I sighed loudly, and when that didn't work, I opened my mouth.

"Don't even." James gave me a dirty look from across the table. "I realized two hours ago how exasperating I am when I do this to you; I even apologized, which, as you well know, I never do. Why don't you go gossip with Sallie or something?" He turned back to his essay and muttered, "Anything."

"Hey!" I grumbled half-heartedly, but I knew I was being irritating. That was the whole point. He was always the one who was finished with his work and begging me to do something fun instead. Ever since we'd become friends, James Potter's favorite pastime seemed to be bothering Lily while she tried desperately to finish her Transfiguration essay. "Sallie is at Hogsmeade with David."

I let the rest of that implication hang in the air; he knew as well as I did that I could be happily traipsing along the streets of Hogsmeade right now. But then he'd gone and volunteered us to monitor the library this weekend since Madame Pince was out with the Dragon Pox. As Head students I supposed we should be happy to help, eager even, but as a seventh year who had worked her arse off trying to get all her N.E.W.T. work done so she could even go to Hogsmeade this weekend, I was a bit miffed with my partner, even if I did have the world's biggest crush on him.

"Look, there's nobody even in the library." I leaned across the table towards him. "What if we just shut it down early and-"

He gave me a dirty look as he crossed something out on his essay, making it clear that the mistake was my fault. I grinned at him as innocently as possible and picked up my quill, going back to doodling idly on my parchment. As I was a wretched artist, I soon tired of this pastime and began to count the books on a single shelf, determined to figure out how many books there were in the Hogwarts library.

"Okay, I give up. What are you doing?" James asked me suddenly.

"Damn you." I said rather too vehemently. "You've made me lose count."

"Of what, exactly?" James was using his patronizing voice, the one that he reserved for whenever I was doing something he clearly found to be batty.

"The books, of course. Honestly. What else would one count in the library?"

"Oh, naturally. Counting the books. What else would one do in the library? You were only going bug-eyed from concentration. I was concerned you were having a bit of a fit. How trivial of me to be alarmed."

"I believe I was on seventy-two, although it could have been seventy-four. I do know for a fact that I stopped on that skinny book there, near the center, the kind of vomit colored one."

"Would you be less irritating if I told you there was going to be a party tonight?" James asked, setting his quill down and running his hands through his hair.

"You aren't really irritated at me." Lily grinned. "That vein in your forehead isn't pulsating yet. What are we celebrating this time? Not Quidditch, since we obviously don't have a match this week, and my birthday isn't until after Christmas, so it isn't that either."

"If you don't stop chatting and let me work, we're going to be celebrating the end of your life." James teased, picking his quill back up. "Now shush. I've nearly finished it all."

"We still have to sit here for three hours." Lily moaned, fighting the urge to throw herself on the floor. Instead she lay back across the other chair on her side of the table and looked at the ceiling. It was quite ornate, and she'd never noticed it before. What reason did she have, after all, to stare and study the ceiling of the library? She typically spent enough time in here to get all of her work finished and then skedaddled, despite her reputation as a bookworm. Lily did all of her work, got good marks, and still managed to get into a spot of trouble now and then with her friends.

"I'm finished!" James announced a little while later, startling Lily from a half-doze, half-daydream where she and James were snogging wildly in the library. She sat up too quickly and banged her head something awful on the table, letting out a loud yelp that rivaled the thump her head made when it connected with the table. She promptly fell out of the chairs and onto the floor with a second thump and scrambled to sit up.

"Are you alright?" James asked, his face popping under the table, and clearly concerned.

"Oh yes, quite." Lily blinked her eyes a couple times. "I don't believe I'm bleeding, but I just can't seem to figure out which way is up."

James, having seen this countless times playing Quidditch, was relatively unconcerned by this revelation. He crossed to her side of the table and pulled her up into one of the chairs, sitting himself promptly down in the other one, and reversing her slight concussion with a simple wave of the wand. Lily blinked a couple more times, and then her eyes focused on his face properly for the first time.

"Oh! Thank you. That's heaps better." Lily tugged her sweater straight and attempted to smooth her hair. "There were three of you for a moment there, and I really wasn't quite sure which one I ought to be talking to."

"The handsomest one, naturally." James replied with a laugh, checking her eyes to be sure that her head had mended properly. "Be a love and look at my finger."

"Well, that's hard to determine; they were all quite striking really." Lily looked at James' finger as he moved it in front of her face. "I nearly blurted out to the one that he was the most devilishly handsome thing I'd seen, but then suddenly he'd disappeared. I guess our romance was not to be."

