Best thing about tonight's that we’re not fighting.
Could it be that we have been this way before?
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you,
Over again.
“Five minutes remaining,” Professor McGonagall called out.
The few students who were finishing up their papers hurried their quills, the sound of the inky tips scratching on parchment speeding up slightly.
James glanced over his paper once more, leaning back in his chair, his arms behind his head. Content with his Transfiguration exam, he sat forward in his seat and ran a hand absentmindedly through his hair.
Lily Evans was a few seats in front and over to the right and was re-checking her own responses, her eagle-feather quill shining with fresh ink. She made one final correction on her paper and capped her inkbottle, leaning back in her seat.
“Quills down, please. The exam is over. You are free to go,” announced Professor McGonagall from the front of the room. With a swish of her wand, the papers flew toward her and arranged themselves in a neat stack on her desk.
The long exam over, the sixth years began collecting their things, stretching as they got up. James stole a last glance at Lily, who was putting her quill and leftover parchment into her bag. He made his way through his classmates and walked over to Sirius.
“Easy,” Sirius said at once. “‘Describe the reasons why registering through the Ministry of Magic is crucial in order to become an Animagus.’ You like that one?” He grinned.
“Yeah, and here’s ‘Exhibit A’ coming right now,” replied James, smiling as Peter walked up to them.
“Tricky stuff, some of that…” Peter sighed.
Remus joined them, looking rather cheerful. The four made their way out of the classroom, enjoying the end of their last exam of the year. They would be leaving three days from now, and they were eager to make the best of their remaining time.
“Hey, Lily?” James called tentatively.
She turned and “ prompting James’ heart to skip a beat “ smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he repeated, catching up to her as she walked down the hall.
Silence. “What’s up?” she asked, looking forward as she walked.
“How do you think you did on the Transfiguration exam?” he asked. The nervousness in his voice was apparent. Lily gave a small smile, but kept her face averted so he wouldn’t notice.
“Oh, I had some trouble on a few things, but I think I did okay.”
“I’m sure you did brilliantly.”
“Thanks.”
Silence again. “So, how do you think you did, then?” she prompted.
“Me? Aced it.” He ran his hand through his hair again, before realizing how annoying Lily had always found it. He stopped halfway through.
She noticed, and her smile fell slightly. “Of course.”
James cursed himself inwardly. “So… are you excited to be going home for the summer?”
“I guess so. I mean, I miss my parents, but my sister’s getting married this summer. It sounds terrible, but I’m really not looking forward to it.”
“Why not?”
“She hates me.”
“Ah, Lily, I’m sure that’s not really true. How could she possibly “ ”
“Trust me. Ever since I got my Hogwarts letter, our relationship has been ruined. We used to be best friends, but, now, I’m nothing more than a freak to her.”
“I’m sorry,” James offered, looking at her again. She did not meet his eyes.
“And now she’s marrying this fool, Vernon.” She paused for a moment before adding with a smile, “Well, I like to call him Vermin, actually.”
James laughed. “Oh, Evans, I’m rubbing off on you!”
She snorted. “You wish, Potter.”
James worriedly glanced over at Lily, thinking she was angry, but saw her smile. He continued, “So, Vermin’s that bad?”
This time, Lily looked over at him, laughing as well. “He’s a pompous, fat “ I can’t even describe him, he’s that awful. He drones on and on about his drills, about the company that just hired him, about his boring life… Having to listen to him over dinner is really quite a treat, I’ll tell you.”
“Sounds like you’d need me there to liven things up a bit,” James offered, tentative again.
Lily looked at him, smiling slightly. She wondered to herself why she was opening up to James like this, but she didn’t care. It felt good to talk to him this way, for a change.
They had finally arrived at the Entrance Hall, and Lily turned towards the doors. “Well, look, I should get going. I told Alice I’d meet her to go to Hagrid’s.”
“Hagrid’s great, isn’t he?” James replied, grinning. But he suddenly grew serious and started, “Lily…”
“What?”
“Do you “ do you think that we can ever be friends?”
Lily blinked, caught slightly off-guard. “I guess, why not?”
“Yeah?” James smiled a true smile this time, and Lily noticed how his eyes alighted with a happy glint. “Thanks, Evans.”
“I’ll write you over the summer, then,” she offered, truly smiling now as well.
“Really?” he asked, expecting her to suddenly change her mind.
“Yeah, I will. Just as long as you write back, okay?” she asked, teasing him.
“Are you kidding? I’d love that.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated, smiling still.
“Okay.” Lily giggled. “I’ll talk to you later, James!”
“Bye, Lily.” He stood and watched as she made her way outside, her wavy red hair bouncing as she walked.
Fall For You by pheonixflame
Story Notes:
Just a little fic I felt like writing. I may add a prequel to this as a separate story, so look for that. :)
Chapter Endnotes: Let me know what you think! Reviews are always extremely appreciated. Thank you. :)