A/N: Ok, this one is a little longer, and I promise this will not turn into a day by day account of their happenings (though that could be fun, too). I am just setting scene and plot. I hope you all like and if you don't… then… sorry.
Enter the Temptation
Morning came too quickly for James, though he had to admit he had slept quite well despite really pissing Lily off before bed. He stretched lazily and yawned. He would make it up to her, he knew he would. Perhaps, he would spend the entire evening with her studying. Granted, she'd be studying the school work, and he'd be studying her, but still… studying was studying.
"I wonder why it is so quiet," James yawned as he finally climbed out of bed. He grinned. It was so nice not to have the sounds of elephants pounding down the duel sets of stairs every morning. He wondered if Lily was up yet as he headed into their common area. He knocked on her bedroom door, but he was met with silence. Shrugging, James headed and took a shower in their bathroom.
"Her shampoo makes my hair feel great," He told his reflection. The reflection nodded. Laughing, James pulled his school clothes on and looked at himself proudly. He looked almost as neat and presentable as Lily did every morning.
Book bag over his shoulder, James took his schedule off the table. Lily had doodled around the edge of it, each little sketch becoming a little darker until there was one, obviously James, begging for forgiveness with Lily standing above him with her wand. She had lightening bolts around her. James cringed, only imagining her state of mind when she drew it. He looked at his schedule:
8:00- Greenhouse 8- Advanced Herbology
9:30- Classroom 4- Advanced Transfiguration
11:00- Study Period/Lunch
1:00- Dungeon 1- Advanced Potions
2:30- Tower 2- Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts
4:00- Classroom 7- Life Skills
"What the hell kind of class is `Life Skills'?" James wondered aloud. He shrugged and his stomach rumbled. He was starving. He looked at his watch to see how much time before his first class of the day. It was 8:45 in the morning.
"Shit, I am late!" James swore as he bolted out of the room and into the hall. They were completely silent and lifeless. Everyone else was already in class. James sprinted down to the greenhouses and found Greenhouse 8 with ease. He went to the door and tried the knob, to find it locked. He was forced to knock.
"James Potter," Professor Sprout said as she opened the door wide enough for him to enter the greenhouse. "How nice of you to grace us with your presence. That'll be one detention for you, Mr. Potter."
"Sorry, Professor," James mumbled as he looked directly at Lily. "I over slept."
"Take a seat," Professor Sprout said as she gestured to the greenhouse. The seats on either side of Lily were taken, so James sat across from her between Sirius and Peter.
"Why didn't you wake me?" James hissed across the table as Lily held the pot of a plant carefully while Remus trimmed the new growth. Occasionally the plant would try to take a bite of Remus' fingers.
"I am not your mother," Lily replied curtly. She didn't even look up at him when she spoke to him. James was fuming.
"You could have at least knocked and tried to wake me," James snapped at her. She looked up at him.
"I did knock, you didn't answer, I assumed that you were out with Sirius again," Lily said. She looked back down at the plant, taking the shears from Remus and trimming the new growth on her side. "Plus, it's not my place to tell you what you can and can't do."
"Right," James grumbled as he went to work hacking at his own plant, which promptly bit into his finger, drawing blood. Lily looked up at him in surprise and shook her head. She fished a washcloth out of her bag and threw it to him without another word. He wrapped his finger with it and continued to work, though more carefully.
"All right, let's put our Silon Islies back along the back wall," Professor Sprout said loudly. "Remember to put the shears blade side down, if you will."
James carried his plant carefully to the back shelf. It didn't look as nice as the others did, but he could care less. He didn't even like Herbology. He forgot why he was taking it. Lily stepped up beside him with out a word and placed her plant right next to him. He looked over at her.
"Sorry I was cross last night, James," Lily said quietly. James looked at her in surprise. He couldn't think of a time that Lily had ever apologized; though that might have had something to do with the fact that she never did anything she was ever sorry of doing. He shook his head.
"No, Lils, I was wrong. I should have been there when I said I would be," James said quietly. Lily nodded once and smiled at him before turning back toward the table. James watched her ready her belonging.
"So, you and Lily?" a slick voice said from behind James. "Very interesting."
James turned around to see Severus Snape standing there, his black hair hanging lankily around his face like the curtain of death. James hated him, and the feeling was mutual. The two boys stood there glaring at each other, a smug look on Severus' face while James' face was full of rage.
"What is it to you, Snevillus?" James laughed. "Mad you couldn't ever get your slimy hands on her?"
"She's too good for you, Potter," Severus said smirking. "Sooner or later, she's going to realize it too."
