Sorry for the delay, but it's almost the end of the semester which means midterms, essays, projects, and finals. But they tell me education is important so yeah. Although that means summer is weeks away! If only the Canadian weather could figure that out.

Disclaimer: I dreamt about Lily and James last night, but sadly that does not mean I own anything HP related. What a good dream though!

It's all gonna shift, it's out of our hands
Babe if you could know, you would hatch a plan
That's my, that's my man

Dark Doo Wop, MS MR

Chapter Four: Something About Ravenclaws

Lily sat in potions the next day eagerly writing down notes. It wasn't her enthusiasm for the subject that kept her quill writing furiously; it was her attempt to keep her mind off of Potter. Last night she had avoided going back to her room until the very last minute. She had successfully avoided him the remainder of the day after their fight in muggle studies. Upon finally returning, she was rewarded, however, with the putrid sight of Potter shoving his tongue down Penelope Fairview's throat on the couch. A bimbo of a Ravenclaw if there had ever been one.

Lily had frozen on the last step when the couple came into sight. A million thoughts had raced through her mind as she debated what to do. Leave or run to her room as fast as she could?

As if James had sensed her presence, he had broken apart from Penelope long enough to give Lily an ugly sneer. The Ravenclaw hadn't yet noticed Lily and cooed his name when he had pulled back. James had then obliged her and returned to the kiss with ferocity.

Lily resisted the urge to puke all over them as she had forced herself to walk to her room. Just one foot in front of the other. Before she could have heard another moan from either one of them, she had slammed her door with a savage thrust.

The raven haired boy was sitting four rows behind her now in class. Lily could have sworn his was watching her, waiting for her to falter in some way. However, every time she turned around his attention was anywhere else. Eventually, she had forced herself to stop looking in his direction. It was what he wanted anyways, to anger and bother her. She was only giving in every time she tried to catch him looking at her.

At this point in class, Professor Slughorn had stopped lecturing and handed out work sheets. Taking one and passing it on, Lily tried to immerse herself into potions once again. This time Potter would not cause her to stray. And she made good measure of it, until something crunchy landed on her desk.

Looking up to see who had thrown the crumpled paper on to her desk, Lily reached up and unraveled it. It was a clipping from the Daily Profit. The headline was bold and chilling as Lily scanned the page, her heart beat rising.

Muggleborn Attacks on the Rise: Who's Being Targeted and Why the Ministry Barely Gets Involved.

As the number of muggleborn attacks increase, the Ministry has been quick to deny their lack of involvement. Representatives for the Prime Minister claim the Ministry is working hard to deal with Death Eaters, however, the Auror department has less than favorable words in response. 'Nothing's being done,' one Auror who wished to remain unidentified says. 'They don't want to get involved and start a war. They would rather watch the muggleborns get taken out than risk the blood of everyone. Why risk all when only a few are being targeted? That's their philosophy and it's disgusting.' While it appears the Ministry is taking a blind eye, there are those who aren't willing to go down without a fight. The only question is whether the small few will be enough to make a difference...

Written at the bottom of the article in rough print were the words 'Which mud blood is next?' in red ink.

It was as if a buzzing had overtaken Lily's hearing. All other noise had subsided, only her heart beat and that persistent buzz. She had never been so openly targeted before, even though it was small and barely called for alarm. All the blood seemed to drain to her feet, leaving a light sensation in her head to accompany the buzz. Gently folding the article, Lily slipped it into her bag as if the thing were a bomb ready to explode at the slightest bump.

She looked up once again, hoping to spot a guilty face, although not really sure what to do if she did. Everyone, however, was deep into their work.

"Lily?" She jumped at the sound of her name, bracing herself for the oncoming attack. "You okay?" Alice asked, concern written all over her face. "You're as white as a ghost."

Lily stared at her friend, unable for a second to take in her words. "Oh... Uh... I'm fine. I just- I realized I forgot something upstairs," she offered lamely. Grabbing her bag, Lily bolted to the front of the room, unable to look at her friend anymore. She mumbled something about head duties to Professor Slughorn who excused her easily. She was out the door in record speed.

Once she was free of the classroom, Lily bolted down the hallway. Figuring she far enough away, Lily slumped against the dungeon wall. Her breathing was slowing down but her heart beat remained erratic. Closing her eyes, Lily willed away the panic. It was ridiculous, really. A silly prank meant to shake her up. Nothing more. No one would be stupid enough to openly target another student. It would mean expulsion.

