Prompt:

She used to scoff at how lovesick her classmates would be around boys; flirting and giggling, pouting and acting all cute like romanticists. A quick peck on the cheek and a thoughtful gift is all it took for them to blush.

She mourns the death of Lily Evans, she might have become one of those lovesick teenagers.

Lily Evans is no fool, she knows what these newfound feelings mean. But she's also not just some hormonal teenage girl.

The implications are not lost on her; fancying James Potter is no different than asking for trouble.

But what is she to do when he's magnetic? She gravitates to him when he enters the room, and he's on her mind even when his presence is lacking. She watches his every movement, every gesture, and time seems to slow down whenever he smiles.

He could be in the Great Hall, competing with Peter to see who could stuff their face full of more biscuits, and it would look like the most beautiful thing Lily's ever seen.

He hasn't changed since her epiphany, but Lily's affirmation of her own affections has triggered a domino effect.

She has it bad. She used to dread his presence, but nowadays it instead has a rejuvenating effect on her. All it takes is for someone to simply mention his name, and her mind would start wandering onto more important matters than the conversation at hand.

She's a lovestruck teenager; she can't help but want to be the center of his attention.

"Heard an amusing story in the Common Room today, Potter."

Lily Evans walked into the Hospital Wing and found James Potter lying on his stomach on one of the beds. He had a bored look on his face as he raised his head, but the sight of Lily had a transformative effect, as his face immediately lit up.

"Evans! Did you by chance bring that for me?"

Their Head of House, Professor McGonagall, had stepped into the Common Room earlier, and requested someone bring food to James while he was stranded in the Hospital Wing. Lily's hand shot up so fast that Sirius hadn't even fully registered the question yet.

"Hm, that remains to be determined."

"On?"

"Whether you'll enlighten me as to how you managed to find yourself here again."

"Blackmail Evans? tsk tsk How uncouth of you."

"Not to be a prude, but I do believe the proper term is bribery."

She sat down by his bed and took in his comical situation. He was lying on his stomach with a white towel covering his back from the bottom of his shoulders down to his ankles. His arms were stretched out to provide a cushion for his chin, and Lily could see that he was shirtless underneath the towel.

The youthful teenage girl in her wondered if he was wearing trousers.

"Well go on then, do tell."

She positioned the plate of flank steak and mashed potatoes on his bed right in front of him. As he reached out to grab the plate, she immediately pulled it back into the air.

"Lilyyyy," James whined. "You know why I'm stuck like this."

"I'll feed you if you tell me."

The words are out of her mouth before her brain can even catch up.

She's not sure what possesses her to say that, and Lily's mentally slapping herself once the deed is done. Merlin, she may as well tell James Potter she wants to be his housewife.

James, on the other hand, froze in disbelief at what he'd just heard. His jaw went slack as his brain stopped working for a few seconds, before going into overdrive. He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Honestly Evans, you should be treating me with a bit more respect. Quite the gallant story, I assume you've heard."

Lily hums in response as she purses her lips to contain a laugh. She must not laugh, she must not.

"Rumor has it that, in a stroke of exhibitionism, a tipsy James Potters was gallivanting across the Common Room with his entire back on full display."

James' jaw drops in disbelief, and Lily can't help but giggle. "And when I say entire back, I mean from shoulders to bare arse, down to your trainers."

"Who the bloody hell told you that load of hogwash?"

"Hm, I do believe it was Sirius Black."

"I'm going to skin the tosser alive."

He's sulking again, his hands placed atop one another on the bed, and being used as a headrest. Lily resists the urge to run her hands through his hair.

"Remus, however, was kind enough to elaborate," Lily says as she lowers the plate onto the bed. She's committed now; she scoops a heap of mashed potato and steak onto the spoon and brings it to James' face. He stares at her with a raised eyebrow, before opening his mouth and allowing Lily to feed him.

