It was close to midnight by the time the common room was empty and the fire had burned down to merely coals. Shadows played across the walls, illuminating the gold and red hangings around the room. Two boys, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, were sitting in front of the fire, Peter struggling through a thick book with quill and parchment in hand. He was rather plump and was sweating and nervously chewing the end of his quill apparently having no success with his homework. The other boy, Remus, was staring into the dying flames, hands clasped in his lap. He appeared deep in thought and didn't seem to be aware of Peter's presence. The light from the embers cast the sharp planes of his face into shadow, making him seem even more tired than he already was.
There was a soft click from across the room and both boys looked up (one eager for a distraction from his homework, the other reluctantly as if disturbed from a deep trance) as the common room door swung open, seemingly of its own accord. Neither boy seemed the least bit concerned or alarmed by the fact, but rather relieved. "Did you get it, Prongs?"
There was a shimmer in midair and two grinning boys, James Potter and Sirius Black, appeared quite suddenly from beneath a silvery cloak. "That we did, Moony. After we nicked some of these." James pulled from his pocket a handful of Dungbombs.
Remus sighed as he looked at the enormous grin on his friend's face. "You'd think as Head Boy you'd have a little more respect for the rules," he said quietly. At this, Sirius let out a loud bark of laughter and James shrugged.
"You can lead a hippogriff to water…" he began, but was interrupted by footsteps on the stair case behind them. Standing with her arms crossed over her chest was Lily Evans, a reproachful look in her eyes as she surveyed the scene in front of her. James hastily stuffed the Dungbombs back into his pocket and both Remus and Peter stood quickly. They glanced at James then, after mumbling 'goodnight' to Lily, headed up the stairs to their dormitory. Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and followed his friends to bed. When the door above them finally clicked closed, Lily turned back to James.
James had fancied Lily since they met seven years ago and although she had grown up a great deal during that time, her dark red hair and bright green eyes remained the same. He remembered the first time he had seen her at the sorting ceremony, but it had been her charm, intelligence and that vivacious good humor that had won him over. For years he'd followed her around Hogwarts, begging for one date, but she'd ignored him completely. He waited uncertainly for her to begin berating him for something new, but she said nothing. There was a moment of awkward silence.
"What did you steal this time?" she asked him finally. James looked up sharply- he wasn't thrilled at the fact that this was the first thing to come into her mind.
They locked eyes for a brief minute until James wordlessly plunged a hand into his pocket and drew out the Dungbombs in one hand and in the other, a small glass ball. Lily's eyes widened in surprise. She looked up at James in disbelief. "You and Sirius weren't getting the Map?" she asked. James shook his head. "You snuck into the Slytherin common room and stole the Remembrall for Frank didn't you?"
James shrugged awkwardly, running his hand through his hair. This time, Lily noticed, he wasn't doing the gesture as an attempt to show off. The fact that she had given him her undivided attention for once seemed to be making him nervous- nervous enough to need something to do with his hands. "You saw how Mulciber stole it from Frank this morning in the greenhouse. It was completely unfair- I was just trying to help…" he trailed off awkwardly. James found he wasn't able to look directly at Lily- it was rather like looking at a very bright light. Even though she was in her pajamas, a blue flannel set with polka dots, she was still indescribably beautiful to him. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, cocking her head at him.
"That was awfully good of you, James," she said quietly and his stomach did a somersault at the fact that she'd used his name. "I thought you were sneaking into Filtch's office to steal back that map of yours, but I was wrong. I was wrong about you too." She studied him briefly, noticing his slight blush at her words. She walked down the short set of steps and across the common room to where he stood, crossed her arms over her chest and looked seriously up at him. "BUT….If you even think of venturing out of bounds in the middle of the night again, AS HEAD BOY nonetheless, I won't be so kind." She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously at him and the tone in her voice told him that she was joking. He grinned, looking more at ease and back in familiar territory. He took a step closer to her and crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking her position.
"If I stray out of bounds again, you'll do what to me?" he asked her. Lily merely raised her eyebrows at him, her mouth twitching as she fought to hold back a smile.
