Disclaimer: I am not Jo Rowling - so sue me. (Really, don't...)
Chapter Eight
Lily was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Nancy and Jenny waiting for breakfast, when the Marauders walked by. Sirius, Remus and Peter walked by without a word, and Nancy smirked at Sirius' backside. Then suddenly, Lily felt a tap on her left shoulder. She turned to look but there was no one there.
"Good Morning, Lily flower." said a voice from the other side. Lily had a smirk on her face as she turned to face him.
"Hello, Potter." she said.
"So, I was thinking..."
"Better be careful there, Prongs!" Sirius shouted, as they waited for their leader to catch up. James smiled, then turned back to Lily.
"Maybe after dinner, you want to meet me in the library for some quality study time?"
Neither Lily nor James noticed that all the people sitting at the Gryffindor table suddenly fell totally silent. Nancy and Jenny were looking at their friend in utter shock and the three marauders were staring at James with bugging eyes, everyone unable to believe what they had heard.
"Sure, why not?" Lily said.
"Great. See you then." he said with a smile, then turned to go sit at the end of the table, walking right past his three friends, who stood gawking at him then followed him wordlessly. Lily saw this and gave an amused smile before turning back to her friends, only to find them staring at her with wide eyes.
"What?" Lily asked.
"What was that all about? Since when have you and James Potter ever had a civilized conversation?" Jenny asked.
"'Quality study time?'" Nancy asked.
"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds. We've just reached an agreement." Lily said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yeah, right." Nancy said with a sly grin. Then she suddenly started looking around the Great Hall. "Where's Malfoy? I need to ask him if hell has frozen over yet."
---
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all gathered together at the Gryffindor table finishing their dinner when Lily marched up.
"You about ready, Potter?" she asked, looking directly at him.
"Sure, I guess," he said, sighing dramatically.
"All right then. Go grab your potions book and meet me in the west wing of the library. There's not going to be a lot of people in that area so we'll be alone and there won't be any interruptions. We'll have some 'quality study time.'" she said with a smirkish grin, quoting with her fingers. Then she turned on her heel and headed for the library.
"Um, okay." Peter said, with a confused look on his face.
"Mate, if I didn't know any better, I'd assume that she was setting up a make-out session!" Sirius with a serious look on his face.
"Then I'd better not keep her waiting!" James said rushing off as all four of them burst out into laughter.
---
"So - how about those Wimbourne Wasps?" James said, sneaking up behind her.
"Honestly, Potter. Can't you stay focused on one thing for more than a few seconds?" she said bitterly.
"Yes, ma'am!" he said smiling, as he folded his arms across his chest, leaning back in his chair.
"Don't get snippy, Potter. Let's just get started."
ONE HOUR LATER
"Wow."
"It's not a big deal, Potter."
"You can learn all that in a Potions class?" he asked incredulously.
"When you pay attention, yes."
"Wow." he said again. Lily just laughed.
"So, when is our next potions exam?"
"Well, probably at the end of this month, right before Halloween."
"Ooooh! That means you get to spend every nite this month studying potions with me! Aren't you excited?" his voice echoing in the empty library.
"Thrilled." she said sarcastically. "Now you get to sleep. That helps the brain to remember things. We'll go over more of this tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am." he said, standing up and giving her a mock salute. He walked around the bookshelves and Lily silently laughed. After a few moments, James stuck his head around the corner.
"Good night, my Lily flower." he said sweetly. She looked up at him, smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
"G'nite, Potter."
---
"So! How was your 'quality study time', Prongs?" said Sirius the next morning at breakfast, winking at his two other friends.
"Good." said James with a smile. "We got a lot of studying done."
"Did you study every curve on her body "Sirius said, trying to stifle a laugh while Peter and Remus snickered silently.
"Sorry, boys. I don't kiss and tell." Then he took a big bite of his eggs. The other three stopped laughing.
"No way!" Sirius said.
"You didn't!" Remus said.
"Tell us about it, then!" Peter said.
Now it was James turn to laugh.
"My good friends, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail. You must learn not to believe everything you hear, even and especially, if it's from your old pal Prongs." he said with a wicked grin.
The three of them relaxed.