"You must have conked your head harder than I thought." James laughed off the admission quickly, assuming it to be a joke. Lily swore at herself mentally for being so transparent, clearly he was embarrassed for her due to her evident crush on him. The only logical answer was to be even more ridiculously transparent and hope he thought it a joke.

"No really, be still my heart! Why are you throwing a party tonight? I never figured it out." Lily changed the subject quickly, suddenly appalled at her transparency. "I can't think of a single holiday or birthday that you'd be celebrating right now."

"Maybe I just like parties." James shrugged, eyes twinkling as he watched her try to puzzle it out.

"Or maybe it's to make up for the fact that we spent all afternoon holed up in this library and you gave me a concussion!" Lily poked him. "Yes, I rather like that explanation better. It's my party and I'll get to wear a tiara."

"You hit the thing right on the nose, Miss Evans," James declared, tapping her lightly on her nose. She swiped his hand away, but she couldn't help that she was grinning like an idiot. Lily had just realized that she was flirting shamelessly with James Potter, and her daydreams seemed to be coming true.

"I've always wanted to be a princess." Lily announced. "Sirius can be my footman, and Remus can be my faithful advisor. I suppose Sallie can be a lady-in-waiting, though she's sure to stick me with pins and muss up my hair."

"What do I get to be?" James asked, raising an eyebrow in obvious amusement.

"I suppose you could be the kitchen boy." Lily teased, suddenly feeling emboldened. "We'll just call you Cinder-James from now on."

"I thought I might get to play the dashing prince." James pouted. "Who, might I ask, is stealing my starring role?"

"Clearly you've never read Cinderella." Lily snorted. "I suppose Peter can be the prince though, since you're insisting."

"Pete can't be a prince." James rolled his eyes.

"You need to brush up on your Muggle fairy tales." Lily smiled, hopping up from her seat a little too quickly and getting a head rush.

James caught her easily, holding onto her arms to steady her. "You okay?"

"I think so. Apparently I was in too big of a hurry to get you that book." Lily had grabbed onto James' shoulder and held onto it for a minute longer than strictly necessary, just to be sure she was fine. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that his shoulder was surprisingly well defined and muscular for someone his size. She patted him on the shoulder awkwardly by way of a thank you, and headed off, slightly more cautiously, to retrieve the book of Muggle fairy tales she'd found her First Year.

THUMP

Lily dropped the enormous book in front of James and opened it to Cinderella. "There." She said, simply pointing. James looked at her questioningly. She pointed again. "Well, go on. Read it. I'm not looking to sit here and read it to you."

James rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance, but he could barely hide his real amusement as he turned his attention to the original story of Cinderella. You know, the Brother's Grimm version where people chop of their heels and such, which is the first thing that really stood out to James. "So, and correct me if I'm wrong, but what you're saying that a bunch of blokes are going to chop off their heels and their toes in the hopes of marrying you tonight?"

Lily snorted. "You would pick that out as the most important detail." She slammed the book shut and stood up to put it away, but James grabbed her arm.

"Not the most important. Or the most interesting." James said quietly, pulling Lily toward him gently.

"Oh really? Then what was?" Lily managed to say, though her heart was beating a mile a minute and suddenly she felt quite heady. James had stood up and was leaning towards her slowly, and she found herself standing on tiptoe, straining to reach him.

"Your casting of-" James started to say, but was interrupted by the unmistakable squealing of the library doors being dragged open. He turned to see what nutcase had actually chosen to come to the library instead of Hogsmeade on the last Saturday Hogsmeade visit before Christmas. Lily sighed to herself and took a half step back, grabbing the book of fairytales off the table to reshelf. Clearly, her own was not going to come true today.

"Mr. Potter! Miss Evans!" Professor McGonagall's voice called in a sort of carrying whisper. "Ah, there you are! I've come to take over library duty so that you can enjoy the last couple of Hogsmeade hours! Thank you for volunteering your Saturday for the good of the school."

"Brilliant." Lily said as enthusiastically as she could manage. She'd have been a whole lot more enthusiastic if McGonagall had shown up thirty minutes previously, before James Potter had seemed to be attempting to kiss her. "Thanks, Professor."

McGonagall gave her a funny look, probably noting that she wasn't as thankful as expected, but she let it slide without comment. "Go on, get out of here! Potter, don't forget your bag."

"Thank you Professor." James quickly threw everything in his bag and hurried to catch up with Lily, who had already strode off to put up the giant book. He managed to catch up to her right about the time that she reached the door out of the library. "Hey, Lily, wait."

Lily paused in the doorway and turned to look at him. He caught up to her easily and the pair walked out the door together. James took a second to think through what he was going to say, realizing this might be his last chance, and recognizing with amusement Lily's frustration at being interrupted by McGonagall. "So, Lily, since we've got two hours left at Hogsmeade, how about we go to the Three Broomsticks and get a Butterbeer?"

