James rounded a corner, walking briskly with his head down. He headed down numerous corridors, round corners, not taking any notice of where he was headed or where he'd passed.

He soon found himself outside the library, a place he rarely entered. Being there made him think of Lily, as nearly everything did. She was always on his mind. His friends knew he once harboured a crush on her, but that was 3rd and 4th years, and when she had made it clear that she would never go near him, they had left him be, and assumed he was over her and moving on. How wrong they were.

He longed after Lily with his whole being. Sometimes it hurt, and when it did, it was normally a faint pang in his heart. He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose with a sniff. He did not like to get so emotional or irrational as he sometimes thought it, about these things.

She had made it quite clear; on numerous occasions, that she had no feelings for him at all, and quite obviously despised him. But nothing had stopped his pursuit of her yet.

This year was his last chance to win her over. This he knew, and what had he done to try and show her that under the messy hair and round spectacles, there was really a nice, charming, caring man? He'd hexed her chair and caused her embarrassment and another reason to hate the infamous James Potter. "Well done James" he said aloud, not realising where he was.

His feet had led him to the edge of the Lake. The clouds above mocked him as they swirled by, pearly white against an azure sky. He plonked himself down on a flattish rock and sighed heavily.

Would he ever be able to show her that the James Potter everyone knew wasn't a complete egotistical, plotting, devious jerk? Would he ever be able to make her understand the true depth of his despair, or his love for her? He had to win this year. He simply had to. To leave without calling her his own this year would be the end off all things for James.

He sat staring at the lake for hours, while his friends ate lunch, and went to Charms. He knew he should get up and go to his lessons too, but he just couldn't face it. He sighed again and looked down at his feet, and shuffled them about in the dust.

Sophie had left Lily in the common room to go to Charms. Lily should have gone too, but was refusing to move from her chair in the corner of the room. She stared down into a book she'd grabbed earlier. Muggle Creatures and their various uses. Not that she needed to read it of course, but it gave her something else to think about than stupid Potter and his friends.

She looked out of the window about an hour later, and decided that it was getting late enough, and she should return to her own common room. Marking her page on the uses of the Canadian Moose, she rose and left the common room.

Her room was up another flight of stairs, to the left at the picture of some rabbits. "Bless Brian's Brains!" she shouted at a portrait of a portly old man, who was snoozing on a chaise long. Dumbledore had made their password, apparently for an old friend, who was losing his marbles.

"Of course dear, of course" he muttered, and he let her through. The room had a musty kind of smell, not unpleasant mind, and it mingled with scents of Lilyflower and Jasmine from her dorm, and what she presumed to be James' vile aftershave from the bathroom.

The fire was already alight, the only light in the now darkened room. Sunset was approaching earlier everyday, as it was mid-October.

She went to dump her books in her dorm and grab some writing things. Preparations were underway for the Halloween Ball, which she and James were supposed to be organising. 'Great. Another reason to talk to him. Why does he have to be the bloody head boy?'

She was determined to hold a grand ball this year; all the ones she'd ever gone to while at Hogwarts had been fairly dull, so this time she wanted to show everyone a great party. She got out a notebook from her trunk, and went downstairs and sat by the fire, which was roaring in the hearth, lighting the room so much you could hardly tell it was dark outside unless you looked out of the windows. She decided to wait for James, not that he deserved it, or deserved to be a part of this year's party planning.

James had dug himself a jolly little pit with his feet in the hours that he sat on the rock. He didn't notice that everyone was now inside, or that dinner was soon to start, or that it was now dark and cold, and some rather ominous looking clouds were creeping in from over the hills.

Shivering slightly he stood, and trudged to the castle. Ignoring dinner he went straight up to his common room, hoping that Lily was there, but hoping he wouldn't see her, for the hurt and disgust he was sure to find on her face was enough to finish him off today.

The portly old man Lily had shouted at earlier was now wide awake and entertaining guests to his portrait. He let James in quickly; for he was very busy.

Lily was still sat in front of the fire, her legs tucked under her, her head resting on her hand. She was asleep. James smiled upon seeing her, and crept in, kicking his shoes near the stairs to his dorm, and slowly sat down next to her, as to not disturb her.

He grabbed this rare moment with both hands;-taking in every aspect of her. Fiery red hair lay loosely around her face, falling in front of her eyes. She had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen, that sparkled when she laughed, and glared when she was angry. No matter what mood she was in, she always looked beautiful. She had what he could only describe as porcelain skin, but not pale like the dolls everyone always imagined. She had a slight natural tan to her, so she always looked warm, happy and pretty.

He longed to hold her in his arms, until she fell asleep like that in his hold, when he could rub gentle circles on her back and kiss her head.

They stayed like that for well over an hour, Lily peaceful with the world, and James admiring her every feature. The fire gave a loud crackle and Lily was forced out of her slumber.