-a tune that she and her father had composed themselves. It had become a habit of hers. Lily always hummed while she worked and worked while she hummed. It was quite relaxing as well. She finished singing the final motif and then she heard a voice.
"Hey?" James Potter entered the classroom door with an air of tension. "I'm not late, am I? I could have sworn that you had said eight."
"No, no," she reassured him, " I simply got here a bit early to set up."
He nodded. "I brought my copy of the textbook if we need it."
"Great," Lily replied with a smile, "Where do you have the most trouble in potions? I reckon we could tackle that first."
He paused for a moment before answering. "In all honesty Evans, I'm horrid at the whole bloody subject."
"I see." She crossed her arms and thought for a minute. "Then we'll simply have to start with the basics."
Lily pulled out the chair in front of him and plopped down in the seat. "I think it's in our best interest if we cover terms first. If you know the information by heart, then it should be easy to focus on brewing the actual potion."
She looked at the boy sitting in front of her and he nodded as if to encourage her to continue.
She smiled, "Alright, let's waste no time, then."
They spent the next hour and a half studying the different properties of several potion ingredients. Lily would talk and James would listen. Lily was rather fond of this arrangement.
After learning a choice number of ingredients, she began to quiz James over the information.
"No, no, it's eel eye Potter. Use your brain. If one ingredient isn't right, the entire potion could backfire and leave you lacking a testicle."
James's eyebrows rose slightly at her choice of words, but he kept from retorting.
"Here's a simple one. What ingredient is derived from fairies and is used in the Girding Potion?"
He took a deep breath and tried again. "Fairy lace."
Lily dragged her hand over her face in exasperation. "No... fairy wings."
The remaining time was spent like so. James giving slightly incorrect answers and a rather patient Lily trying to correct his information. By the end of their time, the pair had covered a vast majority of the ingredients in their textbook. Lily's spirits were cheery with self-accomplishment.
James slammed the textbook with satisfaction. He had a rather goofy grin on his face. "So, is this like a daily thing or a weekly thing or what?"
She thought for a moment. "I could do twice a week, if you'd like."
"Yeah, that would be absolutely spiffy."
Lily began to pack away her things. Quickly placing the last book in her bag, she stood up and tucked a strand of red hair under her ear. "See you around, then, Potter?"
"Of course, Evans. I wouldn't think of depriving you of that joy." He wore a small smirk on his face and was readily waiting for a sassy retort, but he never got one. Lily wore a mask of amusement and left the classroom without saying another word, leaving James to realize that tutoring might have more benefits than one.
The O.W.L.s were rapidly approaching and scheduled to be taken the week after next. James and Lily had been struggling to cover the last bit of material. Their relationship had flourished throughout the past few weeks, and to James's delight, he now genuinely began to consider themselves as friends.
The pair had been practicing correct ingredient preparation, wand movement, and the essential skill of concentration-the three key steps to brewing a successful potion. Unfortunately, the boy in question hadn't an ounce of concentration in him.
"Eeek! No, don't do that!"
James jumped and quickly drew his hand away from the cauldron as though he had been shocked. "Why, what. What did I do wrong?" He ran his hand through his hair and his shoulders were slumped. His face showed obvious confusion.
"No, it's just that," her voice softened, "you have to wait 55 seconds before you add the neem oil.
"Oh."
"You did everything else right though." Lily took a step closer to him, " Sometimes it's the smaller things that get the best of us."
He kept silent but he nodded his head in acknowledgment of her words.
Lily tilted her head and observed him. His eyes were sharp with concentration as he added the final ingredient. Recently, he had become much more pleasant around her. He didn't ask her out every ten minutes and had stopped making crude jokes. In fact, he was almost charming. He laughed her jokes, made witty comments, and was ever the gentleman. She was jolted out of her reverie by a fairly loud whoop.
She looked up, and her eyes met with the sight of a rather ecstatic James Potter who had just successfully finished brewing a hiccoughing potion.
Time had slowly disappeared and the Ordinary Wizarding Levels were scheduled for the next week. The pair had been diligently preparing session after session, and now they were brewing a final potion to test the skills of one James Potter.
