"Go out with me."

"No."

"Please?"

"I said, no!"

The petite red head stormed from the Gryffindor common room, her eyes a blazing emerald. The dark haired boy sighed. James Potter had been asking the stunningly gorgeous Lily Evans out for years, and she had yet to accept.

Doesn't she know what she is missing out on? He asked himself cockily. He knew that he was attractive – it was unmistakably clear to him, what with all the girls that threw themselves at him each day. But it wasn't them that he wanted. He wanted the brightly colored girl with the 'hands-off' attitude. He often pondered how she could make her hair so silky smooth that it constantly looked like running water, glistening in the sun. He questioned how her eyes shone so brilliantly in the darkest of places. He wondered how she kept herself so superbly skinny while also maintaining a healthy diet and delicious curves. He sighed again.

He knew what was happened to him, had for a while now. The only person he had told his secret to was his best mate, who was looking up at James in amusement, almost as if he could read his every thought.

"Isn't in funny," Sirius laughed heartily, leading the way out of the common room and to the Great Hall for dinner, "how the great James Potter, fell for the only girl who won't ever go out with him?"

James elbowed Sirius hard in the stomach, just as they entered the Hall and made for the Gryffindor table. It was true, though. He had fallen hard for Lily Evans, who apparently hated the very air he breathed. James felt the familiar weight of depression fall heavy on his shoulders as he sat down opposite his two other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. He hid his despair behind a smirk as he greeted the two.

The only people that seemed to notice his laps in fake cheeriness were Sirius and, incidentally, Lily, who spied James curiously from a few seats away. Trying to lead her away from guessing his true feelings, James dropped her a wink, increasing his smirk. She immediately bristled and looked away angrily, and he sighed in relief. Sirius frowned at him.

"If you keep pushing her away by being an arrogant git, you're never going to get her, you realize that, right?"

James glared at him and finished his dinner hurriedly, pushing away from the table. He was one of the first ones to leave, and he could feel a familiar pair of emerald eyes burning into his back.

oOo

James yawned tiredly. Finally bringing himself to climb out from under his warm, comfortable blanket, he woke Sirius (by pushing him out of the bed - quiet unceremoniously - and laughing hysterically until a pillow smacked into the side of his head) and began to prepare for the school day.

Once in the Great Hall he kept his head down tiredly, nearly falling asleep on his plate of toast several times. He knew why he was so tired. He had spent the whole night tossing and turning, all because he couldn't get a certain red haired beauty out of his mind. He groaned as he lied his head down on the table and closed his eyes. He was interrupted quickly, though couldn't find it in himself to be angry, once he saw who was talking.

"Not a morning person, I see." Lily's hair was falling slightly across her face and James resisted the temptation to sweep it behind her ear with his hand. He nodded tiredly at her, and lifted his head from the table. Lily sat next to him and opened the book that she was holding quietly beside him, starting to read.

Instead of breaking the smooth silence that surrounded them, James ate the remanded of his toast in silence, his eyes brushing over the faces of the hall. His eyes seemed to stick on one face, though. He leaned over to Lily.

"Is something wrong with Snivellus?" Severus Snape's face was set in a firm mask of hatred as he glared at James. This, James was use to, but it was the longing and guilty glances at Lily that caught his attention. James glared back at the Slytherin.

Lily tutted quietly at the sound of his nickname for Snape, but didn't call it, which he was surprised about. He was even more surprised when Lily joined in on the glaring contest, sending dirty looks to Snape. "We just had a simple disagreement, is all."

James smirked across the hall at Snape, and his glare intensified. Lily directed his thought away from the Slytherin table, as she pulled out her Transfiguration book.

"I actually need help with the essay we have to write for Dumbledore," she told him quietly and James raised an eyebrow.

"You mean the one that due in two weeks?" he questioned her sceptically. She flushed a brilliant red and glanced down.

"I like to get things done straight away," she mumbled back and glanced up to find the infamous 'Potter smirk' printed proudly across his face.

