Stir counter clockwise, as many times as it takes for your potion to take effect. It should look clear as water when completed.

Lily was working hard to put the finishing touches on her potion, so much so she wasn't paying attention to the paper airplane note that was whizzing around her head. Even once or twice it flew directly in front of her face, she merely swatted at it as if it were an annoying bug rather than a private message from a friend. It wasn't until Professor Slughorn announced the end of potion making period that she took notice of it. She snatched it out of the air before Slughorn saw it and stashed it under her book for safe keeping. She only risked reading it once he was thoroughly distracted testing a perfectly completed potion by Snape, her former best friend and best potion maker in the year.

"This is simply wonderful" Slughorn announced to the class.

Lily quickly opened the note and read the handwriting that she recognized immediately as her friend Marry's which read

James has been watching you all through class. It is so cute how he adores you so!

Lily shook her head and glanced at Marry who was smiling profusely and then at James, an attractive boy with hazel eyes and dark messy hair, who although wasn't looking at her when she read the note looked up hopefully as soon as he noticed she was looking at him. She looked away quickly and jotted a reply to Marry.

So …what's new?

Slughorn was by then testing Siruis Black and James Potters potions. It didn't take much time for either, they were passable but nothing remarkable as usual. Which impressive considering James did it while watching Lily throughout the class. They are so talented, too bad they waste all their talents on their stupid pranks and games. Lily thought to herself. It didn't take long for the paper airplane not to come spinning back to her.

Oh, come on.

You know any girl in the school would give anything for James or even one of his friends to look at them the way James looks at you.

And you don't even appreciate it.

Lily wrote back:

Why should I? He is a git. You know it is true.

He spends more time on his pranks and new inventive ways of torturing me than he does on school.

And he thinks he is gods gift to earth. It is disgusting.

Lily only barely got the note off before Slughorn came to test her potion. She smiled as he came by.

"ah, Lily, my star pupil. Or should I say one of my star pupils." He sent a fleeting smile at Snape. "How have you done today?" He said as he bend over her potion.

"It was a bit challenging. I haven't done a potion like this in a while." She said.

"Don't be silly dear, this is wonderful! Only barely beaten by Severus. It smells perfect, it is merely a little too light. But don't fret my dear, you deserve full marks, if not more. This is a splendid potion."

He then moved, reluctantly to the next student, a sour looking Slytherin who sat in front of a smoking seemingly empty couldron.

"Oh, dear." he said under his breath as he left her table.

He was only barely in time to miss the paper airplane land back in front of Lily.

Yeah, if you call asking you out and constantly flattering you torture.

I do, thought Lily. James Potter is popular, he is a great qutich player, is extremely smart and talented and is attractive. Any girl in Hogwarts would love to date him, all but Lily that is. Maybe that's why he tries so hard to get her attention. He had been asking her out ever since she can remember. It is our sixth year, I have never given in… why does he think I will now?

Profession Slughorn finished testing the potion and dismissed the class which filed out towards the great hall for lunch. Marry waited for Lily in the hall. Lily did not look happy.

"What?" Marry said while smiling guiltily.

"Why do you have to be on his side?" Lily said

" He is endearing. You have to admit it."

"No, I don't, he doesn't mean it. Its just a cocky power trip. He cant stand the fact that I wont go out with him."

"I don't know about that. I mean, you don't see the way he looks at you when your not looking. Besides you don't even try to see the real James, give him a chance. He isn't quite the same cocky jerk of last year."

"Oh, please I don't believe he has changed that much in 6 months."

"Oi! Evens!" James yelled through the hall.

"Right on cue." Lily said under her breath to Marry.

James came jogging up from behind her followed shortly by sirius who put his arm around a 5th year huffelpuff who blushed profusely.

"That was some potion, huh? You always have to be better than me, don't you?" James said

"Maybe if you actually tried it might be a challenge for me." She sped up to get away from him.

"Oh, come on. Why do you have to be that way, sweetheart!"

Srius tapped James on the arm and they sped away down some random corridor that as far as Lily knew, led to no where. But to her amazement only a few moments later she discovered that they has beaten her and Marry to the great hall now joined by the rest of the marauders, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

"How do they do that?" Marry asked incredulously. Lily shrugged.

_____

Later that day Lily walked towards the Gryffindor common room with her nose in a book. Sirius walked past her looking at her curiously. She looked up.

"What?" she said innocently.

"Oh, nothing just wondering how you do that. It takes talent to walk and read and not run into a wall or something. I'm impressed Lily my dear."

"Uh, thanks…" she said as they walked into the common room.

James was sitting in a chair by the fire with an open book in his hands, as Lily and Sirius walked in he looked up from his conversation with a blonde seventh year with a confused, almost accusing look on his face. Sirius headed to James and sat next to him.

"What's that about?" James asked Sirius.

"What?"

"Your all buddy buddy with Lily now?"

"Not quite mate. Just happened to be walking in at the same time and I commented her on her talent for walking and reading at the same time."

James didn't look satisfied but he didn't say anymore.

Lily wasn't far behind Sirius and as she passed he looked at James with a strange look on her face. "When did you start reading, James? I though you already knew everything" She said.

" Oh, I do. I just have to keep up appearances." he responded with a smile.

The blonde girl next to him glared daggers at Lily, apparently angry for distracting James from her. She got up an walked quickly up to the girl dormitories. James noted her departure seemingly pleased. He called to Lily who was already heading towards a secluded seat near the window. "Hey, Lily. Why don't you take the seat by the nice warm fire, it seems it has just become unoccupied. You will catch a cold over all the way over there"

It only took about 3 seconds for Peter to jump into the seat and James glared at him.

"Ill be just fine, thanks." She responded and continued reading Hogwarts a History.

"Way to go Wormtail" Sirius said

"Oh, please. Like she was going to come anyway." he said and Sirius shrugged.

"You know Prongs maybe you should try changing up your tactics with Lily." Lupin said as he sat on the ground by the other three.

"Its true, the fair Lily Evans doesn't seem to respond well to you now a days." Sirius said.

"Has she ever responded well?" Peter asked.

"Or have you given up on actually getting her to go out with you?" Lupin asked.

"He will never give up, are you kidding? He is obsessed." Sirius said.

"I'm not obsessed." James said defensively. Sirius shook his head and both Lupin and Peter shrugged.

"She will give in some day." James said while looking over at her.

"It has been six years, mate. Maybe its time to try some other girls. Hogwarts is ripe with hotties who would line up to go out with you."

"I have tried other girls… none of them are like Lily."

"What hot headed and short tempered?"

"And smart, witty, beautiful and many other things I could list for you. Although I'm sure you wouldn't want to sit through that. It my take a while."

Sirius grunted. "Okay, look. I know how you feel about her. But I think Lupin is right. You need to change tactics."

"But how? I have changed. I haven't messed with Snivellus or anyone else for that matter in months. What more does she want."

"You need to make her see that you have changed. As far as she knows your still the same old James whose only ambition in life is a good laugh." Lupin said.

"Ugh, this is going to be hard."

"If she is worth it to you then you will do whatever it takes." sirius said seriously.

James sighed looking at her. Her beautiful red hair that keeps falling in her face as she reads, her bright amazing green eyes, he dreams about those eyes almost every night. Her soft skin, her smile, the way she tilts her head as she reads. Her lips, how he would give anything to touch his lips to hers.

He shook his head to escape the trance she unknowingly put on him.

"Your right. She is worth it." He said with a smile.

"She is worth everything and then some."