That night at dinner, James found himself sitting next to Slughorn at the Head Table.
"Ah look, Miss Evans is sitting at the Slytherin table." James had already noticed this of course, but he turned to look anyway and replied.
"So she is."
"I say, that girl would make an excellent Slytherin. A more cunning witch when it comes to Potions I have never seen."
"I think she is quite fine in Gryffindor."
"Of course you'd say that, being a Gryffindor yourself. But think of what a girl like that could achieve if she were in Slytherin."
"Miss Evans would indeed be a credit to any house she belonged to."
"Lucky for you she belongs to Gryffindor, but look how well she gets on with my house. Pity she is muggleborn."
"How so, sir?" James asked, keeping control of his temper.
"Well, in this day and age people would be less willing to hire a muggleborn over a pureblood, even if they are remarkably talented like Miss Evans, there. I told her that when she graduated I would have a word with my friend about finding her a job as a potion brewer for the Ministry."
"Potion brewer? Somehow I can't see Evans brewing potions for the rest of her life."
"I suppose she should be doing something more towards Defence Against the Dark Arts? Every teacher wants their students to be moved by their subject, but Evans really has a gift for potion brewing."
James forbore to say that she had an even more uncanny talent when it came to defence, well, not just defence but duelling, actual fighting. Not only had she that powerful self protective spell that she couldn't control, but her nonverbal defence and attacks were impressive. Her mind was sharp and her reflexes quick. That and she had even told him that her dream was to become an auror like him. So there. Eat that Slughorn.
"Miss Evans..." Dumbledore interrupted, apparently having been listening in on this conversation, "has many gifts, not just potions and all other things magical. She would be equally fulfilling her talents if she were to become a singer on the stage, or a mother, or a Care of Magical Creatures teacher..."
"Care of Magical Creatures, Albus?" Slughorn asked.
"Of course. Miss Evans is in custody of a baby unicorn, and is nursing it back to health, and has become its adopted mother until it is old enough to be on its own. She spends all of her nights with it and has taken care of it most lovingly and dutifully."
"Does she now... that might explain her essay. I finished reading it just before dinner. It was very clever. An Essay on the Varied Uses of Unicorn Blood. Excellent read." Slughorn said. James had read the essay as well, and although he admitted it was well written and informative, it was a far cry from what James would call an 'excellent read' but then again, he never had much patience with Potions. He realized he had been staring at her as they spoke. She looked up to the enchanted ceiling which reflected the sky outside. It was starting to go dark. She turned her gaze towards him and they made eye contact. She leaned her head towards the exit. He nodded. She turned back to the group at the Slytherin table and got up.
"It looks like you will have to be going too, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said.
"Yes sir. Enjoy the rest of your meal."
"Professor Potter and Hagrid accompany Miss Evans out on the grounds every night to secure the Head Girl's safety..." James heard Dumbledore explain as he walked away. Dumbledore was a great man, he knew that, but why was he going on about this? In James's opinion, the fewer people who knew about it the better.
Evans was just outside the Great Hall waiting for him, carefully hidden from view behind a corner. It was just a precaution. He walked passed her to the front doors and she followed. A few students lingered on the steps as the sun set. As usual he brought out the cloak and put it over her.
Walking down the steps some of the girls started giggling and called out to him. "Evening Professor Potter!"
Potter turned around and gave them a quick 'good evening' back, which sent them into a fresh fit of hysterics. Lily rolled her eyes. She wasn't the giggling sort, but even if she were it would take a lot more than a 'good evening' to get her started. Honestly, some girls...
"Did you say something funny that I missed?" She said, sarcastically.
"Now now Evans, don't make fun of your peers."
"You make fun of me all the time."
"Yes but that's different. Mine is good natured teasing, yours was condescending. Besides, its only fun if the object of your teasing is there to hear it."
"Alright, how's this..." She said, preparing to make a joke at his expense
"Oh but you can't tease me."
"Aww... why not?"
"Because I am your Professor and you must respect me."
"People make fun of their teachers all the time."