Giving herself one more moment to collect her wits, Lily pulled herself up off the floor. As she made her way out of the dungeons, she continued to convince herself the threat was nonexistent. She was doing a good job of it too till someone reached out and grabbed her arm from behind.

Lily whipped around ready to face her attacker. Her heartbeat had shot up again drastically as she pulled her bag back, ready to smash her assailant with the heavy sac.

"Jesus, Evans." James backed up hastily in response to Lily's armed stance. "Trying to take someone's head off?"

Lily dropped her arm. "What are you doing here, Potter? Why aren't you in class?"

James leaned casually against the wall and folded his arms. His cloak was off and slung over his bag, his sleeves rolled up. If she hadn't have been so paranoid, Lily would have begrudgingly noticed the way his arms flexed under his shirt. "Slughorn said I could go help you with head duties. Didn't bother to tell him we're not actually needed for anything. Sirius was not pleased that I got to leave early."

Lily let out a breath that she had been holding in. "Fine then, just...whatever. If you'll excuse me." She turned on her heel again; ready to be rid of his presence. She clearly hadn't done a good job of convincing herself she wasn't in danger. She needed to be alone to think.

But James wasn't done with her. To her annoyance, he reached out and grabbed her arm again, pulling her back to him before she could escape. "What's wrong? I've never seen you so nervous before."

Lily looked down at his hand on her arm before shaking it lose. "Nothing's wrong. I just- I'm not feeling well."

"You are many things, Lily Evans, but a liar isn't one of them." James had moved closer to her now.

He was making her uncomfortable but Lily couldn't place why. "I'm just not feeling well," but she could hear the lie in her own voice.

James seemed to consider her for a moment. It was an excruciating pause while his eyes poured into hers, threatening to reveal every dark secret she was keeping. And then it was over. "Whatever you say, Evans." And he was gone.

Lily took a moment to stare after his retreating form. A small part in her desperately wanted to call him back. She was spooked and paranoid and she wanted someone to comfort her. But once again, she had pushed away anyone who offered help. She was excellent at doing that.

Before anyone else could sneak up on her, Lily followed in James' path, eager to be out of the dingy hall.

JLJLJLJLJL

Earlier

James had been dozing off when Lily had quickly shot up from her desk. Her usually rosy completion was drained of colour and her eyes wide. She had muttered something to Alice before retreating to the front of the room. He strained to hear what she was saying to Slughorn and caught the words 'head duties'. Slughorn had then excused her with a smile and quick wave of a hand. James panicked for a moment raking his brain. He couldn't remember if they were scheduled for anything head duty related. Lily would surely have his arse if he forgot. But coming up short, James assumed Lily had used it as an excuse. That didn't sit right with him though. The redhead was a keener and would hardly cut class unless it was important.

Alarmed, James began to shove his notebook and quill into his bag, disturbing Sirius who was dozing off beside him. "What are you doing?" he asked groggily.

"Head duties," he whispered quickly as he slung his robe over his bag. "I'll see you in a bit." Before Sirius could protest, James was at the front of the room. Slughorn looked up for his paper he was writing on.

"Head duties?" James nodded. "Alright. Be off with you." Slughorn waved his hand in dismissal and James was out the door.

The hallway outside the classroom was empty. Propelling himself, James hurried down the corridor. Right as he turned a corner, he spotted Lily slumped against the wall. A dazed expression was settled across her face. He whipped back around before she could spot him. It had taken everything in his power not to walk over and comfort her. It was a fantasy of his that had played in his head for years on repeat. Apparently his fifteen year old self was still buried deep within him. His affections for the girl not completely eradicated. Annoyed at the affection, James reminded himself of all the fights they had had over the past two years.

With his annoyance restored, James turned the corner ready to face her. Lily, however, had retreated further down the hall, her posture visibly defeated. Before he knew what he was doing, his instinct propelled him forward. His hand was wrapped around her arm before he could think it through.

Lily whipped around in record speed, her bag threateningly high. James backed up out of instinct. Lily was practically half his size but the look in her eyes made him recede. "Jesus, Evans. Trying to take someone's head off?"

Lily arm dropped almost instantly. "What are you doing here Potter? Why aren't you in class" Her words were sharp but her tone was weak.

James considered telling her he had come for her. He wasn't really sure why. Just something about her insecurity had bothered him. "Slughorn said I could go help you with head duties. Didn't bother to tell him we're not actually needed for anything. Sirius was not pleased that I got to leave early." She didn't need to know he had followed her willingly.

