A/N: Oh my god, I actually finished a fic!!! Not much to say about this… it came to me while I was thinking about my other L/J fic, and thought it was a cute idea. It didn't fit in with the other story, so I wrote it up separately. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: If ya recognize it, it ain't mine (But I sure wish I owned James!). The idea of doodling a name in your notes came from Princess Kate's story, In Which Hermione Drives Herself Insane… Toodles! ~Tahlya
James…"In 1379, Wendelin the Weird cracked the previously in-comprehensible Code of Doom inscribed on every broomstick fashioned by the Aztec wizarding community. This miraculous discovery led to a series of events including…"
Professor Elcrant, the Ancient Runes professor, continued to speak of the Code of Doom in a monotone, seemingly unaware that half of his class was falling asleep. Well, most of them, anyway. James Potter was wide-awake, but he was busy pretending to listen, his mind focused on something slightly more interesting.
Her hair was gorgeous today. How had she done it? There was a knot swept up in the back, that caught the light just so, making her head shine like a large ruby. And her eyes, big emerald pools. There was no gem so beautiful or so rare as the precious Lily Evans.
She never really talked with him, after all, what would 'good girl' Lily have anything to do with James Potter, the Marauder, famous for being tied with Sirius Black for the most detentions accumulated in one month. She got all 'A's too; he could never understand why she wasn't in Ravenclaw. His grades weren't bad at all, (though his Potions grade was not so great) but he never took studying quite so seriously. Why waste your time? He knew the material.
James half-wondered if he paid more attention to his schoolwork, and spent less time pulling pranks, whether Lily would pay more attention to him. Probably not, he decided. Besides, he was one of the Marauders! What would Sirius and Remus and Peter say if he backed out because of a girl? Well, Peter wouldn't say anything. He was too timid to plunge into James' business. And Remus might wonder, but not say anything. He would understand. But there was no way Sirius would let him live it down….
James' thoughts were rudely interrupted by a voice from behind him. Professor Elcrant's voice was thick with sarcasm. "Well, Mr. Potter, let's see how well you paid attention. Of course, you were busy copying down every word, am I right? You couldn't possibly have been too busy staring over at the corner of the room to listen to important history, am I correct? Hand me your notes, please."
James groaned inwardly. His notes were rather… interestingly off-topic. And Professor Elcrant was notorious for reading private notes out loud in class. Of course, the whole class was now wide-awake, readying themselves for humiliation a la James.
Professor Elcrant's eyebrows rose as he scanned James' notes-er, doodles. The entire parchment was filled with the word 'Lily' repeated over and over with different flourishes and styles, making it quite obvious for one to guess just what-or who- he had been staring at. He cleared his throat to begin, and looked down at his culprit. James was red already, his face tense with trepidation. Professor Elcrant was suddenly reminded of his own teen years, filled with gossip and puppy love, and a huge crush on a girl who never gave him a second glance.
"Alright class, back to work. In 1428, Wendelin's granddaughter squashed the theory that Wendelin had made up the code by producing some documents verified by the Ministry…" Professor Elcrant switched back to the monotone. The class broke out in surprised whispers, but quickly began copying notes once again. In the midst of his lecture, Elcrant bent down and whispered in James' ear, "You can pick this up on your way out of the classroom. But I expect explicitly detailed notes from you from now on."
"Yes, sir." James whispered, inwardly sighing with relief. He scribbled notes, covering the parchment.
Elcrant put the parchment in the pocket of his robes and continued down the aisle. Several people moved to cover up their own doodles and go back to their own notes before he discovered. Elcrant grinned as he noticed a certain redhead cover up a spectacular doodle of a black-haired, glasses-wearing boy sitting in the opposite corner…