Their Seventh Year

Chapter 7- Back to Square One

Lily drummed her fingers on her Transfiguration book as she waited for James in the library. He wasn't late, not yet, she was a little early. Not because she actually wanted to see Potter, she assured herself, but because she had a lot of homework to do. Still, she had to admit she wasn't dreading this meeting. When he wasn't talking about himself or how brilliant he was, he wasn't as bad as she'd thought. He was actually all right, especially when he smiled…

She shook her head. Obviously, she wasn't getting enough sleep, she was getting a little loopy. She glanced at her watch. He had five more minutes, but she wasn't going to wait if he was late. She did not have time to accommodate James Potter's quidditch practice schedule, or more likely his assignation-with-some-attractive-girl-in-the-astronomy-tower-schedule. Not that she cared what he did in his free time, he could visit the astronomy tower with every girl at Hogwart's for all she cared. Although actually, in recent years she had not seen James connected with that many girls. That was his best friend's area. Lily was sure the people in school Sirius Black had not snogged was a short list.

"All right Lily?"

She had been so lost in thought she had not seen him come in. She blushed furiously as she realized she had been thinking about who he might or might not be snogging, but she recovered quickly and said "Right on time."

He grinned. "Yeah. I have loads of homework. You too I know, so we can make this quick." He took the seat next to her. "Do you reckon we should meet once a week?"

James was amazed how Lily managed to look so pretty even at the end of the day. But he didn’t tell her this, since that would be flirting with her, which Remus insisted fell into the category of harassment. So he was all business as they discussed when the defense club would meet (Wednesday nights) and drew up a flier for the prefects to put in each of their common rooms. As they were finishing up, he reached into his bag for a quill, and dragged one out from under his arithmancy book. She eyed it with interest, and then leaned over his shoulder and looked at it with interest. "Is arithmancy hard?"

"Uh…I…er…no, not…not especially…" He was acutely aware of how close she was leaning over near him. Her hair smelled wonderful, just the faintest hint of citrus flowers… and the way it shone softly in the torchlight in the library.

"-looks really complicated." She was saying, but he wasn't paying attention, instead he was studying her. She had three freckles under her left eye…"James?"

She turned to look at him, and suddenly she was impossibly close. Oh no James, don't do it! Don't! You idiot! Say something! Turn away!

He kissed her. For a second he thought she was almost going to kiss him back, but then she gave a gasp and pulled away, staring at him with wide green eyes, then-

SMACK!

"How dare you Potter! What is your problem? I actually thought you might be capable of acting normal and treating me like a person but clearly that is completely impossible for you! You're just so incredibly full of yourself that you can't get it through your impossibly large head that I am not interested in you. So just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

She snatched up her bag to leave, but in desperation he grabbed her arm. "Evans, wait, look, I'm sorry, I-"

"Let go of me right now Potter." She said, her voice low and dangerous. "I will hex you."

He saw she meant it, and released her.

"Will you just listen-"

But she grabbed her bag and hurried out of the library.

James sat for a few moments, stunned, and then shot a warning glare at two snickering Hufflepuff third years before collecting up his own books and leaving, Lily's handprint still clear on his cheek.

………………………………………………………………

As soon as the door of the library closed behind James, Flora and Remus stepped out from behind a shelf where they had been watching.

"Why is your friend such an unbelievable idiot?" She said in frustration.

"I really don't know." He admitted, feeling like he should apologize on behalf of all males everywhere. "There's really no excuse for him."

"She was actually starting to tolerate him, and now, we're going have to start all over at the beginning." She groaned. "Can't you, like, nudge him in the right direction?"

"I've been trying! I certainly didn't tell him to do something stupid like that. I told him to lay off flirting with her, not try to attack her in the library!"

"Now it's all ruined. I doubt she'll even speak to him again."

"She'll get over it, won't she?"

"You don't know what Lily is like. No one can hold a grudge like her."

……………………………………………………………………………….

"You did WHAT?"

James buried his face in his hands. "Padfoot, your yelling is not helping the situation any."

"Would telling you that you're totally screwed help the situation any?"

"I think he already knows that mate." Peter spoke up helpfully.

"What were you thinking?"

"Well, she just looked really pretty, and she was leaning all close to me, and she smelled really good, and..." James trailed off miserably.

"And then what?"

He heaved a great sigh. "She slapped me."

"Really? I've never gotten slapped for kissing a girl. Well, I have, but if was for more than kissing, if you catch my meaning..." Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Why no Padfoot, your subtlety is completely lost on us." Remus said dryly as he came in. He turned to James. "You're an idiot."

"That's not exactly going to make the front page of the Daily Prophet." Muttered Sirius, to no one in particular.

"You know already?" Yelped James. "How? Was it those Hufflepuffs? Well, clearly they're asking to be covered in boils!"

"I heard it from Flora."

"What? Lily told her already?"

Sirius shook his head. "It's girls, mate. They have this network for information. It's amazing!"

"I'll bet all the girls in the school know by now." Peter said evilly.

"I don't know why I even bother trying to help you." Remus shook his head ruefully at his friend. "You're hopeless."

……………………………………………………………………………

The next morning at breakfast James was sulking because Lily was ignoring him, except when she shot him the occasional nasty look. Sirius on the other hand, believed firmly in "alls well that ends well" and figured like any girl, she was just playing hard to get and would come around eventually. Just hopefully before James drove them all mad. In search of entertainment, since James was no fun today, he let his eyes wander over the great hall, until someone caught his eye at the Slytherin table. It was her! He still had a nasty bruise where she had elbowed him in the ribs and a sore foot from were where she had stomped on it. In the daylight, he could tell she wasn't a third year, but she didn't really look old enough to be a sixth year either.

"Hey, do any of you know who that girl at the Slytherin table is? Sitting third from the end with her hair in a braid?"

They all turned.

"She's a Slytherin." Said Peter, rather unnecessarily, since she was sitting at the Slytherin table, wearing a Slytherin tie, and talking to other Slytherins. Sirius gave him a withering look.

"No shit Sherlock. Nothing gets by you."

"I don't know her name." Agreed Remus, and James just shrugged. "Why?"

"She irritated me the other night, and I like to know the names of people I plan to curse."

"You're not going to curse a little girl Sirius?" Said Remus disapprovingly.

"Believe me Moony, she can look after herself."

…………………………………………………………………………

It was only by luck that Sirius was in the library at all. He rarely went there, but he was looking for James, who had taken to haunting it lately. Probably he was stalking Evans there. She seemed like a library kind of girl.

And it was only by chance that he saw her standing among the shelves looking up something in a heavy green book with some sort of ancient, unreadable carvings on the front. He ran a hand through his hair for good measure, and then strolled over and leaned against the shelf next her, crossing his arms in what he assumed was a confident and charming manner.

"Sorry I called you a third year."

She glanced up only briefly from the book, and smirked. "I haven't exactly been losing sleep over it."

"So what's your name?"

"I'm disappointed Black. You couldn't even find that out?"

"Who says I tried?"

She smirked again.

"So are you going to tell me?"

She closed the book and replaced it on the shelf, and started to walk away.

"I'll think about it." She said over her shoulder.