Lily was playing with the hem of her sweater nervously. James wanted badly to reach out and grab her hand. "Fine then, just...whatever. If you'll excuse me." She turned on her heel to go but James reached out for her and pulled her close. He wasn't ready to see her go yet.

"What's wrong? I've never seen you so nervous before." He was alarmingly aware of how close she was to him now. A stirring whirled in the pit of his stomach.

Lily avoided his eyes and broke contact. His hand felt cold from where it had once been holding her. "Nothing's wrong. I just- I'm not feeling well." Lie.

"You are many things, Lily Evans, but a liar isn't one of them." He moved closer again, a feeling of possession overtaking him.

Lily squirmed and sucked in a breath. "I'm just not feeling well."

James took this opportunity to drink in her sight. It was the first time he allowed himself to truly look at her in over two years. Her red hair was a glorious mess of curls, her freckles dashed across her face randomly. Her eyes though held a sadness that had not been there before. Not wanting to push her, James tried his best to brush off the situation. "Whatever, Evans," he said, brushing past her. He would get his answers sooner or later.

Before he could turn around again, James was off down the corridor. He knew if he turned around, he would be drawn back to her. She always had a way with him like that.

JLJLJLJLJLJL

Lily had decided not to confront her friends about the note. If and only when something else happened, then she would tell someone. Yes, that would be best. Not reason to stir unnecessary suspicion.

The rest of the day seemed to draw on, her bag feeling like a hundred pounds. If she were being honest with herself, Lily would admit how affected she was by it. Every look that was spent on her felt off. Anyone who talked to her felt iffy. It was as if her paranoia was getting the better of her. It was getting the better of her.

By the time dinner had come around, she had perfected a cool demeanor. Alice had asked her why she left so early from class. Lily responded that she had forgotten the prefects schedule and left it at that. By the time she got to bed, she was exhausted. Crawling into her clean sheets and pulling the covers over her head, Lily drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

When morning had come, Lily awoke to the sound of a pounding on her door. "Oi, Evans. The hell you still doing in there? Class starts in five minutes!" James voiced echoed through the door.

Lily bolted upright reaching frantically for her phone. Indeed the time read 8:55. "Jesus fucking Christ, Merlin on a stick!" she yelled. Grabbing her clothes, Lily bolted out her door nearly running James over.

"Hey, watch it!" he said, straightening his shirt.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Lily cried out as she ran into the bathroom, ripping her pajamas off in the process. James' eyes lingered for a moment before she slammed the door.

"I'm not your mother, you know. I didn't have to wake you up at all."

Lily whipped the bathroom door open. Her hair was put up haphazardly, her uniform thrown on hastily. "You are so infuriating, Potter!" She was running across the room now, buttoning up her blouse. "Where is my robe?" she yelled as she ripped her room apart in search for the thing. James stood in the doorway, enjoying the girl's antics. It wasn't often one saw a frantic Lily Evans.

Finally finding her robe, Lily flung it over her book bag. "Sweater, sweater, sweater. Where are you?" she was whispering to herself. James spotted it beside her bed and reached for it. He cleared his throat loudly, drawing her attention to him. Holding it up, James saw her eyes narrow. "Give it here," she demanded.

Going for it, James lifted it out of her reach. "What are you going to do for it?"

"Screw you, Potter."

"That can be arranged." He smiled coyly. The look on her face was priceless. God it was easy to rile her up.

"Unless you want your manhood compromised, give it back." Her tone was cold. She wasn't messing around, especially not when she was running late.

James frowned. "You wouldn't."

Lily crossed her arms. "Try me."

James debated this. Apparently for too long. Lily lifted her leg, ready to kick him in the nether regions. "Okay, okay!" James threw the garment at her. "And all for a sweater," he mumbled as she walked past him, sweater tucked into her skirt.

James followed her to their first class. They had every single subject together. It was sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse. It meant he got to spend all day with her, only it also meant she had to spend all day with him. She seemed to have far less a tolerance for him than her did her. Lily continued to walk in front of him, struggling with her bag's strap. She was investing her full attention to it when her shoulder collided with a random Slytherin. "Watch it, dumb fuck," the boy snapped at her.

Lily backtracked instantly, nearly running James over in the process. She smacked straight into his chest, her eyes never leaving the Slytherin's. "Sorry," she mumbled and picked up her pace again. James frowned. Her behaviour was alarmingly docile. Speeding up beside her, James itched to ask her what was wrong. She was purposely avoiding his eyes though.

