There weren't many seats left in the class. Predictably enough, Sirius had saved him a seat. Fortunately or unfortunately, James really couldn't tell yet, the only other seat available was beside the said saved seat. He took his place next to Sirius and tried not to visibly stiffen as Lily sat beside him. He tried his best to pay attention to Professor McGonagall. Lily's presence right next to him, with her strawberry scented perfume, was just too distracting. He's known Lily for little over a day, and for some bizarre reason, she was driving him crazy.

He shifted his book to Sirius and wrote on the corner of the opened page. Wanna switch places? His best friend looked up at him questioningly. James just added another question mark. He didn't feel like explaining himself at the moment. He needed to concentrate during classes. He knew that Minnie was secretly fond of him, but she didn't let her personal feelings ever interfere with her job. James had a habit of being at the top of everything he did. He wouldn't let some infuriating girl get in the way of his academics.

Sirius agreed to switch places, he didn't question James any further but he did look at funnily. The two tried to change their seats as discretely as possible. Minnie did notice but decided not to comment on it. She settled with fixing them both with an unimpressed look. Lily glanced at the two. She almost seemed hurt by James' aloof behaviour.

Remus looked up at him from his place beside Sirius's former and now James' seat. The latter just shrugged at him, neglecting to offer any sort of explanation for his strange behaviour. He took the opportunity of Lily's absence at his side to finally get some work done. He began taking down notes. Well, he tried.

James began regretting his decision to switch with Sirius within the first five minutes of doing so. Sirius took the opportunity of Lily's presence at his side to shamelessly flirt with her. He was scribbling on the side of his textbook and showcasing them to Lily, who was having a very hard time controlling her laughter. There were tears at the corners of her eyes as she tried to suppress the outburst of giggles that were a result of whatever Sirius was doing. James clenched his teeth in irritation.

"James, you're going to snap that pencil into two," Remus informed as he glanced at James through the corners of his eyes. James glanced down at his hand, and sure enough, he was gripping the pencil rather harshly. He relinquished his hold over his pencil and flexed his fingers.

James heard a giggle from Lily and he settled to clenching his fists to stop himself from hitting Sirius over his head. Remus raised an eyebrow at him curiously. James tried to ignore his and Sirius' antics. Peter, perhaps sensing the tension, glanced at them from his place beside Remus. "Is there something wrong?"

Sometimes James desperately wished his friends would just mind their own business. "No, Peter." He gritted out through his teeth. When the bell finally rang, James gave his thanks to any god that would hear him. He pushed past Sirius and Lily and exited the class. Remus and Peter were behind him trying to catch up.

Lily was glad when her lunch break came. Luckily enough, she and Josephine shared the same time. They made their way through the lunch counters of the cafeteria and piling their plates with food. One good thing about Hogwarts University was that the food was impeccable. With so many rich snobs attending, it wasn't that much of a surprise. But, it was most advantageous to scholarship students such as Lily.

In Hogwarts, the cafeteria was arranged such that there were four long tables. One for the members of each of the residential buildings. Joe and Lily made there was to the Gryffindor table, taking a seat in the middle. Lily began telling Joe about her eventful morning. She told her of her late arrival to class and her seating arrangement beside Sirius. That interested Joe. She neglected to mention that James had ever so kindly made sure of it. What was with that guy anyway? He kept running away from her like she carried the plague or something.

"You're sitting beside Sirius?" She asked curiously, "Damn, girl. You're lucky."

Lily shrugged, "It's not that special of an experience."

Joe laughed incredulously at Lily's obliviousness, "Lils, there are those who would kill to be in such proximity with Sirius Black. His family is filthy rich and there is simply no denying that he is incredibly hot too."

Lily glanced at Joe for a moment, "You seem oddly fond of him." She tried not to sound suspicious.

Joe shrugged, "We've known each other forever. Almost as long as I've known James."

Lily was going to ask Joe how exactly she knew James Potter so well when someone slipped into the seat beside her. She started in surprise when she noticed it was Sirius, with his lunch tray. He pushed his lustrous long black hair out of his face and bestowed a dazzling smile at Lily.

"Lily, love, fancy seeing you here." He took Lily's hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. She couldn't help but blush furiously. She wondered if she was having to have to get used to this particular form of greeting with Sirius. Beside her, Joe rolled her eyes at him.