"You have a dirty mind James Potter," she told him as he let out a deep chuckle. He looked down at her- at the amusement on her face and the twinkle in her eye. That lock of hair had fallen in front of her face again. He reached forward without realizing what he was doing and tucked the stray lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering in her hair. Her breath caught in her throat at his touch and for a moment they stayed like that, unwilling to move.
The dying fire gave a loud crackle causing Lily to snap out of the trance she had been in and, blushing, she rubbed the back of her neck. James dropped his hand and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well," he said with a yawn and a stretch. "Best to head off to bed," Lily couldn't help but notice that his glasses were sliding down the end of his nose and this combined with his tousled hair gave him a goofy and, in her opinion, attractive look. He glanced down at her, the slight light from the embers giving his half shadowed face a mysterious look. "Good night, Miss Evans," he said, dropping her a wink and smiling crookedly at her, causing butterflies in her stomach.
"Goodnight, James," she said softly, watching him disappear up the steps to the boy's dorms. She sat down quite suddenly on the arm of a couch, struggling to maintain control of her emotions. For years she had been annoyed by James and his outrageous attempts to charm her, but things had been different lately. Although it was only late September now, he had been civil to her the entire beginning of this school year. He had lived up to his Head Boy duties and hadn't abused his power, despite her initial worries. She hadn't once seen him curse another student for the heck of it and she couldn't even remember the last time he'd tried to convince her to go out on a date with him. Perhaps James was really growing up. Her mind wandered to a mental image of him at the breakfast table that morning with his tousled hair, rolled up sleeves and loose tie, his face alight around that lopsided grin of his. Her insides squirmed at the thought of it and she hid her face in her hands, composing herself. Lily straightened up, taking deep breaths and consciously forcing her mind away from James.
She scaled the stairs to her room and slipped through the door, trying to keep as quiet as she possibly could to avoid waking the others in the room. Through the narrow crack of light she let in as she entered the room, she could see that Alice was passed out asleep on her stomach at one end of the room and Marlene was lying on her back with a pink sleep mask firmly in place over her eyes on the other side. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and turned to her bed thinking longingly of her warm blankets, but upon seeing the bed next to hers bathed in moonlight she stopped dead. Crap. Sitting cross legged in bed was Jaclyn O'Shay, Lily's best friend.
Jackie raised her eyebrows expectantly and her expression said what her mouth didn't have to: 'Tell me everything'. Lily blushed and tried to act casual, making her way across the room to straighten her bed sheets. "You're up late- I didn't realize you'd still be awake," she said conversationally.
"Don't even try to skirt this subject, Lily," Jackie said, cutting to the chase immediately. "You were down there with James Potter weren't you?"
"NO! Maybe…."
"Well? I didn't wait up all bloody night to hear you deny everything! What happened?"
Lily quickly explained the events of the night to her friend: how she had noticed James hadn't returned to the common room that night and how she'd been suspicious, how she'd snuck back downstairs in time to see him appear from beneath that magical cloak of his and about the conversation that had followed. When she finished, Jackie flopped backwards onto the bed. She was wearing a red v-neck shirt and a pair of sweatpants, her dark brown hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. After a moment's thought, she sat up, propping herself on her elbows. "You like him don't you?"
"What me? Like James? I- No! No, I don't like him. Not at all," Lily stammered.
Jackie grinned evilly, her dark blue eyes dancing with humor in the pale moonlight. "You totally do! I can see you're blushing, Lily Evans," she said. To this, the red shade of Lily's face deepened in color and she turned away, pretending to organize the books on her bedside table.
"Oh shut up, Jackie," she grumbled, climbing into bed.
Jackie just yawned. "Whatever you say, Lil," she said rolling over in bed.
Lily lay curled on her side, reliving the night in her head. Maybe James was changing…or maybe he wasn't but there was at least something different about him this year. She smiled into her pillow, allowing her thoughts to drift to James in his Quidditch uniform. Maybe she would give him a chance; they had an entire year ahead of them, after all. Although she didn't want to admit it, Lily was beginning to fall for James Potter.