As they reached their first class, Lily took off to sit with her friends, paying no mind to whatever had happened in the hall. James found his way over to Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Throwing his bag down, he took his chair and immediately turned to face them, ready to blab about Lily. "You guys notice anything wrong with Evans?"

"I though you would be the first to point out anything wrong. Losing your touch, Prongs?" Sirius asked, slumped in his chair. Morning classes were far to early for him.

"That's not what I mean," James scowled as he pulled out his textbook. The purpose not meant for academic study but rather something to hold conversations behind while the teacher lectured.

"Explain then," Remus offered half heartedly.

James furrowed his brow. "It's just that, ever since class yesterday, she's been acting weird. Weirder than usual," he corrected himself. "Something's off."

"And you're what, going to fix everything for her? Be her knight in shining armour? Mate, she would rather watch you drink poison and vomit your guts out and then eat it before she ever let you help her," Sirius snickered.

"That was lovely graphic image Padfoot, thank you for that," James said with a frown. "The point is something's wrong. I know it."

JLJLJLJL

"Something's wrong, I know it," Alice said as Lily threw herself into her chair. "You're never late, and you missed breakfast. You know how grumpy you get when you skip breakfast."

Lily pulled out her text and notebook, getting herself ready for today's lecture. "Nothing's wrong, I just slept in."

"But you were hardly talkative at dinner last night. You always get excited for dinner," Eva added. She was twirling a piece of hair between her fingers, eyeing a rather good looking Huffelpuff. "Anyone know if Greg is single or not?" This earned her a slap on the arm from Alice.

"We're supposed to be concerned about our friend here, not preoccupied with who's single and who's not!"

"Oh I'm concerned alright, but I also know Lily, and she won't talk till she's ready. So again I ask, single or not?" Alice gave up trying to fight, muttering something about priorities. Eva, unfazed, was trying to throw lustrous looks in Greg's direction, hoping to catch his eye.

"I think he's taken," Lily finally said, glad the attention wasn't on her anymore.

"Damn it!" Eva turned to face Lily. "You couldn't have said that sooner?"

Lily shrugged as Professor Flitwick entered the room to begin the his lecture. Lily, who had a knack for charms, eagerly followed along. Being so engrossed in the lecture, Lily barely noticed Eva shoving her elbow.

"What?" she whispered harshly, annoyed to be pulled out of the lesson.

"Liam Crosley has been staring at you for a good five minutes," Eva whispered back.

Lily's head shot up so fast, the kink in her neck resurfaced. Indeed, the tall blonde Ravenclaw was staring intently at her. As soon as their eyes met, he blushed furiously and returned his attention to his notes. Lily tried to stop the blush that was creeping up in response.

"So?" she tried to brush it off. "I probably just have something on my face. I don't have something on my face, do I?" she asked alarmed now.

Eva grabbed Lily's face with a firm grip, pulling it this way and that, inspection it thoroughly. "Nope. All clean. Must be because he likes you."

Lily pulled out from her grip. "I think you're crazy. Boys avoid me like the plague." She inadvertently glanced at James sitting two rows over. Realizing what she was doing, Lily shifted to gaze to anything else the room. The floor was looking mighty interesting.

"Well I think he's cute. And maybe it could do you some good to get a little action."

"Eva!" Lily exclaimed rather loudly in shock. A bit too loudly apparently. All eyes in the room were pointed in their direction.

"Something wrong, Ms. Evans?" Professor Flitwick asked.

Lily's blush challenged the colour of her hair. "No professor," she mumbled.

"Alright then, where was I?" Eva was trying desperate to stifle a laugh into her hand as the prof continued.

"Smooth," she whispered once she had control over herself. Lily gave her a hearty shove paired with a scowl and returned to her notes.

James, however, was paying less attention to his notes than usual, which wasn't saying much. He would pull off the notes later from Remus.

"What do you think that was about?" he asked Sirius who was paying just as much attention as he was.

Sirius shrugged. "No idea. Although Crosley over there hasn't taken his eyes off of Evans this entire class."

James whipped his head around so fast, Sirius swore he heard it crack. The raven haired boy scouted the Ravenclaw and narrowed his eyes as he watched Liam steal another glance at Lily. "Prick," he mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Actually, he's a real nice bloke," Sirius added, completely oblivious to James' lowering mood. "Great at arithmacy if you ever need help."

"You don't take arithmacy," James added.

"I know. It's just what I heard," Sirius shrugged.

Remus, who was sitting beside Sirius, was increasingly getting annoyed with the constant chatter and gave the two boys a harsh "shush".

James ignored it. "Are they dating?" he tried to ask casually.