He maintains eye contact throughout the entire sequence, even as he chews, and Lily looks away before he can spot her flushed cheeks.

"He may have mentioned a third-year fiddling with a cauldron . . . something about an experimental potion gone wrong."

"And?" James prompts Lily with a cheeky smirk on his face.

". . . He may have implied that said cauldron was sealed and on the brink of detonation. And some foolish –"

"Or brave," James chimes in.

"Debatable," Lily counters with a smile. "Someone took notice and jumped in front of the third-year, shielding him from the cauldron as it exploded."

"And said cauldron seared off the back of the lad's outfit, leaving his back and entire bum on full display for the world to see." James finishes the story with a sheepish smile on his face.

The two Gryffindors stare at one another for a few seconds, before breaking into laughter.

Lily's eyes begin to tear up and she wipes them before scooping another heap of steak and potatoes onto a spoon. James happily obliges as she gestures for him to open wide.

"Quite the traumatic experience, I'd imagine."

"Hm, I'd do believe the champion took it quite well."

"I was actually referring to the onlookers," Lily corrected herself. "Who were unfortunate enough to have witnessed the entire thing."

"Not at all," James says with a grin. "I do recall seeing the birds enjoy my modeling. Ask your mates."

Lily's mouth gapes and she brings a hand to her mouth to stifle her snort.

"No, they did not."

"Oh yes," James confirms with a smirk. "McKinnon and Macdonald were quite vocal about how nice my arse seemed to be. Taut, was it?"

Lily knew all about it, actually.

Moments after the cauldron had exploded, the room itself had exploded into laughter as everyone took in the view of James' bare back.

James, to his credit, took it very well in stride. He'd strutted around and twirled as his classmates whistled. His own mates certainly weren't helping.

Control yourself heathen, there are children here!

Oi, someone get an Auror! We've got a lecher in the Common Room!

Sia Margewell, a seventh-year, said many of the girls had been silently ogling, leaning left and right as he twirled. Marlene had even gone as far as asking him to pose for her, which he happily did.

And now here he lay, with a towel to cover his exposed back while the salve that Madam Pomfrey administered worked to remove any traces of scarring.

Trouble seemed to follow James Potter wherever he went.

Lily didn't mind though, if it meant getting more opportunities to spend time with him alone like this.

Hogging James Potter's attention wasn't always so easy.

The bloke was already popular. Not necessarily because many found him attractive, but more so because he was such a carefree fellow.

He was clever, witty, dexterous, impulsive, and easy to humour, even if he was a berk half the time. And to top it all off, his flaws were so blatantly obvious that it was easy to stand on the same level as him when you're in the same room.

But being so likeable meant it was sometimes hard to garner his attention in a room full of people.

Ne'er a truer statement than on March 27th, the fellow Gryffindor's birthday.

His birthdays were always rowdy, considering his love for attention. And even if – by some supernatural occurrence – he'd forgotten to let the entire world know; what best mate would Sirius Black be if he didn't enlighten the world on James' behalf?

But this year was different. This year, Lily Evans had quite the revelation; she fancied the trousers off the cheeky prat. Said affections had much to do with her current inner turmoil.

Amidst the storm of these stupid hormones, Lily had the bright idea to knit James a pair of gloves that he could wear while playing Quidditch.

It was an absurd idea for many reasons:

The quality would have nothing on the professional pairs that James flies through.

She'd gotten him sweets for the last three years, handmaking the boy a pair of gloves would certainly send off alarm bells for some (Sirius Black, namely).

Until two weeks ago, she didn't even know how to stitch a pair of gloves. How does one make leather? Are you supposed to even make it?

Nevertheless, she's got it bad for this troublesome boy and the cliché lovestruck girl in her wants the gift this year to be special.

Now if only she could get the thick prat to look her way for just one bloody moment. She'd been standing about in the Common Room for almost 20 minutes, watching as Gryffindors came and went, drawing James' attention one after the other as if they were in a queue.

