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"Hey, Remus, hey, can I copy your homework?" Sirius poked Remus in the side. James couldn't help but chuckle at them, this happened almost everyday and he knew how it would play out.
"Sirius, we have two minutes until class starts. There's no way you can copy my homework that fast." Remus said in a low voice.
Sirius poked at Remus as he said, "Well, not if you don't give it to me." Remus responded by rolling his eyes but ultimately handing Sirius his Potions homework. "Thanks, chap. You're the best."
Remus rolled his eyes and went back to the dusty book he had been reading before Sirius had interrupted him.
James leaned his chair back onto two legs and glanced over the room until he found a certain red-headed girl. She was sitting in her usual seat, two rows from the front. He was just about to throw a piece of paper at her when Professor Slughorn walked into the room and started picking up their homework. As he did so, Lily turned around and caught James' eye. She smiled at him before turning back around to pass up her homework. James smiled to himself, hoping to catch her alone later, and completely missed the look his friends shared over his head.
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"James. James. James!" Sirius said, punching James' arm the third time he said his name.
James startled and turned to look at his smirking friend. "What? What is it?"
"I was going to say that lunch is over and we need to head to our next class, but maybe you're too busy staring at Evans to go to class?" Sirius asked in a sing-songy voice.
"What? No! I wasn't staring at Lily. I was, just, um, thinking. Yeah, I was just thinking." James quickly stood up and grabbed his bag. Before following Sirius out of the Great Hall, however, he looked back at Lily one more time. She was looking at him and he looked away blushing.
"Oh, just admit it. You're hopelessly in love with her. Everyone already knows it, anyway."
"They do? Am I that obvious?" James ran his hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh.
"Well, maybe not everybody. But definitely Remus, Peter, and I. Last night you started saying her name in your sleep. I wanted to hex you awake, but Remus confiscated my wand." Sirius nudged James with his shoulder. "Look, you should just tell her. Chances are, she feels the same way about you. You're a fair looking bloke, and you aren't half bad at Quidditch. Just go for it."
"But what if she doesn't like me?" James shuddered at the thought. He would do all sorts of crazy things, but he didn't want to be rejected by Lily.
"Then find another girl. Or hex her. I don't know, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, just focus on telling her how you feel."
"Fine. I'll try to find time in my very busy schedule to maybe tell her, maybe."
"That's all I can ask, my friend." Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and then headed to Herbology, while James continued on to Divination. It wasn't his favorite class, but it was easy so he knew it would allow him to think about his current predicament.
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"Mr. Potter, today I will read your tea leaves as a demonstration to the rest of the class." Professor Trelawney intoned this statement from the front of the class where she was seated on a giant pink pouf.
"Um, okay." James drank the rest of his tea in one big gulp, stood up, and carried his cup to the front of the classroom.
Professor Trelawney took the cup and cradled it in both hands. She turned it clockwise, and then counterclockwise, all while peering intently at the leaves on the bottom. After a long moment she fixed him with her piercing stare and asked, "Mr. Potter, are you in love?"
"Pardon me, Professor?" James asked with a confused look.
"Are you in love? I'm seeing shapes that strongly align with passion and love." Professor Trelawney took a step forward, invading his personal space and bringing with her the cloying smell of candle wax and incense.
"I don't know." James answered her hurriedly, eager to get away. "Is that all? Can I sit back down?"
"Yes, yes, of course." Professor Trelawney handed him his cup and James made his way back to his seat.
James sat through the rest of the class feeling very numb. He knew that he really liked Lily, but apparently he didn't know how much. Never before had he believed a Divination class demonstration so much. Or really anything about Divination. The only reason he'd signed up for this class was because it looked like an easy pass. Now he was rethinking everything. With a sigh he packed up his books. One tea-leaves reading and he'd turned into even more of a lovestruck idiot. He hoped his roommates never found out about this, he would never be able to live it down.
He hurried out of the class, hoping that Quidditch practice would calm his mind.
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"Potter! You're late!" The Keeper and team captain, Oliver Bulwick, berated James as he ran out onto the Quidditch field.
"Sorry, Bulwick. I had to run back to my room for my Quidditch robes." James said as he swung himself onto his broom.
"Well, don't let it happen again." Bulwick turned back to the rest of the team and finished outlining that afternoon's practice. Soon they were all up in the air. The chasers were tossing the Quaffle back and forth, the beaters were hitting a Bludger at each other, and the Seeker was catching and releasing the Snitch. Bulwick flew around them all calling drills and offering tips and advice.
James fell into the easy rhythm of the practice, at least, he did until he spotted Lily sitting in the stands. She had her homework spread out in front of her, but was instead concentrating on the practice. He immediately lost his rhythm and dropped the Quaffle, barely able to catch it before it hit the ground. When he swooped back up to the circle of Chasers he found that they were all smirking at him.
Right as he was about to toss the Quaffle to his nearest teammate and hope they would stop smirking, Bulwick called him down to the ground where he had settled to observe the practice.
"Potter. You're messing up my practice," Bulwick said without looking at him.
"Sorry, I just got a little distracted." James said as his attention wandered back to Lily. She was now clearly engrossed in her homework, as if Quidditch practice wasn't even happening.
Bulwick reached out and shoved James' shoulder. "More than a little distracted. Just ask her out! The worst she can do is refuse you. I need you with all of your attention on Quidditch and I won't have that until you figure this little crush out. Now, man up, go over there, and ask her. Captain's orders."
James stared at Bulwick. "Seriously?"
"Yes. Now go before I make you stay later for disobeying orders." With that, Bulwick turned back to the practice happening above them.
James stood there for a second before flying his broom over to the bleachers. Once there he stepped off the broom and climbed the stairs to where Lily was sitting. She didn't notice him until he sat down next to her.
"Oh, hey James!" She said with a smile.
"Hey, Lily." He smiled back. Her smiles were so contagious that he couldn't help it.
"So, um, aren't you supposed to be practicing? That's why I'm out here, to watch you." Lily said matter-of-factly.
"Really? To watch me?" James asked incredulously.
"Well, yeah. You're the best player up there. So, why aren't you playing?" Her eyes were on his and it was making it hard for him to think.
"I, um, had something I wanted to ask you. It's something I've wanted to ask you for a while, actually. James rubbed the back of his neck before rumpling his hair, a nervous habit of his. "Would you like to go out with me? I mean, be my girlfriend?"
Lily blushed and looked away from him for a moment before making eye contact again. "I'd love to."
"I mean, you don't have to. I wouldn't bla- wait, seriously?" James stopped in the middle of his sentence. He hasn't expected her to say yes.
Lily tossed her head back and laughed. "Yes! I would love to be your girlfriend." With that she scooped up her homework, kissed him on the cheek, and left.
James sat there for a moment, completely speechless for what was probably the first time in his entire life. Then he stood up and yelled, "LILY EVANS SAID YES!"
The entire team erupted into cheers. They had only been pretending to continue to practice when, in reality, they had been watching the couple. Within seconds they had descended on James and were clapping him on the back and congratulating him.
Hours later, as he lay in bed trying to fall asleep, the spot on his cheek was still warm.