"Let me guess," James replied coldly. "You are going to be right there when Lily comes to her senses and scoop up the pieces of her shattered heart?"
"You bet," Severus said confidently. "I doubt you will last until Halloween. She'll come to her senses and realize why you are all wrong for her."
"Whatever," James laughed as he turned away from Severus. "Whatever you have to tell yourself, Snevillus. She could never love a thing like you."
"You," Severus said finally loosing his cool. He hexed James when his back was turned, causing James to land face down with his legs locked, and stiff as a board.
"Oh, James!" several people cried out. Lily headed straight to James, glaring at Severus, but another girl made it there first, Summer Pendarvis, a Hufflepuff. She un-cursed him and help James to his feet. Before Lily could say anything, Summer flipped her flowing blond hair behind her shoulders and glared at Severus.
"You are such a coward, Severus Snape. To curse James when his back was turned, really you ought to be ashamed," Summer said coming to James defense. She stood up and helped James up.
"Thanks, Summer," James mumbled as he headed back to his side of the table and gathered his book bag. Summer headed back to her friends, who all began whispering together with their heads close.
"You dropped this," a voice said, tapping Lily on the shoulder as she just stared at James. She turned to see a Ravenclaw boy she had seen around here and there. She took her shears from him.
"Thanks," Lily said.
"I'm Striker Herron," he said as he smiled at her. "Ravenclaw."
"Lily," she said as she shook his hand.
"I know," he said. He grinned. "I'll see you around."
"Ok," Lily said shrugging as she headed back to her own seat. James was frowning, but didn't say anything as Lily put the shears in the holder. The two of them looked at each other as the bell rang, and decided that for now, walking out separate was probably for the best. Lily, Remus, and Alice had left first while Sirius, Peter, and James left more reluctantly.
James was not late to Transfiguration. He was at least three meters behind Lily, making sure that he would not be late. He looked at Sirius with this look, the `I-need-to-talk-to-you' look.
"Later, ok?" James said to Sirius as they headed into Professor McGonagall's classroom. She sat rigidly behind her desk, watching. James and Sirius took their seats in the very back of the room. Lily took her seat closest to the board.
"Yeah," Sirius replied as he watched a girl from Ravenclaw with curiosity as she winked at Sirius.
"Jeeze, Sirius, you really have them flocking to you," James laughed. Sirius laughed and pointed covertly at Summer.
"I am not the only one," Sirius said. Summer was looking at him like a love-sick puppy.
"Yeah, well," James said as the heat rose to his cheeks a bit. "I have Lily."
"Does Lily ever look at you like that?" Sirius asked under his breath. James didn't get a chance to respond as Professor McGonagall called order to the class. She was always very in tune to her students, and knew when they weren't paying attention.
"Sirius Black, I will not go through another year of you sitting in the back of my class interrupting," Professor McGonagall said sharply as Sirius signaled to the Ravenclaw girl.
"Sorry, professor," Sirius said as he turned front wards.
"I want you and Ms. Evans to switch places," Professor McGonagall said sharply. Sirius shrugged and stood.
"Fine by me, but I doubt Lily can play Quidditch and I don't fancy being the Head Girl," Sirius said casually. Lily was already standing and shot him the most loaded glare she could. He was getting more annoying by the moment.
"That is quite enough, Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall said. "Perhaps detention would help you remember who is in charge here?"
"Great," Sirius said as he sunk into Lily's vacated chair. Lily walked to the back row and sat down next to James. She didn't say anything, just pulled out her parchment and quill and begun taking notes. James hesitated but then followed suit.
Lily sighed and continued taking notes, long after her hand had cramped and her finger went numb. James glanced up at the board to see Professor McGonagall explaining the theory of human to animal transfiguration. James was an old pro at this, so he focused on watching Lily. He took his quill and drew a little heart in the corner of her notes. He tapped it with his wand quickly, and the heart began to beat. He wrote- `For you, it beats'. Lily looked at it and them him. She smiled.
With homework in hand, Lily headed off to the library to get started on her essay about human to animal transfiguration. She had hoped that James would join her, but she hadn't asked him to. If he wanted to come, he would have. As it was, she had caught words like `Quidditch' and `fly' as James joined Sirius and Remus. She knew the world could have ended right there around him and he would have taken no notice of such. Shrugging, she found a seat alone in the library to get started on the paper.
"Do you mind if I join you?" a voice interrupted Lily's thoughts. She looked up to see Striker standing there, smiling at her. "I really want to get started on this paper. I know how lame that makes me, but I figure that this whole school thing is here to help me for when I go to ATA."
