Lips pressed against every inch of skin that they could find. The slick wetness of the water falling from the showerhead above them created a deliciously frenzied moment where it had felt impossible to get enough of each other. Hands and tongues explored the other's body as though the physical touch could cement the map of curves and imperfections. Though imperfect hardly seemed like an appropriate word.

It was a dichotomy of sensations, the chill of the air against her warm skin causing goosebumps to arise while the warmth of the water and his hands drove her more firmly into his touch. Lily hadn't been aware that a soft moan had escaped her lips until she had heard it herself, and even then it seemed detached and distant from her own body. Looking up into the familiar face of James Potter, she could see the smug smile crossing his impossibly tempting lips and she couldn't fight the smile that rose to her own.

"Miss Evans?" a voice broke through her daydream.

Startled by the interruption and the realization that she had apparently chosen the library as the inopportune location for her most recent daydream, she sat up straighter and smiled at Madam Bloom, Hogwarts' straight-laced librarian.

"Are you quite alright, dear?" The older woman prompted, the flush on her cheeks telling Lily that her moan hadn't existed only in her dream.

Lily's porcelain skin flashed a red that contrasted the auburn of her hair and she nodded a bit too eagerly.

"Just haven't been feeling quite like myself," she attempted to make an excuse for her current appearance. "Must be coming down with something."

"Well, do see Madam Clearly in the Hospital Wing." Picking up an abandoned book from the table that Lily had been attempting to study at, Madam Bloom walked away unceremoniously.

Pressing the backs of her hands to her cheeks, Lily could feel the flush was still lingering and she let out a breath in hopes of getting her nerves under control. Shaking her head, she looked down at the Transfiguration book she had been attempting to study and realized that she didn't recall reading any of the words on the page in front of her. With no concept of how long she had been caught in her own thoughts, she closed the book with a soft snap and stacked it with the other school texts she had laid out in front of her.

She wished that she could say that this was the first time that she had been caught in daydreams of a particularly racy nature, but that certainly wasn't the case. Nor was it even remotely the first time that a young man with messy dark hair had been the focal point of the whole affair. Though ever admitting that to him was something that she had no plans of ever doing.

Realizing that any further studying seemed unlikely at this point, she placed her books back into her bag. Standing from the table, she tugged her sweater into place and desperately tried not to think about the feeling of his hands sliding across her body or the way that her skin tingled at his touch. This was neither the time nor the place, she forcefully said to herself. And for a moment, she had been able to push the thoughts away but they came back only a moment later as she double-checked to ensure that she had picked up her mess before leaving the library.

Luckily, the halls of the school were rarely empty and she was able to distract herself from inviting the thoughts back in by engaging in small talk with one of her Herbology classmates and by answering questions that one of the younger prefects had about the patrol schedule. Cursing softly under her breath, she realized that she had completely forgotten about the patrols and she tried not to chide herself for neglecting her Head Girl duties.

"I believe your patrols are on Wednesday and Sunday, Victoria, with Bradley," Lily informed the younger girl.

"Oh, brilliant. I was worried that I was meant to be patrolling tonight and I had made plans … I really should write the schedule down somewhere where I won't lose it," Victoria smiled sheepishly and Lily smiled in return.

"It's alright, Potter and I took Friday nights this month," she nodded.

"That's right," James Potter's voice interrupted. "We sacrifice our social lives so that the prefects can have one." Had he not smiled charmingly, the words themselves would have been enough to cause the two women to become visibility annoyed, but Lily could see how Victoria softened almost immediately.

"Is there a reason that you joined the conversation, Potter?" Lily asked, doing a much less successful job of warming to the young man.

"I saw the Head Girl and a prefect talking about patrols and it seemed like it was the sort of conversation that Head Boy should be aware of," the charming smile still perched on his lips and it reached his eyes in a way that made the gold stand out among all of the hazel.

Had she not just been jostled from an inappropriate daydream of the young man in front of her, she was sure that the color of his eyes or the way that his sweater fit his body would have never crossed her mind. But here she was, picturing what he would have looked like without his clothes on and wanting to see the gold in his irises up close. Shaking her head, she tried to not only rid of the thoughts but convey to him that it was not a conversation he had needed to be involved in.

"No need to be involved," she informed him. "Victoria was just clarifying the patrol schedule. Which you can always find in the common room. I find it easier for me to remember if I write it down on a bit of parchment and keep it in my bag in case I find myself wondering what days I've got patrols."

"Brilliant, thanks, Lily!" Victoria smiled brightly and excused herself to join a group of her friends as they made their way down the halls in the direction of what appeared to be the Great Hall.

It was hardly the first time that the banter between Lily and James had caused someone caught in the middle to excuse themselves quickly and the redhead doubted that it would be the last time either. Seven years ago they had gotten off on the wrong foot rather quickly and time had not eased the tension that poured from them. They looked at each other in silence for a brief moment before Lily finally broke it.

"Sacrificing our social lives?" She prompted. "Weren't you the one who recommended that we take Fridays this month to build trust and relationships with the prefects? Something about how it's better to rein on a foundation of respect than … whatever else you would use to rein?"

"Doesn't mean that I'm not still making sacrifices," he argued. "For example, you and I could be on our first date tonight instead."

Giving him a look, she shook her head. "You know that's not going to happen."

"Can't blame a bloke for trying," he dismissed with a shrug and another smile.

"You really can," she countered, turning to walk away from him as a smile of her own graced her lips. It was only as she became acutely aware of the eyes on her as she made her way toward her dormitory that she started thinking about how she was walking and what she was wearing - was it appealing enough? Was it too appealing? Why would she even care what he thought her body looked like in a cream turtleneck sweater and a pair of dark trousers? And yet, for some reason, she couldn't stop from tucking her hair behind her ear, ensuring that it was styled in the way that she liked it.

With a bit of time before they were meant to be patrolling, she knew that a cooling-off period from the event in the library was going to be necessary.