Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc.

A/N: Hello again! I just had a boring day of doing nothing and wrote this whole chapter! yay. Alright, so thanks for getting this far in my story...and please Review! enjoy

James just stared at the professor with his mouth slightly open. Lily Evans. He thought she was one of the smartest, if not the smartest girl in their year, and what class could she possibly receive help from him in? "You're joking, right? I mean, I thought Lily Evans was perfect." She definitely seemed perfect, at least to James.

"Well, that's why she would like these lessons to be private. She fears there will be too much judgment from her classmates if they knew she was getting help. I know how well you do in potions class, and that is exactly the class Lily is having trouble with. Since you are in need of a punishment I thought this would be the perfect one." Dumbledore said this with an amused grin. James shuddered as he realized that the professor probably knew about James' crush on Lily. He'd liked her for so long, and so far she wouldn't even let him get anywhere near her to have a decent conversation. These tutoring lessons might get him closer to her, which he wanted, but if she was going to be cold and distant to him, then what was the point? He would just have to make her like him.

"Professor, Lily hates me. I don't think she'll want me to tutor her."James told the professor truthfully.

"Well then, you will just have to learn to deal with that, Mr. Potter. And now if there are no more questions, then you may return to your dorm.

James stood up slowly, still amazed that he was going to have to tutor Lily Evans. When he returned to the common room Sirius, Remus and Peter were waiting for him around the fire. They all looked up when he entered and came directly over to him.

"What did Dumbledore say, Prongs? I'm surprised to see you alive after he caught you." Sirius said with a smirk.

"I knew something would go wrong; We shouldn't have even been doing that." Remus told them as he shook his head.

James looked over at Peter who was standing behind the other two boys and looking apprehensive, no doubt knowing why James had been caught, "No one would've even gotten caught if someone was where they were supposed to be." James looked directly at the blushing Wormtail.

"S-sorry James, I had to go to the bathroom."

"The bathroom? I was caught because your bladder is too small?"

Peter nodded, "I'm sorry"

Before James got angrier at Wormtail, he saw the apologetic look on his face and decided against it, instead he said, "That's alright Peter, it doesn't matter." And the subject was dropped.

For the rest of the evening, James could barely contain the secret of Lily's lessons to himself. He told his friends, especially Sirius, almost everything, and he knew they would love to hear that Miss Perfect needed help in Potions. But he kept his mouth shut on the subject because he knew he didn't want to embarrass her, not to mention he wasn't allowed to.

The next day was Monday, therefore the first day of his tutoring lessons with Lily. Throughout their classes he kept a closer eye than usual on her, especially during potions. He noticed she kept double checking her ingredients, and asking her partner questions, and James smiled to himself. Her struggle with the lesson was noticeable if he had paid more attention before. After the day was over, Lily cornered him in their transfiguration classroom after James had told his friends he'd catch up to them.

"So I heard you're going to be tutoring me?" Lily told, more than asked James. Her eyes were narrow slits, and her arms were folded, but she still came off incredibly attractive to him. James shook such thoughts out of his head as he said, "Why yes, Lily. I heard you requested me."

"Like hell I did! I asked for someone different but Professor Dumbledore said no."

"Hey, I'm not that bad. You could get to know me better, you know. I'm actually a great guy, parents love me." James stepped closer to the red-haired girl, but she just ignored his advance.

Lily scoffed and said, "The only attributes I've seen you exhibit are arrogance, self-importance and cockiness."

James was a little taken aback by her harshness. "Lil, you need help, and I can give it to you, it's not going to be that bad. I swear." He gave Lily his most innocent face, but it didn't help matters much, it seemed to make her more exasperated. She just turned away from him and started to leave, but not before telling him over her shoulder, "Just meet me after dinner in the Potions classroom." and then she was gone. James was left with a smile on his face. That was Lily, the Lily he's liked for what seems like forever, and he was now going to get to spend six hours a week alone with her. It was going to be great.

At dinner, James was smiling the whole time, and whenever Sirius, or someone else asked him why he was so happy, he just told them, "I have detention tonight," and left it at that. Everyone thought he was going crazy.

"He's smiling because he has detention tonight? I doubt it." Sirius whispered to Remus.

"I agree, but whatever it is, he doesn't want to tell us."

Sirius nodded as he looked helplessly across at the happy James.

As soon as dinner was over, James made his way to the transfiguration room alone and sat there waiting for Lily. She came in soon after and set her books beside James.

"Please, sit down." James said.

Lily rolled her eyes and sat down, carefully moving her chair away from her tutor's.

James didn't want this lesson to be like their conversations, and so he ignored the feeling in his stomach that made him want to annoy Lily and instead asked her, "So, where do you want to start?"

"Um, I was thinking at the flu potion. I was having a lot of trouble with that." So, she wanted to get right down to business too. That was fine with him.

After he had explained the theory of the potion and how it worked, he thought she should try and create it. He was a firm believer that hands on learning was the best kind, for just about everything. They were standing next to each other when Lily reached across him to one of the ingredients. James breathed in the intoxicating smell of her hair, and he couldn't help but think about the fact that they were alone in this room, only inches from each other. Without realizing it, he had closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, he saw Lily had been watching him with a look on her face that said, "You are so weird." James just tried to pretend like nothing had happened, while a blush was creeping up his neck.

At the end of their lesson, Lily started to pack up her belongings and head to the door.

"Hey, Lil, wait up." James called to her as he grabbed his own things.

"Ok, first of all, my name is Lily, and second, this lesson is over, so I'll see you on Wednesday." She went to open the door but James grabbed her hand.

"What are you in a rush for?"

"I have to go to bed, goodnight." And she wrenched her hand from his and made for the doorhandle again, this time James let her.

"It's 9:00. Your bedtime is 9:00?" James asked with amusement after she opened the door.

Lily paused, but replied with a grin, "Actually, no, I'm going to meet Glen Wood - I have a date." She left the room then, closing the door with a slight bang.

A/N:...Please review!