Headmaster Dumbledore sat at the staff table munching toast with raspberry jam, his favorite. For all intents and purposes, it appeared that he was merely observing the students as they ate, but if anyone paid him extra attention, they would have realized that he was actually focused on two students in particular. He watched as the black haired boy approached the redheaded girl and Dumbledore drew in his breath. Maybe this time would yield results. Obviously, from this distance, he couldn't hear the conversation but he watched in anticipation, nonetheless. Alas, this time was no different than any of the times before. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly as Lily's hand drew back and slapped James across the face. The boy had no finesse when it came to the object of his affection.

Why his interest? Well, that took a bit of explaining. These were troubled times the wizarding world was living in. Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, as he liked to call himself now, was becoming more powerful and gaining more followers constantly. Dumbledore was consulting every branch of magic available, searching for ways to eliminate Tom Riddle and ensure the survival of the wizarding world that currently existed. Admittedly, Divination was the least precise branch of magic but Dumbledore was consulting it as well. Centaurs were the unrivaled masters of Divination and he had forged a partnership with one to gain answers to his questions. Pierce, his Centaur alliance, had recently outlined to Dumbledore all he could see in the future in regard to the war that Riddle was waging. Naturally, there was more than one way that the future could unfold but one of those paths was ideal. The key to that path, as told by Pierce, was the future son of Lily Evans and James Potter. Pierce had warned that, as things currently stood, that path was least likely to occur. Unless a little bit of nudging took place.

At first, he'd struggled with the idea of meddling in the lives of two of his students, especially in their love lives. Everyone had the right to love or loathe whomever he or she chose. He didn't want his interference to bring together two people who perhaps weren't meant to be together. However, as he observed both the students in question, he came to realize that both truly did love one another; they just hadn't realized it yet. James had harbored a crush on Lily since he'd first laid eyes on her in their first year. His pursuit of her was an obsession, but whether he realized it or not, the driving force of that obsession was his love for her. Lily, on the other hand, was in complete denial. While her hatred of James had perhaps been warranted during their first three years as classmates, her feelings had slowly begun to change. It had become harder and harder to hate someone who could love her so unconditionally. She had done some terrible things to him over the years in retaliation for the immature and embarrassing pranks James had played on her to try and earn her attentions; and yet he still loved her. Her own sister couldn't love her as unconditionally as James seemed to and that was becoming very hard to ignore.

Dumbledore had been studying the two students relentlessly and was preparing to implement some of his plans to nudge them into realizing their feelings for one another. He had several plans up his sleeves and was just wondering if involving friends of the two students to help execute the schemes was a good idea.

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Lily's morning already left a lot to be desired. Why couldn't Potter leave her alone for one single day? She hadn't even finished her breakfast today before he was harassing her to go out on a date with him. She didn't understand how he could take so much rejection. But as long as he kept asking her out, she was just going to keep dishing it up. She was starting to suspect that his determination had more to do with his inability to deal with failure than his actual feelings for her. It simply was not possible that he could like her that much. Right?

"Li-ly," Alice called in a singsong tone. "Where have you gone?"

"What?" Lily asked.

"You were so deep in thought that you didn't even notice me talking to you," Alice accused.

"Sorry," Lily said. "What were you saying?"

"It wasn't important," Alice said. "I'm more interested in what you are so busy thinking about."

"Nothing worth mentioning," Lily replied.

"James?" Alice asked with a smirk.

"Why would you even assume that?" Lily asked heatedly.

"You clammed up right after he asked you out. So, naturally, I have to assume that's what you are dwelling on," Alice said.

Confirming that Alice was indeed correct, Lily said, "I just don't understand how he can keep trying after I've turned him down so many times. I mean, even his enormous ego has to have a limit."

"Maybe I'm right and he really does like you that much," Alice said, "maybe you're irresistible to him, for some reason."

"Thanks, Alice," Lily said sarcastically.

"I'm not saying that I find it to be impossible for you to be irresistible to him; I just don't know exactly what his reasons are. Maybe he loves your temper or the way you slap him when he asks you out in a particularly insulting manner. Maybe he has a weakness for redheads. Who knows?" Alice said.

"I still maintain that we mutually loathe one another and his favorite way to torture me is to ask me out incessantly simply because he knows that it annoys me," Lily said. "In fact, I find it so obnoxious that I sometimes wish he'd go back to the immature pranks he used to play on me when we were younger."

"Wake up and smell the pumpkin juice, Lily," Alice chided. "James likes you. He always has and he always will. No amount of rejection from you is going to discourage him. Those pranks he played when we were younger, were just his childish way of trying to win your attention. He does the same thing now except he asks you out instead of turning your hair purple."

"So what you're saying is that there is no way I'm ever going to get Potter off my case?" Lily asked.

"I doubt you being engaged to another boy would get James off your case. Actually that might make him up his game. Maybe if you married someone else, he'd finally get the hint," Alice mused.

Lily groaned as they walked into the charms classroom and took their usual seats next to one another. When the bell rang and Professor Flitwick bustled into the classroom, the class became quiet. "We are going to try something new today. Rather than everyone working with their best mates, we are going to partner up so that people of equal skill level are paired up. People that struggle with this subject a little bit more will have to work together to figure things out and people that excel at this subject can spur each other to greater heights."

Lily and Alice exchanged a worried glance; they liked working together, what if they got paired up with someone horrible? The first pair of names Flitwick read off his list were Alice and Peter. Peter wasn't horrible, but he wasn't wonderful either. The crease that appeared between Alice's brows told Lily that she was less than thrilled. Lily listened for her name and tried to keep track of which names had already been called. When it got down to the final four names, which included both herself and Potter, she began to panic. She couldn't be paired up with Potter, she just couldn't. She wondered if Flitwick would put her with someone else if she asked. "Lily and James," Flitwick finally said and Lily's stomach dropped. "Now that everyone is paired up let me say two things; first, no, I will not let you change partners. I don't care if you are sworn enemies or if he or she is your ex. You are stuck. Second, this is your partner for the rest of the school year."