"Sure, sit," Lily said. Striker sat across from her, his books stacked to his left. "You are going to go to ATA?"
"All I ever wanted to do since I found out that I was magical was become an Auror," Striker said as he opened his Transfiguration book. "My parents are muggle born."
"Mine too," Lily said as she followed suit. They sat in silence for a little while, reading in writing.
"So, I would take it that you do not have Life Studies, like the pure breeds?" Striker asked, breaking the silence between them, as he stopped writing.
"Nope," Lily said. Striker smiled.
"Well, I am starved. Do you want to head down to lunch?" Striker asked. "I have Defense Against the Dark Arts next."
"I have Potions," Lily said, shaking her head. "I really want to get a few more paragraphs in before I go to lunch."
"Ok," Striker said grinning at her. Lily looked up at him and wondered if his eyes were that blue naturally, or if it was a trick of the lighting, a reflection of the blue sky coming in from the window. "See you later, then."
"Bye, Striker," Lily said as she waved him off. She turned back to her paper, heat in her cheeks. She was James' girl friend, and there she was wondering if another's boy's eyes were really that blue.
`James could have come and study with me,' Lily rationalized. `There is nothing wrong with studying with a boy from Transfiguration class.'
Lily and James had Potions together, as well as Defense Against the Dark Arts, but when it came for the last class of the day, Lily turned away from James to head to Charms. He chased her down.
"Where are you going?" James asked.
"Charms," Lily said. "I am muggle born, so I don't have Life Studies, and anyways, you didn't sign up for Charms at the end of last year."
"I really didn't care for the subject, and it is not mandatory," James said. Lily nodded, tapping her foot impatiently.
"I don't want to be late, James," Lily said. "I have to go."
"I'll see you at dinner, right?" James asked as he waved her off. She nodded and ran toward the Charms classroom, entering just before the tardy bell.
James walked into his Life Studies class frowning. He and Sirius were the only two from their group. Alice and Sheridan were there, and much to James' strange pleasure, so was Summer. He smiled at her politely as he took his seat next to Sirius. Life Studies was a nice way to give pure blooded witches and wizards a crash-course in Muggle Life. It was taught by a heavy set witch named Professor Vera Zane.
"At some point in your lives, you will have to look and act like Muggles to blend in undetected. You will have to shop for food, drive cars, and perhaps even live and work in the muggle villages. This course is to help you," Professor Zane said as her wand flashed the bullet points on the board.
"Is this required?" James asked as he raised his hand.
"Yes," Professor Zane said.
James rolled his eyes, thinking he could care less how a muggle drives a car. Give him a broom any old day. He had passed his apparition exam already, if flying was not an option.
"Professor," Summer asked as she raised her hand. "Why should we care what muggles do? I mean, I would rather fly or take the Knight Bus."
"Well, Summer, suppose you had a small, sick child who was too weak for apparition. You needed to get that child help quickly, and the muggle hospital was right down the street," Professor Zane said. "You would be good to know how to drive that car that is in your drive way."
Mentally, half the class's brains checked out for the remainder of the class. They could careless about Muggles, or muggle transportation. For many, they believed themselves to be better than their muggle-born counterparts, and to force them to take a class was a wedge slipped a little further between them.
"Can you believe that we have to take this class?" Summer asked James as they gathered their belongings up. James shook his head and watched as Sirius shot him a look before abandoning James in the classroom.
"It is a waste of time," James agreed. He grinned. There was no harm talking to a classmate about a class, even if she was as pretty as Summer was. No harm, no harm at all.
"Summer, come on!" One of Summer's girl friends called to her. James waved her off as Summer joined the gaggle of girls that seemed to all be giggling from just beyond the door.
James pulled his backpack on and headed toward the dorms to see if Lily was back yet. He came around the corner of the Charms hall to see her leaving the classroom, and not in a hurry. She was talking to that boy from Herbology. James frowned. Lily waved good bye to that boy, Striker, and turned, seeing James waiting there for her.
"Hey, James," Lily said. She didn't seemed anxious to have James catch her talking to another boy. He eased a bit, if she wasn't anxious then there wasn't anything to worry about, he supposed.
"Hey, did you want to go hang out in our common room alone for a little bit?" James asked as he suppressed the self doubt that seemed to be bubbling underneath the surface. Lily glanced around, to make sure no one was around, before stepping closer to him.
"I would love to," Lily said quietly with a slightly naughty glint in her eye. The two of them ran toward the common area, holding onto each other's hands. They dropped hands as they rounded a noisy corridor. James took once last glance to the people milling around outside of the Gryffindor portrait hole before he and Lily disappeared inside their own common area.
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