"Oh, just admit it, Lils. That's just an excuse for you to talk to such a stunningly attractive man as myself," he teased her lightly and her blush intensified. Her head snapped up to glare at him and he caught the light whiff of Strawberries and Vanilla hair product. He didn't pay it much mind.

"Shut it, Potter," she growled at him, taking her annoyance out on him. Truth be told, she didn't even know why she wanted to talk to the messy haired Gryffindor, and she hated that he reason could include the fact that he was mildly attractive. Oh, who was she kidding? The boy was a walking, talking sex machine! His black, shiny hair which never seemed to sit flat against hair had girls (including Lily, though she would never admit it out loud) craving to rake their fingers through it. He had warm brown eyes and a pale complexion. His body was filled out and muscled from Quidditch play and his smile, when used, made many swoon. Lily sneered at him. "I'm only asking you for help because I know it would annoy Severus the most."

She immediately regretted her small lie as hurt flashed before James eyes, followed quickly by a small amount of anger.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I won't be used," he hissed at her. He marched out of the hall heatedly, and Lily put her head in her hands, the faint smell of musk remaining in his wake. She hadn't meant what she said. She hadn't meant it at all.

oOo

Dumbledore watched as Mr Potter fled the hall, leaving an upset Miss Evans behind him. The Astronomy teacher, Eleanor Swallows, leaned over and winked at Dumbledore pointedly and he silently cursed. He and Eleanor had a running bet going that Dumbledore couldn't get Lily Evans and James Potter to kiss. And Dumbledore was losing. He cursed again and searched his brilliant brain for his next idea. A grin then worked its way on to his face as he turned to address the new potions master. "Say, Horace . . ."

oOo

"Class, my name is Professor Horace Slughorn, and I will be your new potions master," a bulging man from the front of the room explained. He was wearing a striped suit that was straining at the buttons and had a slightly balding head. The class frowned. They had all witnessed their old potions masters' memorable leave. Bilius Petreson had started mumbling through dinner to himself and had eventually started yelling at nothing at all, it seemed, about crazy old men and their stupid twinkles. Needless to say, Headmaster Dippet had dismissed him on the spot and suggested he visit St Mungos on the way home.

Slughorn smiled at the class toothily. "Now, your transfiguration teacher, Albus, suggested to me that we make an Amortentia potion. Now who can tell me what that is?" he asked as he slipped a cauldron of the potion onto his desk. The potion shimmered were it sat, a light steam rising from its surface. Several hands shot up, including both Lily and James'. Slughorn's greedy eyes landed on Lily.

"You are?"

"Lily Evans, sir. Amortentia is the world's strongest love potion. To each person, the potions smell differs, depending on what they find most attractive." Slughorn beamed at her.

"Very good, very good, ten points to Gryffindor. Now, why don't you come up here and tell me what you smell?" Lily trudged to the front of the hall and stood before the steaming potion. She leant down and smelt the potion with a smile.

"I smell fresh grass after a rain, and peppermint candy. And also . . . musk. Are you sure you mixed it properly?" she asked the teacher suddenly and, though Slughorn looked slightly taken aback, he grinned cheekily at her.

"Tell me, Miss Evans, who is it that smells of musk? And why are you so intent on pretending you think my potion is wrong?"

Lily simply marched back to her table, keeping her eyes down and not meeting anyone's gaze. James felt a poke on his arm and looked up to see Sirius pointing down at the table, where a piece of parchment lay. Written across the top of it was Sirius's neat scrawl.

(A/N: James, Bold. Sirius Italic)

.:Don't you use musk body-wash?:.

James's breath caught as he realized this, but he shook his head, and scribbled his answer down on the parchment as students moved to smell the potions and retell their findings. Strange things kept coming out of others mouths as they told what they smelt, such as red ink, Blood-pops and baby powder.

.:Don't get my hopes up, mate. Anyway . . . we're not talking:.

.:What? What happened?:.

.:Never you mind:. He wrote, before rising out of his seat to go to the potion. He leant over and breathed in its sweat aroma.