"Sirius?" She scoffed, "I'm sure you memorized Lily's timetable."

Sirius turned to Joe, "I would never stoop to something so low. This was fate. Destiny." He grinned mischievously at Lily's friend, "You're just jealous I'm not destined for you. Fate has deprived you of someone as amazing as myself."

"I shall thank Fate for blessing me so."

Sirius threw a hand on his heart in mock hurt, "You wound me, Joe. You always do."

Joe smiled at Sirius sourly before turning to her lunch. Lily followed suit, but Sirius seemed to have decided to find out how much laughter would have her snorting her food out of her nose. He spent the entire meal-offering commentary on almost everything. From the food to Joe's fashion choices.

In a fit of laughter, Lily wondered where Sirius' companions were. Namely, James. She glanced down the long table for them. She found James glancing at them with a strange expression on his face, and Remus and Peter watching him worriedly. She looked away quickly after their eyes met briefly.

A few moments later, James Potter materialized before her and her lunch companions. He pointedly did not look in Sirius' direction, nodded in acknowledgement to Joe and turned to Lily. "We have to meet Professor McGonagall."

Lily started at the reminder. She quickly got up, rushing to pick up her tray and bidding goodbye to Sirius and Joe. She disposed of the tray and wiped her hands on the sides of her jeans. She made her way to exit, where James was waiting for her.

"You want to come with me?" He asked awkwardly, "To see Minnie?"

Lily supposed she did not want to meet the stern Professor on her own. She nodded, and they began walking. On the way, Lily tried desperately to tamp down the fear that she was feeling. She was in trouble on her first day. She knew that her position in Hogwarts wasn't the most secure. The scholarship could be revoked whenever the school wished. She was on the verge of going into a panic attack when James interrupted her train of thought.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" He seemed almost amused.

Lily stared at him. "No, I'm not. I was late for my first class at Hogwarts. The teacher of said class believes I was late because I was snogging you in some corridor. She's asked to meet us and it's not like my scholarship is on the line. So, no. I'm not nervous." The sarcasm dripped from her voice.

James looked away, but not before Lily caught sight of a hint of a smile. He looked nice when he smiled, Lily decided. She wondered why he didn't smile more often.

"You don't need to worry about Minnie. She is hardly that bad. She can be, but she rarely is."

Lily tried to find some comfort in James' words, but Lily was an innate worrier. So it didn't exactly help. When they reached Mcgonagall's office, they were welcomed with the surprise of Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of the institution, opening the door. He smiled kindly at them as he let them inside. McGonagall was going through some files at her desk within. She glanced at them.

"Ah. Mr. Potter. Miss. Evans. I'm afraid I'm preoccupied at the moment. I will deal with the two of you at a later time."

Lily felt the tension leave her body at the statement. Later meant that their offence wasn't that serious. James nodded in understanding, and the two of them began to back out of that office when Dumbledore stopped them.

"I wonder what the two of you must have done to warrant a lunch break with Minerva." His eyes were twinkling with amusement as he regarded the two. Lily blushed and James even looked slightly uncomfortable.

Great. Lily thought sardonically. Now the headmaster thinks we're shagging.

Dumbledore tilted his head to address James, "How is the business going, James?"

James answered, and the headmaster and he dissolved into a conversation. It was clear that everyone here knew James. Most of them respected him. Even teachers like McGonagall and Dumbledore. He was the most curious type of person Lily had ever met. McGonagall looked meaningfully at Lily as he tilted her head in James' direction as if she read Lily's thoughts.

Dumbledore turned his attention to Lily, "Miss. Lily Evans, I remember seeing your application." Lily's eyes widened in shock as she realized Dumbledore had seen her application. "It was most impressive. I look forward to seeing your academic career progress."

"Thank you. Sir." She managed to get out before James and she exited the office. They closed the door behind them and stood awkwardly before it. Uncertain of what to say, James ran a hand through his hair and said, "So, I'll see you around." He didn't even wait for her reply before he turned on his heel and made his way across the corridor. Lily stared at the man, unsure what to make of him.

At times, he was cold and aloof. But, everyone seemed to have a dazzling opinion about him.

James Potter was simply proving to be an enigma to her.