"Didn't realize you cared." Sirius was making suggestive eyebrows at James. "Or do you?"

"Oh get off it. I'm just curious," James defended himself. "Nothing more than common interest."

"Common interest my arse," Sirius joked. "Just admit you have a thing for Evans. I knew all your hate speech was mumbo jumbo. You never stopped liking her for a second."

James was getting rapidly annoyed with Sirius' sudden insight. "You keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you," he threatened quietly.

"Oooooh, Jamesie is getting all hot and bothered. Is her red hair doing it for you today?"

"You little shit." Sirius cried out, interrupting the class as James elbowed him hard in the side.

"Now really, aren't you all a lively bunch today," Professor Flitwick tisked for his class being interrupted a second time in under five minutes. "Very well, class is over anyways. Off you lot go." The man gave a quick wave of his hand as he climbed down from his stand.

James was on his feet in seconds, notebook and quill shoved into his bag carelessly. He needed to talk to Lily now. For Head Duty reasons obviously. He would never admit it was because Liam was also crossing the room to where Lily was packing her bag up.

But the damn boy was quick and had gotten there first. James silently cursed the speedy lad and fell slightly back, just close enough to hear without obviously eavesdropping.

"Hey," Liam offered nervously, pulling Lily's attention away from her bag.

Lily instantly blushed as she identified who was talking to her. A violent swirl raged in James stomach. She never blushed like that around him. She only got flushed with anger. "Hi." She absentmindedly tucked a piece of lose hair behind her ear.

"Um… that was an interesting class today," Liam offered weakly. James cringed and nearly head palmed himself at the lameness. This bloke had zero game.

"Yeah, I actually really enjoyed it," she answered back with much gusto.

Liam smiled, clearly pleased with himself. "Cool, uh, I was actually wondering what you were doing this Saturday? Ravenclaw has quidditch tryouts at noon. If you wanted, you could come watch maybe? I'm going for keeper!"

James had to stifle the laugh about to burst from his mouth at Liam's pathetic attempt. If there were two things that didn't go together, it was Lily and quidditch. Besides, how many times had he asked her to come watch him practice in fifth year? She had rejected every single advance, claiming quidditch was for the brutish in the world.

"Sure. I'd like that."

James had to maintain the anger boiling in his chest. Him? Liam Crosley? She had agreed to watch him? Oh, this girl was just toying with him now. How insufferable the two were together. Nearly made him puke, they would.

"Sweet. I'll see you then!" And Liam was off. Eva and Alice had been waiting impatiently to the side, eavesdropping eagerly as James had done. But he'd be damned if they got to her first just to gossip about it. He had a bone to pick with Evans first.

"Him? Bloody him?" he spat.

Lily furrowed her eyebrows, clearly not expecting James to come interrupting her first successful asking out. "What's it to you?" she retaliated.

"Oh my god, he's a Ravenclaw!" He could hear the childishness in his own voice.

"And Penelope is also a Ravenclaw. What's your point?" Lily was trying to maneuver out of the desks, but James wasn't letting her.

"And quidditch? You hate quidditch!"

"Since when do you get to tell me what to hate and not hate?" Lily asked heatedly, trying to shove her way past him.

James was pressing forward, pushing her back. "I believe the words brutish came out of your mouth when talking about quidditch!"

"Potter, I only said that because it was you asking me to watch the game! Anyone else, bring it on!" She threw her hands in the air to prove her point. "Now get out of the way, you git."

James brushed off the small feeling of hurt which came forth at her comment. He should have expected nothing less but it still bothered him. "But he's such a noob!"

Lily reeled back. "A noob? Really? Who died and made you king of who gets to be a noob or not? If I want to date him, then I get to date him. It's my prerogative."

It was James turn to reel back. "It's a date now?" he nearly yelled.

Now it was Lily advancing on him. "It is whatever I want it to be, and if I want it to be a date, then so be it!" She had pushed him back to the end of the desks and took her opportunity, violently shoving past him. "So deal with it!" she shouted.

James was left standing in the room, his emotions flying high as the remainder of the students exited the class. Eva and Alice had followed Lily out the door, most likely to listen to her rant. Sirius and Remus had stayed behind, Remus offering a consolidated pat on the back. "It was going to happen eventually," he muttered. "She wasn't going to remain single forever."

Of course not, he thought bitterly, exiting the room behind his mates.

If only it had been him.

Aww, poor James.

Anyways, I'm not really happy with this chapter. Oh well. Next one should be better!

Please review, review, review!