Distracted by shoelacy

Part the Second

Lily is distracted.

She's distracted, and not because her mother is forcing her to be the bridesmaid at Petty's wedding, which means she has to wear that awful pink dress with the lace ruffles, even though both she and Petty (especially Petty) have expressed most profoundly their extreme dislike of the situation. She's distracted, and not because outside the castle walls there's a madman who calls himself Flight of Death in a fancy, foreign tongue running rampant and killing everyone who gets in his way (or doesn't).

Lily is distracted because three seats back and two to the right, James Potter is staring at her.

He's staring at her, and she's biting her lip with the effort of trying not to turn around and stare back. He's staring at her, and her eyes are flicking back and forth across the paper in front of her as if she's actually reading the assignment, but really she's trying her hardest not to think about the effect his eyes are having on her.

Lily feels herself slip into a memory where she and James are picking up after their first Prefects meeting, and she's still in shock because James took control when the Slytherins got rowdy and actually knew what he was talking about when it was his turn to speak. She's still in shock, and as she silently puts everything back in her bag, James walks out with a quiet, "'Night, Lily." She tries to end the memory there before she remembers how her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her first name coming from his lips.

"Mr. Potter!"

He immediately snaps to attention, and she feels the warmth leave her as his gaze settles on the front of the room. Lily later decides that it was a very good thing McGonagall called his name when she did before her mind started imagining what she would like to have done when James said her name like that instead of blushing at the floor.

"Yes, Professor?"

She can't recall what he was asked or what his response was. She can tell you, however, that she tried her very hardest afterwards not to think about how his teeth would feel on her lip instead of her own—and failed miserably. After all, who can be expected to think clearly when James is staring like that?