On his first morning home from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, James Potter awoke to the sound of rolling thunder. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms upward and then out, grabbing his glasses from his bedside table. "Splendid day," he muttered and hauled himself out of bed, staring through his rain-soaked window at the dark clouds over the Potter estate. Scanning the room for his sitting robe, James allowed his thoughts to wander to the day ahead. Doubtless his parents had already left for another day of inspiring work at the Ministry. His friends were settling in with their own families. For the time being, James felt as if the clouds were a heavy lid, keeping his energy bottled up still longer and somehow magnifying the weight of the frustrations that had characterized the end of his recently-concluded fifth year.

Everything had been going swimmingly until May. He, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew had helped their good friend and sometime werewolf, Remus Lupin, through the last full moon of the school year. Gryffindor had been in line to finally wrest back the Quidditch Cup from Slytherin with James in fine form at Chaser and Sirius once again proving deadly accurate with the Bludgers. He had even successfully balanced hexing Severus Snape at regular intervals, while escaping the ire of Snape's sworn protector, Lily Evans. All while avoiding an excessive amount of time spent in detention.

The crack of a particularly bright bolt of lightning roused James from this early-morning introspection. He quickly donned the maroon and gold sitting robe, which he had found pressed between his trunk and closet door, and started down the two flights of stairs separating his bedroom and the Potters' kitchen. As he passed another exquisitely rendered family portrait on the landing between the first and second floors, James could finally smell the tantalizing combination of brewing coffee and frying bacon. Following the aroma down the last flight of stairs, around the corner, and through the back hallway off which the family's inner courtyard sat, he saw the Potters' house-elf, Tinka, standing over several pans on the stove. James closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Master James!" exclaimed the startled creature. "Tinka had not expected Master to be up so early on your first morning home!"

"They don't call me the 'Master of Surprises' at school for nothing," James replied, an amused smile brightening his face for a moment. "At any rate, I'd happily wait all morning for your cooking. Mum tries her best, but she just can't fry a strip of bacon quite like you."

The words of praise immediately sent the small, gray-skinned creature into a flurry of thanks, as she wrung her knobby hands excitedly on the dirty garment that stretched from her shoulders to just above her knees. "Is there anything Tinka can get for Master James while he waits?"

"Don't think so," James said casually, sitting down at the head of the table and picking him the copy of The Daily Prophet his father had left behind.

The front page was dreadfully boring. More lines wasted on the Minister of Magic's expected departmental appointments and Anglo-American Wizarding Relations. Seeking out the Quidditch insert, James was disappointed to find it thinner than normal. "Useless rag," he grumbled before tossing it away. "All league rumors and injury updates. Not a word about the start of qualifying. Wish I could owl the editor."

Without the paper to distract him, James's thoughts returned to May. It all started going downhill the third weekend when the team had lost the Quidditch Cup. The match with Ravenclaw had lasted forever. All that was needed was a fifty point win. James had managed to tally fifteen goals and five assists throughout the match, but somehow the Ravenclaw Seeker had beaten their man to the Snitch. Gryffindor still won the match, but only 360-320.

Then there was the incident with Snape. No…Snivellus. Calling him by any given name at all was too much credit for a dark wizard in the making. James had always had a problem with him. Fair enough. But by now the dislike was more than deserved. So was the hexing. Even if it was humiliating and mean-spirited. And to think of what he called Lily Evans, after all she'd done for him, even that very day. To call her a mudblood? Just thinking about it made James clinch his fists in fury.

But of course, there she was again. Lily Evans. The girl was exasperating. To put his hexing Snivellus and confident, fun-loving attitude on par with a piece of scum that was destined for Azkaban. James couldn't understand her. He certainly hadn't managed to impress her, no matter how hard he tried. That thought made him burn in a different way. James blinked and looked up. Tinka was waiting with a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and a muffin in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Merlin, Tinka!" James said, more harshly than intended. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Only five minutes. Tinka is truly sorry for interrupting Master James," the elf began, "it's just that…Tinka knows Master James has been waiting…"

Removing the scowl that had been firmly planted on his face, James tried to reassure the frazzled creature. "No need to apologize. Too much on my mind this morning."

Tinka took this as the right moment to leave James to his thoughts. As her young Master began to dig in to the food she had laid before him, Tinka crept backward toward the stove and counters, where much cleaning awaited. "Of course, Master James. Tinka hopes you will enjoy your breakfast."

"Tinka," James said suddenly. "You serve my father in his study often don't you?"

"Yes, of course, Master James," the elf replied. "Tinka serves wherever and whenever her family needs her."

James leaned back in his chair and fixed his gaze on a point in the distance. "What does my father do when he's working in his study?" he asked, running his hand through his already messy hair.

"Sir?" the elf inquired reluctantly. "Tinka…Tinka does not know how to answer. Usually when Tinka is called, Master Francis is just…sitting."

"Thank you, Tinka," James said, casting his eyes back to his plate as the puzzled house-elf slipped away.

James's thoughts quickly returned to his red-haired classmate. When they had started school together, she seemed to have a problem with him straightaway. She had been fun to pick on in her own way. Always in the library or with her nose in a book in the common room, studying. Always following the rules. It was no wonder she'd been made a prefect last year. She had always seemed shy around the boys at school as well. Aside from Snivellus, James thought darkly.

James took a large bite out of one of his slices of bacon. Tinka had outdone herself. He leaned back, staring into the high ceiling. Evans and her shyness around boys. That was what had made he and Sirius's idea for another way to tease her so brilliant. Asking her out constantly. Of course, she always refused, but it was all in fun so James never took it as a blow. Until last year. Until that moment she displayed a kind of fire he had never seen before. Maybe she was partly right. Maybe James was arrogant. But he had never been told off so thoroughly or judged so harshly by…well really by anyone in his life. Certainly not a girl his own age. As James Potter sat in his kitchen and took another bite of his breakfast, he suddenly realized the meaning of the burning he felt when he thought of her. It wasn't just a game anymore. Somehow, Lily Evans was the one who got into his head.

A/N: First of all, thank you for starting reading this story! I do want to repeat two warnings from the summary and category information up top. First, because I know this immediately turns certain readers off, J/L is not the only relationship for those characters in this story. The J/OC and L/OC relationships are also going to be treated seriously – not just as tools to advance J/L. Accordingly, getting to J/L will be a slow burn. If you're looking for a quick fix, this story is not for you. If you're looking for a believable story of how J/L came to be after the incident covered in "Snape's Worst Memory" and what their relationship may have looked like, right up to the end, that's what I'm aiming for. I hope you enjoy it!