She didn't want to just walk up to him and deliver the gifts in front of everyone, she'd be teased mercilessly.

From what she's seen thus far, Lily was the only one who actually made him something. Given their history, she'd definitely be teased for it.

More importantly, the gloves were completely, absolutely, undeniably garbage.

Lo and behold, if one has absolutely zero experience stitching leather, their very first attempt at crafting gloves will end in absolute disaster.

The stitching was shoddy, the stitched initials were unevenly sized and crooked, the holes for his fingers were too large, and Lily's pretty certain one of the leather patches were a different shade of black.

"Wotcha Evans! What've you got . . . are those Quidditch gloves?"

Lily Evans drops her gift and nearly shrieks as Sirius Black creeps up behind her. She didn't have time to package her gift into a box, as she'd been trying to salvage the ruined product earlier this morning. It remained in a haphazardly wrapped parcel of tissue paper that unraveled as soon as it made contact with the ground.

As such, the distorted gloves were on full display for Sirius Black to see, and judging by the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, Lily could tell she was in for a rough morning.

"Evans," Sirius starts with a knowing smirk on his face. "Did you-"

"Don't. Don't even start with me, Black."

"Right on," Sirius responded as he leaned over to grab the pair of gloves. "But blimey Evans, were you trying to butcher the poor thing?"

"I don't know," Lily moaned as she dropped her head into her hands. "It started off so well . . . and then, well it didn't."

"Well, in all honesty woman, you're competing with brands like Cirrus Maxima and Shackles." Sirius held up the gloves and peered through the opening. "Not sure why you thought Prongs would wear 'em anyway."

Lily bit her lip in frustration. She wanted to make something she was certain James would be able to appreciate. It was only after the attempt that she realized nothing she could make would ever compare to the pairs that James already owned.

"Give it," Lily stuck her hand out in defiance. "This was a rubbish idea anyway."

"No, no." Sirius pulls back his hand defensively, keeping the parcel away from Lily. "I'm sure Prongs will appreciate the gift."

"He's not going to wear them, Black. They're atrocious."

"He's James Potter, Evans. You could give him literal garbage and he'd still swoon. Hold on a mo' woman," Sirius narrows his eyes at Lily accusingly. "Since when did you put so much effort into Prongs' gifts?"

"Black," Lily said warningly.

"Don't deny it, you've always gotten him sweets until now. I know it."

"How could you possibly know that, are you stalking me Black?"

"Bugger off woman. We're the only ones who ever put any thought into his gifts; us and the occasional bird who's swooning over him. Hang on . . ."

Sirius' eyes widen in revelation, and he's got a giddy smile on his face.

"I don't like what you're insinuating Black, stay yourself." Lily points at Sirius threateningly, but her heart starts to palpitate in panic.

"You got him a personal gift?"

"Don't. Start."

"A handmade gift?"

"Sirius Black."

"And a pair of Quidditch gloves, no less? For James Potter? Evans! You-"

"Oi! Having private chats without the birthday bloke, what kind of mates are the lot of you?"

Before Sirius could finish his declaration, James strolled up to the two of them with a nonchalant smile on his face.

Lily watched as a look of triumph flashed across Sirius' face and lunged at him before he could get even a peep out.

"Prongs! Guess who's sporting a massi-"

James stared with a dumbfounded look on his face as Lily tackled Sirius to the ground and started walloping him.

"Evans – oof – Evans has a – oof – easy, woman!" Sirius grunted as he struggled to spit out complete sentences between Lily's strikes, as Lily chanted shut up, shut up, shut up!

"Er, have I missed something?"

But James' question went unnoticed as Lily continued to slap Sirius, who couldn't help but cackle in response despite the physical assault.

"What did the berk do now?" Remus asked as he came up to the scene right next to James.

"I dunno, but dare I say this is the most memorable gift I've gotten thus far."

