Chapter 4

James' laugh was deep and throaty as it rang all through the corridor. Lily could tell it truly conveyed James' feelings at that moment and there was no inch of fakeness in it. What confused Lily was the reason behind James' mirth. She didn't find the fact that she'd stumbled onto them making out very funny at all.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest and was getting a little irritated at why he was laughing as if her comment had been the funniest thing in the world.

"Well-what's so funny Potter?" Lily felt her cheeks grow a little hotter and she was a little embarrassed. James was finding it hard to breathe as he tried to stop his endless flow of laughter

James' bright hazel eyes met her emerald green ones and Lily was surprised at their intensity. Finally, James calmed down a little. By now, tears had sprouted out of his eyes from laughing too much.

"Y-you think I-I would a-actually want M-Missy Redding? Are you insane?" James spluttered, once again bursting into chuckles of glee.

"Well, from what I could see, you two were having a wonderful in your tight lip lock" Lily said, an unexpected burst of anger making its way into her chest again. She truly had no idea why she was getting so worked over James Potter; after all, he was her most loathed enemy.

"You should know me better dear Tiger…I would never ever want to get with those types of girls" James' voice was now serious and almost pleading.

Lily pondered over what he told her. Although his pranks were endless, and his rudeness unbelievable, James had always known where to draw the line; of course, there'd been times when he crossed it with a toe, but that had been it.

He'd never done anything too bad, and the Marauders had indeed been an endless source of entertainment to the student body. Well…she supposed Severus Snape had to be the exception. Potter and Snape had to be worse of than her. Every time they met, it was usually Snape that had to be sent to the Hospital Wing, or occasionally, James would land himself with a few minor injuries.

There was one thing she had never understood about James. Although most of the female population of the school groveled at his feet and related to him as their God, he had never actually seriously considered having a long-term relationship with a girl. Lily knew many girls would practically die at the opportunity to date James Potter, and many of them were beautiful as well as respectable.

Ever since second year, James seemed to have spent all his spare time making her life a living hell. He would come up at jokes, pranks and the most ridiculous ideas to ask her out or pester her. At the time, she had simply been annoyed and angry, but now as she thought about it, he could've been spending his time with girls who actually worshipped him!

"Lily…I'm sure you know by now that my heart's already been taken by a special girl. I…" James found it hard to say what he desperately wanted Lily to know. It had been kept in his heart for all these years and he'd expressed his feelings through immature ways, but his feelings were still the same!

Lily found it hard to accept the situation she had gotten herself into. James' sincerity was filled with only truth and hope. All the wit and rudeness he possessed seemed to have vanished, and there was only the sweet, caring man in front of her, obviously preparing to give an important confession.

Luckily, or unluckily Peeves the Poltergeist found this an extremely convenient time to whoosh between them and cackle loudly, pelting dungbombs at them.

"It's Potty-wee-Potter and his girlyyy friend!"

The previous mood had been completely broken, yet there was no tension left in the air. James and Lily ran all the way back to their Common Room in the Head Tower, panting and laughing when they reached the Distressed Damsel.

The Damsel didn't seem too pleased at being woken from her snooze and seemed to be about to chuck a fit, but after noticing James smiling his wicked grin, her attitude completely changed.

"Looking beautiful as always, my dear lady. You've always been my favourite painting!" James said, giving the Damsel a wink.

"Aw…what a sweet boy you are. And this must be your girlfriend, what a lucky girl she is. It's simply a match made in heaven!" The Damsel cooed as she saw Lily standing awkwardly beside James.

She had been about to open her mouth and protest but the Damsel seemed not to notice her at all. Her eyes were set on James, and even her cheeks were a bit flushed. Seriously! Was this necessary…even a painting found James' 'charming looks' irresistible! It was completely insane.

"Oh! My Prince Charming's calling in the painting opposite. Tell me the password so I can admit you in"

Lily swore under her breath! Dumbledore had forgotten to tell them the password! He said he had something urgent to attend to…where would she and James sleep tonight?

James smirked at her shocked expression.

"Radilicious" Miraculously, the painting swung open to reveal a beautifully furnished Common Room. There were many comfortable looking chairs and beanbags that surrounded the Fire Place. 2 rather well polished wooden desks were placed at each end of the room, and the whole place seemed to give Lily a new meaning to what home felt like.

James also stood aghast at the environment in front of him. He was clearly impressed at the effort Dumbledore had made to providing Head Boy and Girl the best place to relax. Lily gasped in awe, as James took in his surroundings in silent admiration.

Lily didn't know how long they stood there, but when she saw her name engraved onto the door above the staircase, she was excited to see what her room looked like. If the Common Room was already this special, she couldn't wait to see what surprises were waiting for her in her room.

"I'm glad we cleared a few things up today, Potter. Good night and I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow" She grinned happily as she hopped up the stairs.

James was delighted to know she had bid him good night. Although she still referred to him as Potter, it was at least a decent improvement. Now, he was as confused as ever, he had thought she really hated him, now he wasn't so sure! Should he still follow his dreams of dating her, or just leave her alone and make her happy? Argh! What the hell, he decided to toss all the complications away and live for the moment.

"I'm as glad as you Evans, I know you love me, just try not to think about me too much in your dreams!"

Receiving an unmistakable grunt of disgust, James grinned as he had restored their previous relationship. With that, James closely followed suit, and slowly turned the brass doorknob that led to his room. He was not disappointed to find that his room had been perfectly arranged to his likes and habits. After he placed the photo of his parents on his bedside table, James decided it wasn't enough and took the photo of Lily he'd had for 4 years out of his trunk and slipped it under his pillow. Satisfied with everything, James flopped onto his double bed, snuggled down deep into the covers and drifted off to a pleasurable sleep.

