A/N: …hey. I'm back after, what, several months? No, that can't be it.

But it is.

I've looked over Nutshells recently, and several of my other stories, and I've realized how I've become a much better writer recently. So I may or may not abandon Nutshells. I'll try to bring it to some closure, or try at least to work out some of the terrible kinks in the writing, but…meh. No guarantees.

For now, enjoy the story of Lily's first flying lesson.

"Oh, come on! Work for me, you silly piece of poo."

I stifle a laugh when hearing these words, and turn around to see a redhead girl staring fixedly at the broom on the ground. It's our first flying lesson, but I've been flying for years – she, obviously, has not.

"Fine then! Don't listen to me." She kicks the broom on the ground, and it rolls away from her heels like a frightened woodland creature. By now she is absolutely seething with rage, and like the imaginative fellow I am, I can almost picture steam rising from her fiery locks in her anger.

Or is that my imagination? Maybe she is actually on fire.

"Check it out," the boy next to me says, nudging my shoulder quietly. "Ginger's about to explode."

'Ginger' in question has just turned around to us, staring at us with a look of hatred. I almost double back.

"I am not going to explode, you insensitive imbecile," she snaps. "I'm just frustrated. Nothing's going right today."

The boy next to me laughs. "Or last night. I remember – weren't you the one who knocked pumpkin juice all over the Head Girl? And you're the one who accidentally went up to the boy's dorms instead of the girl's! A bit of confusion there, Red?"

I laugh. I remember this girl – she's constantly humiliated herself ever since she entered the double doors along with the rest of us first years.

"I know you!" I pipe up, smiling. "I was changing when you walked into the dorm." For some reason unbeknownst to myself, I wink at her. "Got quite an eyeful there, didn't you?"

I didn't know it was possible, but I think she just gets even angrier when I say this. The boy next to me laughs and claps me on the shoulder and I grin confidently. I turn back to the girl, and she's still glaring at me fixatedly like I deserve to die.

Which I really don't, actually.

"That was nice, mate," the boy next to me says, still chuckling with amusement. "Who are you, anyway?"

"James Potter, nice to meet you," I say, sticking out a hand to shake.

The boy's expression falls for a moment, but then brightens again, even more enthusiastic than before.

"Sirius Black," he says, slapping my hand. We then proceed to make up a complex handshake right on the spot, involving several twists and turns and ending with a head butt.

We collapse in fits of laughter. The flying instructor blows her whistle and we straighten up again, grinning like there's no tomorrow.

In several moments the entire class is in the air, and the instructor is telling us about basic broom handling and flying safety – I'm not listening at all. In fact, I'm not even with the rest of the class. Sirius and I are over by the boundaries of the forest, and two other boys have joined us. There names are Peter and Remus, respectively, and they seem to be just as awesome as I am.

We're tossing a small rock we found on the ground back and forth, but before I know it, I'm almost knocked out of the air by something akin to a missile.

Dazed and confused, I right myself on my broom again, just to discover that Sirius, Remus, and Peter have all been unceremoniously shoved off their perches, too. Sirius has already scrambled back onto his broom, and Remus and Peter are recovering slowly. I turn around in the air to discover the redhead girl maliciously smirking at me, tossing the rock we'd been throwing back and forth between her hands.

She's surprisingly balanced, especially since this is likely the first time she's ever ridden a broom. I'm impressed.

"Not so confident now, are you?" she says, her jibe a stab of condescension.

"I thought you couldn't get the 'silly piece of poo' to work for you," I respond lazily, gesturing to the broom. I see where this is headed, and I know who's going to win in the end.

"Got over it," she replies airily. "Now can you really fly, or were you just spouting off lies?"

I laugh conceitedly. "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into. I've been flying for years."

"And I've been flying for minutes. Even more humiliating that I knocked you off you broom, then, huh?" she snaps back.

"Yes, you completely swept me off my feet," I reply cheekily, and her expression quickly switches from haughty to angry once again. "Let's do this, eh?"

I hurtle forward at her, catching her by surprise, and snatch the rock back in mid-toss.

I plunge into a dive. The air's whistling by my ears, rushing past me like water, and it feels heavenly – at least until I glimpse, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of red hair. She's right on my tail.

I can hear Sirius, Remus, and Peter cheering me on as I race through the air, and several girls nearer to the ground are watching in fascination as I spiral in loops, the redhead girl following me all the while.

How is she doing this? It took me at least a year to get used to flying – she's been in the air for what, half an hour, and she can already execute perfect spirals? I pull out of the circle I've been making and toss the rock to Sirius, who immediately zooms off in the opposite direction.

Amazingly, the redheaded girl makes the sharpest turn I've ever witnessed and continues after Sirius. She's gaining on him, quickly, but he isn't noticing and tries tossing the rock to Remus and Peter. Before either of them can catch it, the girl has snatched the rock back and is once again speeding off toward the forest.

Sirius and I both immediately change tactic. We separate and start narrowing in on her, coming from two different directions. Right when we begin to finally close in on the girl she shoots upward, and we veer off in order to prevent a nasty collision.

Recovering from the moment, Sirius and I both look up to see the redhead grinning once again above our heads, quirking her eyebrow and smiling. I notice that when she smiles like this, only one corner of her mouth raises, in a crooked, mischievous fashion.

Sirius and I gape at her, and she descends into a looping, downward spiral, landing swiftly on the ground and joining two grinning girls.

"That was amazing, Lily," one says in awe.

"It felt amazing," Lily responds, fervently.

Lily? That's the redhead's name? I'd expect it to be a lot less sweet. And ultimately evil. Like Malice, or maybe even Psycho, for she certainly is one.

"Stupid, show-off, evil little witch," I hiss, and Sirius joins me, his gaze clouded with rage.

Remus has joined us, and Peter isn't too far behind. "You have to admit, she did fly pretty well," Remus says logically.

"Wonderfully," Peter sighs in a tone of near-worship.

"Are you kidding me? I've seen better," I mutter childishly.

"Girl just got lucky," Sirius insists. "We could get her, any day."

"I think a plan of revenge is in store for tonight, men," I say proudly, smirking as I formulate the plan in my mind.

That night, a certain Ms. Lily Evans receives quite a surprise when her dinner begins to retaliate against her.

I laugh wickedly as her chicken delicately thumps her on the forehead.

What? She deserved it. But…

I think I might love her.

A/N: Like it? Review it!

-.x.