"Oh I suppose I could get a Butterbeeer with you; let me get my coat." Lily replied casually, though inside she was anything but. Rather, she was frantically analyzing every word that had just come out of James Potter's mouth, trying to figure out if he was asking her on a date or not. The pair reached Gryffindor Tower and parted ways, Lily to get her coat and James to drop off his bag as well as get his coat. While upstairs, Lily also frantically tamed her hair with a little loving magic, because she figured it could only help the situation.

As the pair walked towards Hogsmeade together, James kept up a steady pep talk to himself in his head, trying to will himself to just go on and man up and grab her hand. She was clearly interested in him, as their hands kept brushing and she'd told him that he could be Cinder-James earlier, as ridiculous as it sounded. But the pair walked quickly, and James never did find the courage to just take hold of her hand, though he cursed and swore at himself for being a coward the whole way.

"Get me two Butterbeers, Rosmerta!" James called across the counter. "Lil, go grab that booth before those third years can get it."

Lily hurried over to the booth, giving the more timid looking third year a nasty look and elbowing the ballsy one out of the way. Once she sat down in the booth, they wandered away pretty quickly, knowing better than to challenge the Head Girl. Only Sallie Forrester and James Potter were plucky enough to do that.

"Brilliant, Lily, don't take no for an answer." James said as he set the mug of Butterbeer down in front of her. "You show those third years who's boss."

"Rude, that's what the little blonde one was. Didn't know who I was and wanted to take the booth from me until the cute brunette told him I was Head Girl. Asked him if he wanted to get his arse handed to him on a platter, and then pointed out that he'd be going up against both of us and she sure wasn't going to back him up. Kids these days are right cheeky."

"You sound like Professor Slughorn." James laughed, narrowly avoiding spewing a huge mouthful of Butterbeer all over the table. He swallowed it quickly and launched a spot on imitation of Horace Slughorn, the potions master. "Kids these days have no respect at all for the ancient art of brewing potions, which is a scientific process with enough flair to keep it fascinating. There's no predicting what a combination of ingredients will do!"

Lily giggled uncontrollably, clapping a hand over her mouth in an effort to control her volume a bit. "Shhh. He'll hear us!" She gestured vaguely to indicate the professor was somewhere behind James, and he glanced over his shoulder to spot the potions master at a table with several other professors and Hagrid not too far away.

James turned back around looking sheepish. "Thanks for the heads up."

"I was only concerned that Slughorn'd think there was some tricky combination of a time turner and polyjuice potion going on and freak out, possibly dueling you in the process."

"You reckon?" James laughed. "How are you sure that's not what's going on right now?"

"You know, I can't be positive." Lily admitted, leaning across the table and lowering her voice to a secretive tone. James automatically leaned towards her to hear what she was saying. "I've been asking myself that all day, and I'm honestly really hoping that it's true. I spend most of potions wondering what it would be like to be loved by Ol' Horace, how wonderful! You've probably wondered why I haven't been dating recently; it's because they're all just boys, toddlers really, when compared to the manliness of Horace Slughorn!"

"Oh, naturally." James nodded his agreement. "I had wondered, of course, but had come to the complete wrong conclusion, so I thank you for setting the record straight."

"I live to serve." Lily said dramatically. Both students looked from each other over to sneak a peek at Professor Slughorn, then dissolved into peals of laughter. Lily had to wipe tears of mirth from her eyes, and James looked rather like he might fall out of the booth onto the floor. Several pairs of eyes turned to look at them, and before long the majority of the Hogwarts crowd was eyeing the Head Students with suspicion, wondering if the pair had secretly started dating and forgotten to mention it to anyone else. The most interested people in the Three Broomsticks, however, were her best friend, Sallie Forrester, and his friends, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black, none of whom either Lily or James had noticed upon entering the pub.

"Oh really." Lily said crossly, noticing the suspicious look Sallie was shooting her from across the pub and sending it right back. "You'd think the whole school had never seen us be friendly before."

"Well." James thought about it for a moment. "To be fair, maybe they haven't. The Prefects, sure, but the average non-Gryffindor?"

"Well, I wish they'd stop staring anyways. Makes me uncomfortable." Lily grumbled, sprawling out across the entire length of her bench and blatantly staring right back at Sallie, until her friend laughed and turned away. "Ha!"

"What?" James asked, as he had spent the last minute trying to figure out what exactly Lily was doing, and failing miserably.

"I win." Lily said simply, turning to look at James again. She spotted her empty Butterbeer mug and looked at it with obvious concern. "Did you drink that?"