Lily slowly changed into her pajamas with her mouth still wide opened. The room was absolutely enormous…and it was all hers! She could honestly say that her room at home was a tenth in size! All the arrangements in her room had been made perfectly and she was delighted to find a range of her favourite books on the bookshelves. After hugging her toy rabbit with a missing eye and a battered ear that she'd had since she was 2, she too, fell into a deep slumber.

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The next morning, James awoke when the bright rays of light hit his face and he groaned as he dragged himself out of the comfortable bedcovers. Pulling on a pair of shorts, he groggily made his way to the bathroom.

With his eyes barely open, and his hair as messy as ever, he blindly maneuvered his way and was not very happy with what he was met with halfway. Lily Evans piercing scream echoed off all the brick walls as she saw James…well, half-naked.

James was instantly awake at the sound of his favourite girl.

"What happened, where's the fire? Who was hurt?" He said, glancing around feverishly.

After receiving no response, James turned his head slightly, and was met with Lily's face that was now a deep shade of scarlet that matched perfectly with her Gryffindor robes. She had covered her face with one hand, and was squeezing her eyes shut. Lily had clearly just come out of the shower, and her hair was dripping wet. She was still dressed in her looser pajamas, to the utter delight of James.

James glanced around the room and found that nothing was wrong. Finally, he looked at himself and finally realised what was wrong. He tried very hard not to burst into uncontrollable laughter, and congratulated himself on only letting a few chuckles escape him.

"Oh Evans…don't tell me you've never seen a man half-naked before!" James sniggered as he noticed her face turn a shade of deeper red. How he loved to tease and torment her! Lately, he was thinking that his sole purpose in life was to get to Lily Evans!

Lily's morning had been perfectly fine until that moment. She had woken up to the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling. The sun had begun to rise, and Lily felt energized and ready to take on anything! She slowly rolled out of bed and made her way to the showers. It was only then did she realize she had to share a shower with Potter! The thought was somewhat off-putting, but she decided she wouldn't let anything ruin her day.

Passing his room, she was met with thunderous snores and decided that he wouldn't be waking up any time soon and it would give her the opportunity to use the shower before he woke up. Taking her time, Lily felt more refreshed as she stepped into and out of the steaming bubbles of water.

She put on her pajamas and made an attempt to dry her thick red hair. She was humming a lively tune as she made her way back to her room, and this perfect day had to be ruined by the appearance of James Potter…as usual.

She hadn't noticed him until he was actually a few feet in front of her because she had been paying attention to how soft and lush the carpet of the Common Room was. When she lifted her eyes to him, she was met with a completely unexpected sight that took her off balance, but she didn't really know what had caused her to emit a shrill scream.

Maybe it was from shock at seeing James Potter only in a pair of shorts, or maybe it was realizing that there was someone else in the Common Room for she had been in her own little world. Either way, it caused both of them a great shock and it certainly was the wake-up call James needed.

Lily, shamefully, did notice for probably the first time, that James did indeed possess the good looks and the perfect build. She finally understood a little why many girls flocked around him to just get a mere glimpse of his features. He was very well worked, with a tanned and muscled body, a result from the endless hours he dedicated to Quidditch.

He had clearly forced himself out of bed as his eyes were barely open. She scoffed inwardly as he unconsciously ran a hand through his mop of jet-black hair. Finally, after they both had calmed down, and James was wide-awake and very amused, did they try and work out this problem.

Lily removed her hand, but refused to meet his eye, or any part of him for that matter, and continued to blush at a colour that resembled her hair. This was yet another feature James liked about Lily. She was so sweet and innocent, and she didn't even know it!

"Please put some decent clothes on Potter! Don't you know that this is very rude?" Lily had managed to find her voice, and spoke with a confidence that even surprised herself as she continued to stare at something fascinating on the carpet.

"Well you see my darling Lils" James said as he took a few more strides towards her, "when a person is preparing to shower, he usually doesn't have his clothes on" Even without seeing his face, Lily knew he was probably smirking.

With him just a few steps away, Lily knew James towered over her by at least a head. Yet, she found his presence neither terrifying nor intimidating…it was just extremely annoying and a little uncomfortable.

"W-well…I suppose I'll have to get used to sharing the Common Room with you then. S-see you at breakfast Potter."

"Will do, Flower"

Lily quickened her pace as she scuttled away from James, leaving him still highly entertained. Her face managed to cool down a bit, but she couldn't push the images of their morning encounter out of her mind. Suddenly remembering, Lily turned back to face James.

"We need to work out a roster for the shower. How about I'll do mornings and you do evenings? That way, we can, er…avoid awkward encounters". Lily quickly flew out the door, not looking back once with her flaming hair flowing behind her.

As Lily bound the steps down to the Great Hall three at a time, James let out a huge bellow of laughter when he was sure she was out of hearing distance.

He was looking forward to this year more and more. Why, if a few more of these scenes happened, he would not only get the best of entertainment, but have a chance at seeing the great Lily Evans highly embarrassed, not to mention, at his mercy!

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A/N: heheheheheheeeeeee…I hope that chapter was at least, a little amusing and that you enjoyed it! I had fun writing about how Lily felt, and I tried to picture myself in her position. Lol!

Anyway, I understand this chapter was pretty pointless and I'll promise you a few more interesting happenings in the next chapter in the Great Hall. I'll also include more of Lily's friends.

Ok, enough of me rambling on, I just wanted to thank my reviewers once again. I really appreciate the comments you've made on my work. It really is quite satisfying to realize that people are reading your stories!

Happy reading everyone! Wishing everyone all the best,

Purebliss90