Lily likes James? GASP.

“Lily!”
Eleanor has been hissing at me for the past half hour, but I’m not about to be accused of cheating by Professor Sprout; so I continue with my paper.
“Lily, please! I have to tell you something.”
“Shush, El,” I whisper to her while Professor Sprout has her back turned. “Tell me when class is over.”
“Fine,” she mumbles to me, a scowl on her face. Eleanor is not the most patient of witches.
By the end of Herbology I have written three feet of parchment on the difference between Devil’s Snare and Flitterbloom. I look over my paper a couple of times, just to make El angry. She’s furious with me for making her wait, but I find it very amusing. She’s bursting with information.
“All right, I’m done,” I say, turning my paper over to Professor Sprout. She smiles at me kindly, and I gather my things.
“Finally! My god, Lil. That almost killed me.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. What is it you have to tell me?”
We are making our way toward the castle where our Potions lesson is awaiting us.
“James Potter is going to ask you to join him in Hogsmeade this weekend! He told Peter who told Mortilla who told me,” as El says this she gets a dreamy look in her eyes. She, and about every other girl at Hogwarts, dreams that one day James Potter will ask them out. Unfortunately, Mr. Potter seems to have taken a liking to me, the one girl who can’t stand him. Well, can’t stand him most of the time. Sometimes he can be really sweet, and he is cute. But, what am I saying? He’s an arrogant jerk, and that’s the end of it.
“How many times is this now, the millionth?”
“More like the trillionth,” El says giggling.
“When will he learn? I do not have any interest in dating him!”
“I’m not so sure about that, Lil.”
Now we are making our way down the stairs toward the dungeons. El is giving me that look; the one that suggests I’m not saying everything I’m thinking. Well, I am.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I saw the way you reacted last year when he went out with Theresa Torkley. You were furious. And you kept insisting that her nose was too big for her face.”
“That’s because it is! It’s entirely disproportional,” even as I say this I can feel my cheeks burning. Her nose is huge, really.
“Okay, fine. But I think you should give James a chance. He’s grown up a lot over the years. And now we’re in our seventh year, you’ve tortured him long enough.”
She says this as we enter Professor Slughorn’s classroom. Professor Slughorn is one of my favorite teachers. And I’m not just saying that because I’m an unofficial member of the “Slug Club”. He’s genuinely a great teacher. I’ve learned a lot from him.
“Why, good afternoon, Miss Evans!”
“Good afternoon, Professor.”
I take my seat at the front of the classroom next to El, right in front of James and his right-hand man, Sirius Black. He’s probably the only person on Earth whose ego rivals that of James.
“Why, good afternoon, Miss Evans,” Sirius mimics. “Wonderfully sluggish day, isn’t it?”
“Shut it, Padfoot. Don’t bother Evans.” James smiles at me, revealing dazzling white teeth. It takes me a moment to steady my breathing.
“I don’t need you to stick up for me, Potter.”
James’ smile grows more pronounced. Breathe, Lily!
“Oh, I know you don’t. You’re as viscous as a Hungarian Horntail.”
I don’t know whether to take this as a complement or an insult, but either way I give him an icy look and turn my back.
All throughout potions my mind keeps wandering back to James. I finally admit to myself, yes I do like him. I like his hazel eyes, messy black hair, and goofy grin. And he has grown up over the years. He hasn’t jinxed anyone all year. Well, we’ve only been back a month, but that’s probably a record for him.
Okay, I think, I’ll go out with him. But I’m not going to make it easy.