"Clearly, you caught me red-handed. I didn't think you'd notice if I chugged your entire drink while you played whatever game you were playing a moment ago." James rolled his eyes. "D'you want another one?"

"Nah." Lily flicked the glass, making it ring. "I mean, I do, but Rosmerta is on her way over here to see why we're sitting together and she's bringing us a second round as a peace offering so that I don't get cranky at her for prying."

James looked up to see that the barmaid really did appear to be making her way towards them, though she stopped and chatted occasionally with other patrons and students along the way. He looked back at Lily, who was tracing patterns in the table grain absently, and people watching. He was struck, suddenly, by how heartbreakingly gorgeous the redhead was, with her bright green eyes lit up with enthusiasm, which for once was directed at him, and her dark red curls that had just the right bounce. He found himself wondering what it would be like to pull on one of those curls and watch it spring back into place. She grinned to herself about something, then turned to share it with him, only to catch him staring at her.

"What?" Lily asked, blushing slightly.

"Nothing." James leaned across the table and tugged lightly on one of her curls, unable to resist the temptation. "I was just wondering what that'd be like. And admiring how very pretty you are."

Lily just stared at him blankly.

"You are, you know." He said, taking a sip of his Butterbeer to cover his embarrassment at admitting what he'd been thinking. "You're way too pretty to be seen with me."

This time Lily snorted blatantly. "Oh please, you're quite handsome, James. If anything it should be the other way around."

"Really?" James laughed. "Quit being nice, Lily."

"No, really." Lily blushed slightly, but still appeared to be completely at ease. She was leaning towards him on her elbows. "I've always thought you were very good-looking, you know. Since nearly the moment I first saw you. And then you opened your mouth and ruined everything."

James got the sudden urge to just lean across the table and kiss her, which he did. Unfortunately he was interrupted yet again, this time by Madame Rosmerta, before he could actually manage the kiss. This time Lily was the one who managed to be polite while James appeared more than a little bit frustrated by the sudden turn of events.

"Hi Rosmerta!" Lily said happily. She reached under the table and patted James' knee comfortingly. He looked at her with surprise and managed to greet Rosmerta with some semblance of good manners. "How's business today? Looks busy."

"It's been like this all day, but I can always find time to come over and greet my two favorite Hogwarts students!" Rosmerta said, plunking the mugs of Butterbeer down in front of the pair. She slipped onto the bench beside Lily. "How are classes?"

"Oh, the usual." Lily said. "N.E.W.T. year and all, so there's heaps of work. We'd have been here much earlier, but James here volunteered us to babysit the library while Pince is sick today. My theory is that he didn't want to admit he hadn't found time to finish his essay with Quidditch practice and all."

"Finish my essay?" James laughed, "I hadn't started it."

"You wrote it that fast?" Lily leaned against the wall and looked at James for a minute. "I must have napped longer than I thought."

"It'll probably get a Troll, is what you really mean." James grinned.

Lily shrugged, "Knowing you, it'll definitely get an Outstanding. I swear Rosmerta, it isn't fair, he's not got to try one iota for Transfig, and I've got to work for days on one measly essay."

"Yeah, well you're brilliant at Charms and Potions, so I guess it all evens out in the end."

Rosmerta just sat there smiling, listening to the banter as she realized slowly that the pair was completely smitten with one another. They'd been traipsing through her pub for years, sometimes arguing, sometimes not even managing to look at each other, and one memorable time James Potter had been begging Lily to forgive him for something that had happened weeks previously. (She finally told him she'd forgive him if he's shut up and leave her alone. Then he asked her out and she threw a hot cider in his face.) Rosmerta wondered how long it would be before the Head students figured it out for themselves, or perhaps they already had. With the way they looked at each other when they thought she wasn't paying attention, it was obvious.

"Well, I love hearing all about the goings on of Hogwarts, as you well know, but I've got to hurry off and tend to that bar before that lot gets out of control." Rosmerta nodded towards a pack of fifth years that had just walked in, arguing and joking loudly.

"Bye Rosmerta!" Lily and James chorused as she headed off with a little wave, back into the fray.

"So," Lily said with a smirk. "To go back to what we were saying before-"

"Miss Evans! Mr. Potter!" Horace Slughorn exclaimed as he spotted them on his way heading back to Hogwarts. "Why, I thought you two were supposed to mind the library this afternoon!"

"Professor McGonagall took over so we could come to Hogsmeade for a little bit." James explained, sharing a look with Lily that clearly stated he wanted to be alone as much as she did.

"Well, you'd best be heading back to the school if you're not going to be late!" Slughorn boomed. "Come on, we can all walk together."