"Yes, but not to their faces. See how this works Evans? To show respect to your peers, you make fun of them to their face, and to show respect to your teachers, you do it behind their backs. It's just how the world works."
"And if someone is somewhere between a peer and a professor?" She asked tentatively.
The corners of his mouth turned up into a reluctant smile. "You are a clever girl Evans, figure it out."
It was a good thing she was under the cloak, because she felt her cheeks redden with warmth. The lights were on in Hagrid's hut, and Potter knocked on the front door. Hagrid opened it, his wide berth taking up the entire doorframe.
"Evening Potter."
"Evening Hagrid." He said pleasantly.
"I think you might be losing your touch Potter, it seems that saying 'good evening' wasn't nearly as funny this time..." Lily said as she stepped inside. Potter pulled the cloak off of her and leaned in towards her ear and said in a low whisper.
"Getting better, Evans. Not great, but getting better." She felt the blush from a few moments before reassert itself and she turned away from him, only to face Hagrid.
"Lily, you alright? Your face is all red..."
"Just a bit cold outside, right Evans?" Potter said throwing an arm around her shoulder, giving her arm a rub and an annoying knowing smirk. She blushed even more furiously and she ducked out from underneath his arms and headed for the back door.
"A bit of cold I must suffer through a bit longer, it seems. I'll be outside." She hoped Potter caught on to that last bit, about suffering through his presence, but if he didn't it was no great loss. She would have to suffer through the cold as well.
A minute of so later Hagrid and Potter came outside with drinks in hand. She had stopped singing her lullaby as they appeared.
"Don't stop Lily." Hagrid said.
"I don't want to interrupt the conversation." She replied, though really it was an excuse; she didn't like singing in front of people.
"You know, Dumbledore said to Slughorn that Evans here would make a singer, with the voice she has..." James remarked conversationally, but knowing full well that it would embarrass the girl.
"True, she could be." Hagrid agreed.
"Slughorn thinks she should brew potions for a living." The way he pronounced the Potion Master's name would lead one to believe that the word itself was slimey, and left a foul taste in his mouth.
"What do you think she should do?" Hagrid asked him.
"Who? Flobberworms for brains Evans, here? She'll be lucky if she can be a conductor on the Knight Bus." He replied.
"Ha ha ha. Perhaps you should be comedian rather than a professor. You know Hagrid, he is actually so funny, sometimes he doesn't even have to say anything to make people burst out laughing; the mere sight of him is enough."
At this Potter doubled over in mirth, nearly spilling his drink on himself. Once he controlled himself he downed it so as not to run the risk of spilling it in the future.
"See? Even he isn't immune to his own hilarity."
"Well done Evans. A hit, a hit, a palpable hit."
"Watch out, you are doing it again, Potter."
"Doing what?"
"Revealing your fetish."
"Fetish?" Hagrid asked.
"Only people who know about it themselves could recognize it in me, so there is no real danger of the pure bloods coming out to get me."
"Purebloods? Recognize what? What fetish?" Hagrid asked.
"He has a thing for muggle literature..." Lily said conspiratorially in a stage whisper.
"Not all muggle literature, mainly Shakespeare." He said defensively.
"Which even among muggles is a dorky thing to like."
"Did you just call me a dork, Evans?"
"Certainly not, Professor. I hold you in the highest respect and would never insult you like that... to your face." At this both Lily and James started laughing again, and Hagrid was still lost, but he smiled all the same at how well they were getting along. It seemed that Lily was much happier now that she was spending time with Potter and Mercury. She didn't spend her time in her own sad thoughts anymore, but laughing, and helping. Hagrid had always like James, and he had always liked Lily, but he liked them even more when they were together, because that's when they were at their happiest, and Hagrid wanted them both to be happy.
Once Mercury had finished feeding, and Potter had finished another glass of whatever it was Hagrid had served him, they left, Lily under the cloak. After they entered the castle again, Lily was about to head up the stairs when Potter yanked the cloak off of her.
"What the..."
"My turn." He said, throwing it over him. Lily shrugged. It was his cloak and she understood how nice it was to be invisible. She remembered the last time he had been under the cloak. She had been in her underwear, and he had trailed that silky touch up her arm and replaced her fallen bra strap. She blushed again, for the third time that evening.
