Lily Evans was gobsmacked. It wasn't the opulent surroundings of the Headboy and Girl common room, it was the headboy. No, she wasn't 'taken in' by 'gorgeous' hazel eyes, or self depreciating 'wit'. She was, however, taken in by how incredibly organized James Potter was. He had put a charm on his school bag and supplies so that no matter how he tossed them in they immediately zipped to their proper place. One of the things that had always irked her about James was solved. He sat in front of her in Potions and again during History of Magic. Every day she would watch as he would carelessly toss, or throw, or fling his school things into his bag and have absolutely no trouble finding them at the beginning of the next class. Lily herself was hopeless and knew it. She had decided there was a gap between the memory and memory recollection parts of her brain. For an example, at night before she went to bed she swore that she left her shoes directly in front of the nightstand. She did this every night because the thought of all of the gross things on the bottom of her shoes winding up in her bed disgusted her. Yet, every morning they were nowhere to be found, leaving Lily frantically searching all over the girls dorms searching for them and nearly always missing breakfast thereby setting her up to be in a FOUL mood until lunch. She had hunted the school many times over searching for the kitchens but she could never seem to find them. She had once, but when she went back later to investigate the room had vanished. She knew that there had to be one, not only because there were meals served three times a day but she had never seen Sirius Black without a snack in the six years she had been in the school. And she realized that some girls found him "dishy", she found him gross...him and his friends and the things that they suggested that she do to find out how to get a stinking apple in between meals.
Which led her back to Potter. She abruptly looked up at him, and grinned sheepishly. He had arrived in their common room before her and was preparing himself for the meeting. There was a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice on a side board that he had obviously bought with him. But when she had walked in the room, minutes late and grumbling about walking magical shoes he had been arranging several pages of notes on the desk in front of him. She had meant to confront him and ask if he hexed her shoes each semester but his bag was sitting next to him and her eyes zero'd in on it as if it had contained a homing device. Some people collected porcelain fairy dolls, Lily Evans collected storage and organization methods. Methods and tools that she was absolutely entranced with for several days before she decided that being organized was one goal that she would never accomplish and the tools and methods would be chucked into her closet. With all of the others. Last year she went through a stage were she only liked the bins that sparkled. Seeing the state of James Potter's school bag sent her into a lust driven tizzy that had her charging to where her cohort was sitting and planting her tush on the desk next to his papers and happily rumaging around. The bag was amazing.
James's eyes moved from the expanse of thigh that was holding the first page of his proposal hostage and at the tuft of frightfully redhair that was the only thing visible of Lily Evans head. The woman hadn't spoken a word to him. She had just charged into the room, pissed as usual when she had to be around him, but then she squealed and literally dove into his knapsack. He loved her but the girl was weird.
"How did you do this? Did you buy the bag like this or was it a charm?" Her voice floated out from the sack as she continued rummaging around.
"I charmed it. It's pretty handy." He spoke slowly, excepting their discussion after the meeting on the train this was the first real conversation that he had ever had with her that didn't involve insults. That made him a little sad.
"Where did you learn it?" She slowly pulled her head out of the bag and her green eyes were sparkling at him. James tore his eyes away from her, trying to regroup. This was not a Lily Evans that he was used to. Her hand was stroking the bag as if it were some sort of pet animal.
"Remus. I think his mom taught him, or something." He cleared his throat before hurriedly adding, "I could teach it to you if you want."
Seconds later Lily had dumped the contents of her bag on the floor and deposited the bag itself on top of James' notes. Lifting it up she shoved the
papers that he had so carefully been organizing to the floor and plopped her bag back on the desk. Less than a minute later the inside of Lily's bag was transformed from the dirty army green that it had been to a sea of sparkling, glimmering pastels and her supplies had been assigned spots in the bag. Lily was seated on the floor across from her bag cheerfully tossing supplies and all but clapping when they hovered at the brim before diving into it's assigned spot.
"I need something like this for my shoes. I cannot keep up with them, so help me Merlin." She sounded resigned before looking up at him with narrowed eyes, "You didn't do something to them, did you?"
James laughed and denied the accusation. He had never seen this side of Lily, at least not directed intentionally at him. He mentally moved up the date that he would be able to make his move on her. He liked this side of her. He liked her. After he denied it she sighed. She hadn't thought so. Not really, it wasn't the Marauders style and it happened even during the summer breaks. "We should get started."