"And dare I say the prat probably deserves it," Remus agrees, but narrows his eyes as he takes a closer look.

At some point, Sirius stopped laughing. His grunts slowly transitioned into actual grimaces of pain with the occasional moan when her fists struck a little too close to below the belt.

"She's . . . blimey, she's slapping him quite hard, no? Hold on, is she . . . bloody hell, she's actually punching him. Lily, Lily!"

Lily's slaps had begun to return diminishing results, and Sirius was getting closer and closer to revealing his discovery. In a stroke of panic, she'd resorted to flat out punching him in the gut whenever he'd gotten too close.

"Easy now, Lily!" Remus exclaimed as he pulled the girl off his mate. "I'm sure he deserves it, but Merlin don't murder the lad."

Lily eventually relented and got up with a crazed look in her eyes as she panted from her adrenaline rush. In a matter of moments, she composed herself with a deep breath and grabbed her parcel off the ground. Remus let her go as soon as she calmed down. "Er, is everything alright Lily?"

"Yes, of course. Just Black being himself, what else is new?"

"And you, mate?" Remus then directed his attention to Sirius, who he lightly nudged as his friend lay on the ground.

"Absolutely peachy," Sirius groaned in response, but there was a smile sported on his face. His smile faltered however, at the insidious glare Lily was giving him.

He had a penchant for mischief, and a love for danger that bordered on insanity. But he was no fool; Lily Evans was not the sort of witch you wanted pointing a wand at you.

He got up with a huff, dusted himself off and marched away. "Bloody women," he muttered. "Absolutely mad, the lot of them."

Lily watched as the shaggy-haired Gryffindor exited the Common Room, and then braced herself as she faced the birthday boy. James however, had already homed in on the parcel in her hand.

"Is that for me?"

"No, Potter." Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "It's for the other Gryffindor whose birthday is today."

"Well, it must be. This one's fairly large for the box of sweets you usually get me." He stuck his hands out expectantly. "Come on then, hand it over."

"Are you the other Gryffindor this was meant for?"

"Lily."

"You don't want this," Lily said mournfully with a shake of her head. "I'll just get you something another time, these are complete rubbish."

"A bit unfair for you to make that judgement on my behalf, no?"

"Really, they're awful!" Lily complained in frustration as she handed him the soft-wrapped bundle. "It was a foolish idea, I dunno the first thing about making –"

"You made me something?" James asked incredulously before turning his gaze to the parcel in his hand. He unraveled the tissue paper and his eyebrows shot up in surprise as he held the gloves in his hand.

He inspected the pair, turning the gloves left and right before slipping his hands into them. He wiggled his fingers through the large openings, as the gloves wrapped his palm loosely and the excess stitching flailed around at the seams.

"Ironically enough, it didn't occur to me until after I finished that you'd likely have an abundance of properly manufactured Quidditch gloves."

"Y'know they use magic to stitch the seams?"

"Of course, but I can't exactly replicate the process, now can I?" Lily responded irately. She already felt like a fool, he certainly wasn't helping her mental state.

"Don't bother glazing over it," Lily said in resignation as she stuck her hands out. "I suppose one of the professors might know how to salvage the stitching-"

"Absolutely not!" James uttered in indignation as he pulled his hands away from Lily. "Are you mad woman, you'd completely ruin the sentiment!"

"Piss off Potter, they're not even useable."

"They certainly are, I'm wearing them right now."

"They're gloves that slip off your hands! What in Merlin's shaggy beard are you onabout?"

"They're perfect, and they're mine now. No take-backs!"

She's glaring at him but doesn't resist as he pulls her in for a hug. His lengthy build dwarfs her small frame as he wraps his arm around her.

"You're a prat," she muffles as she lays her cheek on his chest.

"You're brilliant."

"I'm a fool with two left hands."

"You're an angel with a heart of gold."

"You're a sap."

"You're just realizing this now?"