Potions with Professor Slughorn was upon the Gryffindors before you could say 'Quidditch,' and therefore meaning that James would be seated next to Lily. Professor Slughorn really was a genius, James had to give him credit for his little scheme. Not only was he able to sit next to Lily Evans, girl of his dreams, but he could actually talk to her without worrying about interruptions from his friends, or hers. That particular lesson the class was assigned the very difficult job of brewing a potion straight out of their book, Moste Potent Potions. Lily had given him the job of chopping up their ingredients whilst she added and stirred them meticulously. His head was bent over the herbs that needed to be chopped into fine threads when he heard the familiar and totally unwelcome drawl of Serverus Snape infront of them.
"May I borrow your set of scales Evans?" he questioned, looking down at her from before them.
"Oh I'm sorry Serverus, I seem to have left them in my room," she said in all honesty. "You could if I had them though." she smiled politely at him. Realising this was his chance to snag another date with Lily, James picked up his scales and offered them to the detestable boy infront of them. "You can borrow mine." he said, trying not to grit it out, or worse, try and strangle Snape, for he was sure that wouldn't go down well with Lily.
The look on Snape's face was worth the sacrifice, and the thorough cleaning he would have to give the scales as soon as he got them back. The boy truly didn't know what to do. Coming over with the sole intention of speaking to Lily Evans anyway he could only to have James Potter offer him something the girl couldn't. What a predicament he was in now. On one hand, he could pass up the offer of the scales, and look like a total idiot for asking in the first place, or he could grudgingly accept the scales, and not look like a total fool in front of her. The first didn't seem plausible enough in his mind, so Serverus Snape accepted the scales of James Potter.
The whole room stopped. Everyone was staring at the three of them.
Professor Slughorn clapped his hands, setting everyone back to work, and moving towards James, awarded Gryffindor ten points. Lily smiled over at him, lightly brushing her knee against his thigh. Both jumped at the contact, and James spent the rest of the lesson grinning madly.
The rest of the day continued at an astonishing rate, and soon enough everyone was seated at dinner, enjoying Hogwarts' infamous food. Talk was merry, and the company was good. Lily was busy talking to Arabella and Alice about the days events. "It was like a miracle. He actually offered up his scales to Snape." she recounted to both girls, even though they had been in the room at the time.
"Maybe he is serious about this?" stated Alice, waving at Frank on the other side of the room.
"It does seem strange, I must admit." remarked Bella, picking at her peas.
"I think I like the change." commented Lily, glancing over to where the Marauders were sitting. Normally James-Holier-Than-Thou-Potter would annoy the hell out of her but as of late his antics had been quite endearing. Especially when he mussed up his hair. That little action made Lily want to reach out and run her fingers through it, scuffing the strands up until they couldn't be more dishevelled.
Alice excused herself, going to join Frank for dessert. Similarly Bella made her way over to Amos for some chocolate pudding, leaving Lily with the promise to talk when they got back to the dormitory.
Sitting alone, Lily picked up her spoon and was just about to raise it to her lips when she felt someone slide into the bench beside her. The familiar brown eyes stared into her own for a minute before James Potter winked and helped himself to some pudding. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin decided to occupy the seats made vacant by the freshly departed girls, and filled their bowls with custard and other such desserts. "We decided you looked lonely down here." supplied Remus, answering her puzzled look. Though he was looking better, Remus still showed signs of fatigue.
"Did my Pep Me Up potion help?" she enquired.
"Greatly, and I thank you again." he smiled before dabbing some custard off his cheek.
It was nice to sit with the marauders, Lily had decided. Their constant flamboyancy never ceased to amaze her. "So Prongs lent his scales to that git Snape today." hinted Peter, receiving a kick under the table from James.
"So he did." she grinned at the small boy. Peter smiled at her, swallowing a pastry whole.
"That really is disgusting wormy. And in the presence of a lady too." Remus reprimanded.
"I bet that I could fit more in my mouth." stated Sirius, always up for a challenge.
"Your on!" exclaimed Peter, tossing him a chocolate éclair full of cream. James choked out a laugh through the pumpkin juice in his mouth. Lily grinned, her hand accidentally slipping onto James'.
"I uh," she muttered unintelligibly. James smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, yet not letting go.
She blushed faintly but didn't try to remove her hand either.
"He held my hand all through dessert." she flopped down on her bed, running her fingers through her red hair, almost crushing a white rose that lay on her pillow.
Under it was a note that read 'Hogsmeade, Sunday?' Lily grinned to herself.
"Guys, I cant go with you to Hogsmeade." muttered Bella, from the bathroom. Lily and Alice winked at each other. "That's ok, neither can I." the red head replied. Both Alice and Bella did a double take, coming to sit together on Lily's bed. "Potter left this for me." she said, plucking the rose from behind her.