"Why would you think I did something with your shoes?" He questioned, loath to get begin and loose this whimsical side of her. She had already said that she couldn't keep up with them for her life, he was just curious as to what exactly she thought he was doing with them.
"They disappear! Every morning they are gone! Just gone like I had been going 'round barefoot the day before." She kicked her legs out and stared accusingly at the items in question. "Do you know where I found them just now?"
James shook his head in the negative. Still somewhat shocked at this side of the girl that he had thought he knew backwards, forwards and upside down in the dark.
"Well this one," She raised her left foot, "was hanging out outside of the boys dorms. And this one," the right was lifted, " was outside of the tower all together! About half a dozen feet away from the portrait of the Fat Lady. I mean. If you haven't done something to them who has? But it can't be you, right? Not because you said that it wasn't but because it happens during the summer time as well! Although, who's to say you don't know a charm for bringing my shoes to life?"
"Lily! I say I have nothing to do with a charm that's bringing your shoes to life. You're gonna have to trust me, loon."
"I'm a loon? Let's see just how normal you would be if every single morning of your life you have to get up half an hour earlier than you would want to just so that you can locate your shoes? You wonder why I'm in a bad mood every morning? Tell me how chipper you'd be if you were sleepy and hungry and you couldn't ever find the damn kitchens after six and a half years of looking. Honestly. Maybe I just don't have a adventurer's spirit because I can honestly tell you that I have no idea how you find all of those secret passage ways that you boys are constantly disappearing in to. . ." Her mini-rant trailed off into silence and she looked up at James from beneath the fringe of her hair. She hadn't meant to go on like that, but her friends shut her up after less than thirty seconds of her shoe rant. She had things she needed to get off her chest and if James Potter was so smitten with her that he was willing to listen to her steadily complain without taking a breath for five minutes or so, who was she to deny him his dubious pleasures? With a subtle shift of her shoulders she continued on.
The next morning Lily rushed into her transfiguration class just barely skirting the bell. She had two different kinds of shoes on: a brown penny loafer and a black sneaker. A scowl was on her face and her hair was a mess. She marched to her desk with as much dignity as she could muster and angrily sat down. She had missed breakfast. Of course. She pulled out her quill (which was happily exactly where she had left it in the charmed bag) and jabbed her parchment paper repeatedly hoping to work out some anger. She hoped that James would lean forward and say something incorrigible so that she could vent out enough of frustration that she would be able to concentrate on the lesson. She hated transfiguration. She stiffened in her seat and said a silent 'Yes!' as a smooth paper airplane landed on her desk. She unfolded the note which instructed her to move her bag and parchment paper out of the way. The scowl was replaced by the wrinkle in her forehead that was prominent when she was curious about something. She followed the airplanes instructions. Seconds later a pouch landed on the desk in front of her.
Cautiously opening it she had to suppress a squeal of happiness as the bag contained several of her favorite breakfast pastries and a sealed jug of orange juice. She loved orange juice. Pumpkin juice was good for lunch and dinner. But orange juice owned breakfast. It just did. She knew who the meal was from even before she read the note at the bottom of the bag: Hope you like something in here. Do you even know what you like since you never get to eat breakfast? -J
Lily ignored her friends attempts to sneak bits of her breakfast and promptly gave them glares that were normally reserved for James Potter when they asked for a bite. For the past six years they never once scrounged up breakfast for her, and now they wanted a bite? Pah! Yeah. Freaking. Right.
She learned a lot in transfiguration that day. Things like the hardest class in the world wasn't that hard with a full stomach and general well being for others in your heart. And she learned that James Potter knew that asiago cheese bagels were her favorites, and he cared enough to bring her one with a smear without having to be asked.
authors note: so, guys, i have the sneaking suspicion that i may have gone so far from being in character to have made lily a mary sue. that feeling does not sit well with me. i'll tell you what happened. i wanted her to stay in character, i really did but i wanted her to have quirks. so, forgetfulness. ok, forgiveable offense. slightly flaky. you guys understand that one. and as for the whole thing with the organizational stuff, i thought that that was just uncool, controll freak enough for miss lily evans and that was also a bit of me sneaking in. i am completely without a doubt the most unorganized person i know. and yet every year i buy tones of folders and paper clips and other doodads and what happens? they end up under my bed or some other ridiculous spot. oh well. so. i think shes ooc but i hope not too bad. if you think that she is, seriously, let me know, and i'll try to fix it.
isa