"Drafty, this old castle, isn't it?" James whispered in her ear so that no one else could hear. The fact that he had noticed her blushing embarrassed her even more. "Poor Evans, you just seem to be getting colder and colder." She felt the familiar arm go around her to warm her. He was doing this to tease her and they both knew it. What she hoped he didn't know, was just how that arm slung so casually around her affected her heart rate. What was with him this evening? He seemed to be more playful... teasing... more enticing than usual. It both thrilled and terrified her.
She had learned that she could stand to be in his company, but any physical contact should be avoided. She had to draw the line somewhere, and the easiest and safest line was a physical one. Any physical touching at all was unnecessary, even in such a strange and messed up relationship as hers and Potter's was. Ok, so asking him for help in healing her and getting out of her clothes was an exception, because that was needed. She couldn't imagine any other circumstance where touching would be necessary, so she banned it thenceforth. No more unnecessary touching, for her own sake. She already was in trouble as it was. It was true, she wasn't some giggling girl that whose heart pounded if he spoke two words to her, but she wasn't immune to his touch. Quite the opposite. She wondered vaguely just what those girls would do if Potter put their arms around one of them one day. She had no idea, and was sure that no good could come of pondering that line of thought...
"Thanks, I'm warm now." She whispered, so as not to attract other people's attention.
"Alright then, if you're sure Evans..." He said, and the weight and warmth of his arm vanished. A moment later she realized that it wasn't just the warmth of his arm that had gone, but the warmth of his presence. She whirled around, stupidly, she realised, it's not as if she would have been able to see where he had gone. But the painting at the end of the corridor caught her eye. The bowl of fruit. She suspected that Potter might have headed to the kitchens, and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the pear giggle, and the portrait swing forward slightly before shutting again.
She followed after, tickling the pear and gaining entry. Sure enough, there was Potter, standing with his back to her, talking to one of the elves. Her entry didn't go unnoticed by the others, and several house elves hurried up to Lily asking what she wanted.
"Hot chocolate." She replied.
Potter, who hadn't heard her come in, heard the fuss the elves were making over her and turned around curiously.
"Evans." He said in surprise.
"Thought you could give me the slip, eh?"
"Well... yeah... I thought I did, actually. How did you...?"
"I realised you were gone, saw the portrait of the bowl of fruit and put two and two together." She stated.
"One, how did you know I was gone, and two, how did you know I would go into the kitchens?"
"I just did. No more questions. Oh thank you..." She said to the house elf who had brought her a steaming cup of hot chocolate. James just looked at her in confusion.
"But how.."
"No. More. Questions. I am just amazing, that's all." She couldn't tell him the truth. That she felt warm when he was around, and colder when he was no longer near. How weird did that sound... She blew on her drink to cool it down a bit, in hopes she wouldn't burn her tongue, but when she took a sip it was still a bit too hot. For a moment she though about reaching for her wand to do a cooling charm, but then decided she would try this one with her bare hands. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the exact temperature she wished her chocolate to be. She felt a chill running through her fingertips and into the mug for a moment, then it stopped. She opened her eyes with a grin and took a trying sip. Success. It was perfect. She glowed with satisfaction. It seemed like she was getting better and better with simple spells.
She drank her hot chocolate and the walked back out of the kitchens, waving goodbye to the elves as she left. To the elves, but not to him. Had he just been snubbed? And how did she know that he had left her and gone into the kitchens? He shoved the last bit of pain au chocolat in his mouth and strode out of the kitchens after her.
"Vigilance." He said wondering for the first time if Lily had chosen that password herself. Lily was already settled on the couch with a book in her lap, blanket around her, and was scribbling away on a piece of parchment.
"How did you know I had gone to the kitchens?" He demanded once he had entered.
"Honestly don't you have anything more important to do with your time then harass me about my mystifying ways?"
"Yes, I do have parchment to grade." He said sitting down and summoning them with his wand. They whooshed into the room and he caught them, slamming them down on the table. "And I am going to sit right here and do it until you tell me."