Lily's spirit sank as she watched Potter make his way over to her table and flop into the chair Alice had just vacated. She was stuck with him for the rest of the bloody school year and it was only March. As she continued to think about how unfair the entire situation was, she could practically feel her blood pressure rising. It was one thing to have to try get along with Potter, to endure working with him in class; but she knew how relaxed he was about his studies. If her grades suffered because she'd been partnered with him, she would hex him.

"Alright, Evans?" Potter asked calmly from beside her.

"Yeah, great," She practically growled at him.

"That doesn't sound very convincing," Potter replied innocently.

"It wasn't meant to," Lily hissed.

"I take it you aren't overjoyed at the prospect of working with me," Potter said.

"What was your first clue?" Lily asked sarcastically.

"The way your face fell when Flitwick read off our names," he said almost sadly. "I, on the other hand, can't think of anyone with whom I'd rather work."

Lily rolled her eyes dramatically before saying, "I can't think of a single reason why you'd want to work with me. You know I can't stand you."

"Evans, you don't really hate me," Potter said cockily, "You just haven't realized yet how charming and irresistible I am."

"You are so full of yourself, I'm surprised you have space in there for organs and blood," Lily said. "Not in a million years would I find you charming or irresistible."

"James and Lily, is there anything you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Flitwick asked. When they silently shook their head no, he continued, "Then I suggest you stop visiting and pay attention to the lesson."

Lily focused her attention on Professor Flitwick and taking notes on what he was teaching them. James, on the other hand, was studying her; she could feel his eyes on her. It was unsettling. "What?" she finally hissed under her breath.

"I'm sorry?" James asked, distractedly.

"Well, I assume there is a reason you are sitting there staring at me instead of taking notes," Lily explained.

James flushed attractively before ruffling his already messy hair and leaning closer to her before whispering, "It's just that I don't typically get to sit this close to you for this long; you are so beautiful."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and said, "Like I'm going to believe that."

"You should," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear and his alluring boy scent wafting over her. "I've thought so for years."

"Mr. Potter and Miss Evans," Professor Flitwick said sternly. "Detention, my classroom tonight at seven. If you'd like to try make it a double, then, by all means, keep talking."

The fact that she had earned her first detention ever, and with Potter as her partner in crime, didn't register at first. The only thing Lily was consciously aware of, was the sudden distance between herself and Potter and how much that disappointed her. As she came back to herself, she could see Sirius smirking broadly at Potter from across the classroom and her anger flared. Her first detention, ever! She was a prefect for Merlin's sake! "Potter is going to pay dearly for this," she thought.

For the rest of the lesson, Lily only spoke to James if what she had to say related in some way to the lesson. James seemed contrite; at the very least, he seemed to be trying to ensure that he wouldn't land them in further trouble with Flitwick. She was glad for that but it annoyed her to see the happy sparkle in his eyes.

"Alice, stop laughing," Lily demanded. "It isn't funny!"

"I beg to differ," Alice chortled. "Who knew getting assigned new partners in Charms would be so entertaining?"

In a vain attempt to take the focus off herself, Lily asked, "How was working with Peter?"

"Fine, boring," Alice said. "I want to hear more about you and James. Did he confundus you or something? You looked a little dazed the second time Flitwick stopped class to yell at you two."

Lily gritted her teeth, she could feel a headache coming on. Soon enough, she and Alice were settling into their seats in Potions.

"We're going to try something new today," Professor Slughorn said as he waddled to the front of the room. Lily felt like she was having a horrible case of déjà vu.

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By the time classes had ended for the day, Lily found herself newly partnered with James in every single one of them. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn that someone was playing a particularly heinous prank on her. She was more thankful than ever that he was not in all of the same classes as her.

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When the last of his staff entered the staff room, Dumbledore addressed them. "Did everyone carry out the tasks I assigned to you today in regard to Mr. Potter and Miss Evans?"

"Yes, of course," Professor Slughorn replied, "but can you explain to us what this is all about?"

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said. "Its a delicate matter and, while at first glance it may seem trivial, let me assure you that there is a lot riding on it. I just ask that you trust me and follow any instructions I have for you." He looked around the room and received nods from his staff. "Now, did any of you manage to give them detention today?"

"I did," Professor Flitwick said. "They left me little choice; they wouldn't stop talking and listen to the lesson."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "You have my instructions for that as well?"

"Yes," Flitwick confirmed.

"Very well, everyone is dismissed then," Dumbledore said as he rose from his seat and left the room.

The professors looked at each other in confusion. This was by far one of the strangest things Dumbledore had ever requested of them. His exact instructions had been, "Find every possible opportunity to throw James Potter and Lily Evans together." Obviously he had some knowledge that they didn't. There had to be a good reason for these plans, even if he wasn't sharing it with them at the moment. As the professors departed for their own offices, they contemplated what those reasons could possibly be; not one considered for even a moment that the desired outcome of this strange experiment was love.

Author's Note: A million thank yous to my rocking beta Terra Ferme, who not only weeded my silly mistakes out of this chapter but also came up with the perfect title and asked all the right questions to get my mind churning on the next several chapters! You are awesome!!!

I have been completely obsessed with James and Lily stories lately and decided to try one of my own when this idea kept popping into my mind. Thanks for reading and let me know if I should continue. I am putting the rating of this story at M for future chapters. Let me know if you have any brilliant suggestions for how Dumbledore can throw James and Lily together.

Thanks, Tinkerbell.