He was hunched over the cauldron with his lips pursed in concentration. His hair fell over his glasses, but he paid no attention to the matter. His eyes were glued to the potion simmering in front of him.
Not for the first time, Lily's eyes drifted to his face. She had quite a bit of free time during these tutoring sessions, and subconsciously, she had taken to admiring every slope and plane of his face including the mole on his right cheek. To put it frankly, Potter was indeed beautiful-every underage Hogwarts student could tell you this was true. But not only was he pretty, he was smart, and kind, and witty and-
"Evans?"
"Hmm?" She made eye contact with him and hoped her face didn't convey her thoughts.
"Do you mind handing me the Mandrake Leaf on your left?"
"Yes, of course," and in her haste to grab the leaves, her elbow clumsily knocked over a bottle of Moondew. Before James had a chance to move, the liquid gushed out of the bottle onto his hand.
The pair share panicked glances and set the bottle upright, but not before most of the contents had spilled.
In an attempt to find a rag, Lily left the classroom in a hurry.
She returned with a cloth in one hand and cleaning liquid in the other, and was about to offer a profuse apology when she saw that his hand was swollen pink, Lily rushed over to him and examined his injury. James looked rather sheepish, but she ignored it, for her stomach was filled with worry. His hand had almost doubled its size within the last five minutes and was covered with abnormal craters and mounds.
"Did you know that you are allergic to Moondew?"
"Maybe…"
"Maybe?" It was an accusation more than a question, and her eyes conveyed both worry and anger.
"I may have a slight allergic reaction to Moondew," he confessed.
"Potter, this is the worst allergic reaction I've seen!"
"No need to get emotional," he said with a teasing smile, "I'll simply mosey up to the hospital wing and let Pomfrey fuss over me. I'll be in tip-top shape in no time. Don't you worry, Evans."
James used his good hand to pat her on the back, and the two walked up to the hospital wing. True to his word, Madame Pomfrey immediately dragged James into her care, rambling on about dangerous ingredients, thoughtless students, and idiotic professors.
A few hours had passed since James had been administered to the hospital wing, and Lily had become smitten with worry. Every time she went to accomplish a task an image of James moaning with pain was pushed into her mind. She finally surrendered to herself and went to go visit him.
Lily pushed open the hospital doors and quickly walked up to the bed where James lay, only to find him fast asleep. She focused her gaze on him and found herself admiring every surface on his face. He looked more peaceful when he was asleep... more angelic.
She turned away to leave when a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked down only to find a thoroughly awake James Potter. Her eyes widened.
"Done admiring the view already?" His tone was cheeky and she immediately knew she'd been caught.
"I decided it wasn't much of a view," she improvised.
"Ouch."
"The truth hurts."
An uncomfortable silence settled between them.
Abruptly, James sat up in the hospital bed wearing a rather thoughtful expression. He still hadn't loosened his grip on her wrist. "Evans, I think I might need tutoring in Charms as well."
She looked at him curiously, "What do you need help with?"
"See," James began hesitantly, "there's this witch I've been trying to ask to Hogsmeade for a while, but sadly I think I need help charming her over." He was smirking now.
"Oh." His face was much closer than before, and her voice sounded breathless even to her own ears. "And who's the lucky lady?"
"You might know her." His eyes were sparkling with boyish mischief. "Bright green eyes, flaming red hair with a temper to match."
"Potter, I don't think you need a tutor," Lily interrupted, suddenly feeling much braver than before.
His eyes widened in confusion.
She blushed. "I think you're pretty skilled already." And with that, she leaned forward and closed the distance between their lips.
His stance was stiff at first, but he quickly responded with great enthusiasm. Their lips meshed together, and the force between them was electric. Lily didn't think she'd ever had a kiss quite like it. She hesitantly broke them apart and gently rested her head against his. Lily looked at him only to find a rather dazed expression on his face, and she couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"So," she began shyly, "About that Hogsmeade visit…?"
Prompt: "I know you don't like me but I really need help passing this class "
Thanks for reading! A huge thanks to BookWorm77071 for being my Beta Reader! Also, a part of this piece was inspired by fic "Allergies", so be sure to check it out :)
Reviews are always greatly appreciated….