"I just learned a bunch of stuff about Potions. I mean, real stuff. Did you know that if you mix asphodel and wormwood make a really powerful sleeping potion?"
"Can't say that I did." Sirius said skeptically.
"You know, a lot of our pranks would have been a lot better had we known about these kinds of potions." James said.
"Well, I knew that. But you only learn thing when you listen." Remus said, knocking on Sirius' head.
"Ay, lay off, Moony!" Sirius said, shoving him away. "You don't have to give us all a hard time just because you're the second in the bloody class."
"Okay, gentlemen - enough talk. Let's go play some quidditch!"
"All right!" they all shouted in unison.
Anything to get my mind off of Lily, James thought.
---
"And over here, we have a trophy for Head Master Dippett." said Lily, in an authoritative voice. She and James were giving the first year Gryffindor students a tour of the trophy room. "He received it when he was awarded 1st Class in the Order of Merlin."
"This is boring" said one little girl.
"Yeah, we want to play quidditch." said a little boy.
"Do you now?" said James with a grin. "All right, then. As Gryffindor Head Capitan, I announce the first ever Junior Quidditch Practice. Everyone run to your rooms, grab your brooms and meet Miss Evans and I in the North courtyard." All the children cheered and ran out the door.
"Potter!" Lily said angrily, smacking him on the arm. "We're supposed to be giving them a tour of the school!"
"Lighten up, Lily flower." he said defensively, rubbing his arm with a smile. "They've been through a bunch of boring classes all day. They need a break." Lily shook her head and turned around, sighing in frustration.
She suddenly felt him wrap his arms around her waist. "Now that we're alone..." he whispered in her ear. Her heart leapt at being so close to him and her ear tingled from his soft breath, but she easily brushed those feelings aside.
"Potter!" she said, quickly pulled away. She couldn't help the rosy color that rose to her cheeks, and the smile that she couldn't wipe from her face.
"Come on, Lily. You know you want to go out with me."
Lily smirked. "Never in a million years." she said, though a little voice in the back of her head told her differently.
"Well, you can't blame a guy for trying." James said with a goofy grin as he shrugged his shoulders.
"How many times?" she asked. He laughed and then quietly looked around as they walked towards the door to leave.
"You want to know something, Lily flower?" he grabbed her hand to slow her pace, and it sent a thrill through Lily, so she pulled it away. "What?" she asked.
"Someday," he said wistfully, "Someday, I'm going to have a trophy in here."
"Oh, really?" she asked. "For doing what?"
He looked at her with a wide smile and took her hand again. "For winning the Quidditch Cup, of course! Now come on. I've got to go teach these kids how to play quidditch!" Then he pulled her out the door and down the hall. She ran with him, laughing, until she yanked her hand away again. She shook her head as she watched him run out to the courtyard and slowly followed. However, as she rubbed her ear, she couldn't dismiss the butterflies in her stomach that wouldn't seem to go away.
"All right kids! Who's going to beat Ravenclaw at the big first game of the year tomorrow?" she heard him yell.
"GRYFFINDOR!!!" they all cried. Lily just rolled her eyes.
---
"That was a serious attempt on King's life! Cheap move, Brinker!" Amelia screamed over the intercom of the quidditch stadium "Oh, but look! Potter almost has the snitch!"
The entire stadium was cheering James on as he zeroed in on the snitch. Hw knew the Ravenclaw seeker was close behind, but he also knew that no one else could dive like he could. And down the snitch flew.
He could hear the quaffle being tossed, feel the bludgers whiz by, but his only focus was the snitch. Inches before he would've hit the ground, he pulled out of a dive, the snitch at his fingertips...
"Yes! Potter caught the snitch!"
Cheers filled the stadium - Gryffindor won the first game of the year and James was thrilled. Now it was time to party with his leading lady Lily. Oh, the excitement!
Everybody piled out of the quidditch stadium and back to the castle, Gryffindor's being the loudest as they made their way to the common room. James eyes were darting around constantly, searching for the lovely flower, but she was nowhere to be found.
Where was Lily?
---
A/N: Okay, there we go. A nice long chapter.
Anyone wanna take a venture as to where Lily might be? I want to know what you guys think.
-snickers-
And no spoilers in the reviews please!!!
-huggles-