He took out the first essay and started grading. Lily seemed completely unperturbed. She just kept on working on into the night. As did James, and although he made sure to glare at her between essays, it didn't seem to affect her in the slightest. She moved from subject to subject in complete silence. What seemed like ages later she stood up and stretched, then walked out of the common room without saying a word. James glanced at his watch and noted that it was already a quarter to midnight. She had gone to meet Hagrid.
It appeared as if she wasn't going to tell him anything, no matter what, so he decided that as soon as he finished grading this batch of essays, he would admit defeat and go.
He was surprised to see her return half an hour later. He had only read 2 more essays in that time. She walked straight through the common room without stopping, though she managed a wave and a 'Evening Potter." Before she disappeared. She reappeared a few minutes later smelling of shampoo and wearing pyjamas. She took up her position on the couch again and continued working.
At 1:30 in the morning she threw down her quill and stood up. She walked over to one side of the common room, picked up her cauldron and brought it over to the fire. She started preparing the ingredients for who knows what potion. Since he wasn't a big potion fan he turned his mind back to his work, completely having forgotten that he was there to make her tell him the truth. Now he just felt like they were just doing work together, and it didn't seem strange to either of them. 15 minutes later he heard her coughing, and looked up to her. Her cauldron was emitting copious amounts of black smoke, and she quickly took it the window to let the gas escape to the outside.
"I'm going to need to take another shower after this." She said. Vanishing the contents with evanesco, and cleaning it with a good strong scourgify. She took the cauldron back to the fireplace and started again.
At three thirty in the morning she took the cauldron off the fire and set it on a special plate on the table.
"Now I just need to let it cool."
"Now you just need to go to sleep."
"If I get this potion right I won't."
"You mean not until you get this potion right, right?"
"I said what I meant. If I brew this potion correctly, I won't need to sleep. Curses! how long did I let it simmer?"
James looked at his watch then at the potion. "You let it simmer until it looked like that... which for you was 42 minutes."
She wrote it down on the same piece of parchment she had been scribbling on all morning. Then she curled up in her blanket and lied down on the couch.
"I hope this works..."
"And if it doesn't?" James asked.
"Then I'll probably have to go to the hospital wing to get my stomach emptied. But I have a bezoar handy in case I've created something poisonous. I don't think I have though, none of those combinations seem lethal to me."
"Wait, what exactly are you doing here, Evans?"
"I'm brewing a potion, Potter. I'm creating my own potion that will, hopefully, allow the drinker to feel rested even if he or she has had little or no sleep."
"You create your own potions?"
"Not that much different than creating my own charms..."
"Except that it's potions and therefore much harder."
"Well there's that, yes. I think this potion will prove quite useful in the upcoming month... if I've managed to brew it correctly that is. I'll find out after it's cooled. I think that if it's would keep well if it's kept cold..."
"You don't even know if it will work or not yet."
"No, but thank you, your confidence in me is overwhelming." She said shutting her eyes.
"Going to sleep?"
"Taking a nap until it settles and cools. Wake me up in an hour if you are still around."
James looked at his watch. It was late, really late. He was surprised he hadn't passed out yet. But then again he was in one of his moods. He could put things off for ages and ages, and then spend hours at a time doing nothing but work. He liked getting things done. Hopefully he would be finished grading everything in the next hour. If he did, then that would mean he was finished grading everything for the entire week. Everything that he could possibly do, he would have done. There was a fine feeling of accomplishment in that.
He checked his watch after he finished the last one. There was still a few minutes left before he had to wake her. He got up and stretched, wanting badly a cup of tea, or maybe a cigar and some brandy. None of those things being available to him, he just stood by the window and let the cool air wake him up. He dreaded classes the next day. Wednesdays were always the worst. He had nearly every year on Wednesdays.
Checking his watch again he went over to Lily and shook her awake.
"Time already?" She yawned.
"Are you actually going to drink that yourself?"
"Well not like I'm going to let you drink it, now am I?" She said, ladling a portion into a glass. "Cheers." She said drinking it down in three gulps.