James rested his head on the table. He had gotten to class earlier than usual just so he would have time to do this. The last week had been driving him crazy. He had to balance Quidditch practice, homework, getting ready for the Valentine's Dance, and patrolling with Lily. He had been trying to be more responsible about his Head duties but try as he might he couldn't get her to pay him the slightest compliment.
Put up posters for the dance? "James, you misspelled Valentine's." Dock points for out-of-bed Gryffindors? "I think you were a bit hard on them." Skip Quidditch to patroll? "You do have a responsibility to your team, James." All she could do was criticize! He couldn't understand it.
He had asked Sirius about it but all he could come up with was, "Maybe it's that time of the month." James had walked away with his fingers in his ears, singing the alphabet. As luck would have it, Lily had walked by and told him off for scaring the first years. James groaned as he heard a bookbag slam down on the table. Great. Now Sirius would want to know why he'd ditched them.
"Have I mentioned I hate Herbology?" a very unexpected voice complained. "It's pointless."
James didn't look up. She must have made a mistake. Maybe she forgot that he couldn't do anything right.
"James? You alive?" she said, ruffling his hair.
He smiled. "Hey, Evans."
Lily grinned. "Oh, that's good. It'd be a shame if I killed my partner before the class even started."
Partner? James looked up. "What-"
"Potter, do you wish to share something with the class?" Professor Sprout snapped. "If not I suggest you stop flirting with Ms. Evans."
Lily laughed, much to James' suprise. He glanced back at Sirius who looked as shocked as James.
"Now then," Professor Sprout said, now looking at Lily disapprovingly. "We will be planting Igrecies."
Lily looked at the little brain-like plant with interest.
"What you have to do," the professor continued, "is find the mouth of the little buggers. They're quite sneaky and- STOP THAT AT ONCE, BLACK!"
Sirius dropped the plant he had been poking. Lily giggled. Professor Sprout glared at the class.
"Fine. If you're all so smart you can read your textbooks to find out what to do with these little monsters."
Lily picked her plant up. "Aw, you're not a little monster. He's kind of cute."
"I should warn you," Professor Sprout added as Lily looked for the mouth. "It does spray a nasty juice if it feels threatened."
"Thanks," Lily growled. The warning had come a little too late. She was drenched in blue juice.
"It's fine," Professor Sprout said as James tried to mop up Lily's face. "As long as you're not allergic."
"Professor?" James said, pointing to Lily's skin which was bubbling uncontrollably.
"Oh dear."
____________________________________________________________
"Shut it, James," Lily snapped.
He was shaking with silent laughter.
"I mean it!"
"Out of my way," Madame Pomfrey said, shooing James, Sirius, and Jazz into a corner. "How are you feeling?"
"Say it, Lily," Sirius said with a grin. "He won't stop laughing till you say it."
Lily blew the hair out of her face exasperately. "A little blue."
James positively howled with laughter and even Jazz giggled. Lily was not just feeling blue. Lily was blue. All over in fact. Apparently allergies were a bigger pain in the wizarding world. Little bumps were all over her face and hands. Even her hair hadn't excaped the horrid color. The only thing that had escaped it was her eyes, but they weren't even green. They were a dark purple.
James finally stopped laughing. "So when will she be free to go?"
"Next week," Madame Pomfrey said matter-of-factly.
"No!" James and Lily shouted at the same time.
"The dance is Saturday-"
"She'll miss her dance-"
"I have to plan-"
"I don't know anything about dances-"
"James is an IDIOT!"
"Hey!" he said, looking at her.
She shrugged. "The sooner you admit it, the better you'll be."
Madame Pomfrey watched this exchange with an amused expression. "Well do you want to go to the dance with purple eyes?"
James and Lily looked at eachother. "YES!"
She smiled. "Then I'll let you go Saturday morning."
Lily looked heartbroken. "But.... the dance. Who's going to plan the dance?"
"I will!" Jazz volunteered quickly. "James and Sirius will help."
"Will you?" Lily asked hopefully. "I'm sorry to be such an awful inconvenience. Really!"
James shook his head. "It's no problem."
Jazz rolled her eyes. "I guess you missed the part where I volunteered."
Lily was paying the slightest attention to her. She was staring at James.
"Oh for heaven's sake," Jazz snapped, grabbing James' arm. "We'll see you later Lily!"
___________________________________________________________
"What'd you do that for?" James said as he walked with her and Sirius.
"Because Lily is absolutely right," Jazz said. "You're an idiot."
"Why is James an idiot?" Remus asked. He had snuck up on them and made Sirius jump.
"James isn't an idiot!" James said defensively.
"Then why is Jamesy talking in third person?" Sirius asked.
Jazz stared at him. "Wow, Sirius. I didn't think you knew what third person was."
Remus and James laughed. "Seriously though," Jazz said. "Couldn't you tell? Lily is trying to give you a second-"
"Third."
"Fourth by my count."
"-chance," Jazz finished, glaring at Remus and Sirius. "She's done being mad about what happened last week."
"What happened last week?" Remus asked.
James told the story and when he was done, Sirius and Remus were staring at him in horror.
"If you had told me that I would've known it didn't have anything to do with PMS," Sirius said as James started humming loudly.
Jazz rolled her eyes. "Not every problem comes back to PMS," she said irritably. "Most problems go back to idiotic guys!"
"That's funny," Sirius said. "Because as I recall, you're going to the dance with the King of Idiots."
Jazz smiled patiently. "No I'm not, Sirius. You never asked me."
Remus and James laughed but Sirius didn't. "Who said I ever wanted to ask you?"
"Then why do you keep making a big deal out of my going with David?!" Jazz snapped.
"I never made a big deal of it!"
"Fine," Jazz said. "Then quit obsessing over it."
Sirius quieted down for a moment. Before Jazz could finish explaining what he'd done to offend Lily Sirius had to say something else. "I don't like him."
Jazz threw up her hands. "I can't work like this. James, come talk to me when you don't have this moron around."
She walked away. Sirius stared after her. "I've got class," he said, walking in the other direction.
James looked at Remus. "Isn't it lunch-"
"Shut up, James."