"Oh." Lily grabbed her coat. "Perfect, sir! I did want to ask you about that Christmas party you're throwing. Is it going to be that Friday night or Saturday night? I was confused by the invitation."

The three headed out of the Three Broomsticks with a wave to Rosmerta. She waved farewell back, giving Horace Slughorn a look that meant he should leave the young couple alone, one that he didn't quite catch. Slughorn was prattling on about his Christmas party and really not paying attention to anything else at the moment, that is, until Lily stopped walking halfway to Hogwarts and patted her pockets.

"What's up, Lil?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I left my gloves in the Three Broomsticks is all." Lily made a face. "I'm sure Rosmerta will hold onto them for me, but they're the ones Mum made me, and she's sure to be cranky if I don't have them for Christmas break."

"I'll help you look." James volunteered immediately, taking Lily by the arm and striding back towards Hogsmeade. "Bye Professor!"

"Yes, well, good luck finding your mittens!" Slughorn called, obviously a tad confused about what had just happened. He hurried to catch up with Professor Flitwick, who was quite a ways in front of him.

"You little liar." James said, pulling Lily into an alleyway when they reached the edge of Hogsmeade. "You didn't have gloves with you at all today!"

"Look, it got us out of walking back all the way with Sluggy." Lily said, looking unabashed. "Unless you want to chat about that bloody party the entire way and the seventy thousand different types of hors d'oeuvres he plans to serve. Maybe we can still catch up with him?"

"Don't be ridiculous." James snickered. "You get invited to all of his parties, I bet."

"Proud member of the Slug Club since First Year." Lily admitted in a voice that betrayed her lack of pride in the fact. She did rather like Slughorn and his class, but she found his parties dreadfully boring. "I don't suppose you've ever had to suffer through one?"

"Nope."

"Want to go with me?" Lily asked hopefully, thinking that with James there it might not be as wretched. Or at least they could poke fun at everything together.

"Not particularly, but if you're desperate for a date…" James was trying to be casual about the whole thing, but he was secretly thrilled that she'd asked him. Not because he had any desire to attend a Slug Club Christmas party, but because she wanted to spend time with him.

"I usually just go with Remus, but I thought I'd mix it up a bit. Besides, he said no. He's apparently already got a date, which I should've expected seeing as how he's dating someone. Still, it's our miserable tradition. Maybe I'll ask Peter." Lily teased, looking up at James. "He is, after all, my prince tonight."

"Fine, I'll go." James said quickly. "But only because I know Pete would faint if you asked him, and it's best to just avoid that situation entirely. You owe me one for this, Evans."

"I suppose something could be arranged." Lily peeked around the corner and saw that Slughorn was out of sight. "Come on, we really ought to be getting back and there's no sign of Ol' Sluggy anywhere."

The pair headed out of the alley and started the long walk back towards Hogwarts, neither one really wanting their time together to end, and both trying to talk themselves into something; James once again wrestled with himself to just hold her hand already, and Lily felt the need to clarify if this had been a date or not. It was driving both of them absolutely insane. Lily's courage won out first.

"Hey James?" Lily said, before James could muster his Gryffindor courage and take her hand.

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's nothing really. Only I was just wondering, why exactly you asked me to get a Butterbeer. I mean to say that I really fancy you, like a massive crush, and I've been frightfully obvious about it, so I was hoping that you meant this as a sort of, well a date? Mostly because earlier I thought you were going to kiss me, twice actually, though I could be completely wrong, but I thought maybe that you fancied me as well? Only I really can't tell for sure. If it's not a date, that's okay too, but I'd really like to know because I think it might just drive me mad if I puzzle over it any longer…"

"Are you finished?" James asked, having stopped in the middle of the path back to Hogwarts and turned to face Lily. His eyes were twinkling with amusement, but Lily was avoiding his gaze like the devil, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Yes, that is, I believe I am. But one can never be quite positive." Lily glanced up at James with a sort of apologetic smile, but she quickly looked away again.

"Brilliant. Now come here so I can kiss you properly this time. Even if Dumbledore himself shows up to interrupt." James tugged her to him and kissed her, and though at first Lily was too shocked to respond, she quickly began to kiss him back, wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss and pull him closer to her.

"Right. Not a date then." Lily teased after they had broken apart.

"Now we really do have to hurry back or we're going to get detention." James grabbed Lily's hand firmly and they started walking back to Hogwarts.

"Hey James?"

"Yeah?"

"It was a date, right?"

"Yes, Lily. Now come on so I can ask you out at a party instead of in the middle of detention."

"I like that plan." Lily announced, walking a little bit faster.