"I smell . . . broomstick polish and parchment. Also," a sense of familiarity over came him and he frowned, "I smell Strawberry and Vanilla shampoo."

Lily jumped in her seat. It had to be a coincidence, it just had to. She inconspicuously sniffed at her hair, inhaling her favorite scented shampoo; Strawberry and Vanilla. She was sure that she had smelt musk on James just before he had bolted from the hall. Lily huffed loudly, and those closest to her hot her strange looks. She just glared at them until they ducked their heads away from her gaze. No one wanted to upset Lily while she was in one of her moods.

oOo

"I'm going to go down to the kitchens, want to come?" James yawned to Sirius, Remus and Peter, all of who shook their heads. He got out of his comfy position on the couch and headed out the portrait hole, hoping to subside the growling in his stomach. He quietly crept down to the kitchens, tickling the pear to gain entry, and then slipped through the door to be greeted by the house elves.

"Sir! Sir, my name is Noozy. What can Noozy do for you, sir?" one of the house elves squealed up at him, wrapped in a dirty, ripped pillow and he smiled. He was rather fond of these creatures, and he bent down so that he was at the elf's level.

"Can I have a treacle tart or two, please?"

"Noozy can, sir, Noozy can!" the elf squeal, darting away to grab his treat. Suddenly the door slammed open and in walked the red haired beauty that obtained most of James thoughts.

Lily looked up at him through his eyelashes and James felt several reactions flow through his body at once, none of which he dared voice in fear of a hard slap across the face. Lily stepped closer to him and James lent against the counter of a bench that was against the wall. The house elves seemed to be giving them room to talk, as they were all out of sight.

"I followed you down to the kitchens," she told him, fiddling idly with the ends of her hair. James raised one of his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"I . . . I wanted to apologize," this time his eyebrow disappeared from sight as it flew up to his hair line. Lily almost laughed at the bewildered look upon his face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I said that I was only talking to you to get back at Severus."

A nod greeted her apology, and Lily became suddenly angry at his silence.

"James, I said I'm sorry! I didn't mean any of the things I said at that table, I was just so angry at Severus that I took it out on you and I am so very, very sorry." Lily took a deep breath and proceeded she confessed the one thing she promised herself she wouldn't tell him; "When I smelt the Amortentia, the main thing I could smell was you."

James stood from the bench and looked over at her in confusion and . . . hope? She took a deep breath and continued. "The musk . . . It was you."

James took a cautious step towards her, bringing them just a tad closer than expected and her inhaled the air around her. "You smell like Strawberry and Vanilla shampoo," he smiled down at her in an amused voice. Lily smile back, before boldly pushing her hands up to tangle in his silky hair, bringing their faces closer. She grinned at him.

"It's my favorite."

And she brought his head roughly down so that her lips collided with his. The kiss was not at all what she expected.

She expected him to be rough and hard against her, his hands roaming her body in lust. But he was the complete opposite. He held her gently by the waist and he massaged their lips together, fighting with her tongue for dominance. Gradually he brought her closer to him, pushing their bodies tight as his kiss became more passionate, so much so, that neither of the Gryffindor's managed to hear the soft click of a camera or the quiet closing of the kitchen door. They both simply melted into the bliss.

oOo

Eleanor stared open mouthed at the pictures she held in her hand. There were two of them, both taken of Lily and James in a tight embrace, she looked up at the smug transfiguration teacher with disbelief, before grudgingly handing over five gallons. He slipped the money inside the pocket of his coat in a flash.

"How do you do it, Albus?" Eleanor asked, honestly wondering how. Dumbledore grinned sat her, and she glimpsed a slight twinkle in his eye. Twinkle? she asked herself sceptically. I'm going as crazy as old Bilius was!

"I suggested to Horace that he have the class research Amortentia. Miss Evans and Mister Potter both had a deep desire for each other and I just let fate run its course."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes at her fellow Professor. Oh, there is defiantly a twinkle, she concluded with a sigh.

"So, who's next?"