Here was an excellent opportunity to try to make Evans fall for your charms, his subconscious said to him, but he was much too tired to deal with her dismissiveness. He rolled up his sleeves, not, for once, to show off his newly-found Quidditch muscles.
"So let's duel," he said, more alert now, gesturing for her to stand up too. Lily rolled her eyes and got up, eyeing him warily. "You try to hit me with a spell of some kind and I'll defend myself, OK?" Lily nodded, determined. She raised her wand and hesitated for a fraction of a second before doing a non-verbal spell that shot a red light from the tip of her wand. James deflected it equally quietly and nodded in admiration. "That was really good, but you hesitated, and that'll give the enemy a chance to get in a curse first." Lily said in a defensive voice, "I doubt the examiner is going to Crucio me if I take a second too long." James sighed, "Evans, all this, all this studying, what d'you reckon it's for?" Lily looked at him with tired eyes and shrugged weakly. "It's so we can fight them," his eyes bore into hers, "So we can stop them." No more explanation was necessary as Lily understood, plain as day, who he meant by 'them'. He meant the Dark Lord and his little Death Eaters and the potential Death Eaters; Sev's friends, she realised with a pang.
After five minutes of intense, non-verbal duelling and leaving the common room significantly more battered, they both laughed and discussed various tactics. In her tired, half-asleep state, Lily forgot what an arrogant idiot James was, and in his love for DADA, James forgot how to act like one. This moment was when Lily grudgingly realised how talented and smart James really was, and tried to remember him showing off his skills (as he was prone to do) in academia, but couldn't.
After a few more minutes, Lily became drowsy and dozed off on the battered arm chair by the fire and James looked at her intently. How nice it felt for her to talk and laugh with him as if they were friends, he thought happily, lingering on the word 'friend.' He knew he liked her and he wanted her, but ugh, what was wrong with her? She was so mean to him! Couldn't she just give in, like everyone else did? Was there something seriously wrong with her eyes, or couldn't she notice his handsomeness, his beauty and his charms? He brushed his silky hair out of his eyes, smirking. His hair were much better than Snivelly's, that's for sure. But why did she like him better?!
James frowned and looked at her shiny red hair again. He had to have her, because girls don't get to turn him down; no one can turn him down, and she's just stubborn, he decided. He went over to her chair and gently nudged her, leaning over her face. She woke up, eyes innocent and vulnerable and James was enraptured. His heart beat faster than ever as he leaned in to press his lips to hers, but suddenly, a small hand was pressing on his chest. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" James' heart started to sprint in panic, as his head swirled with shock, hurt and bewilderedness. "Um," he said, blinking, when his face automatically twisted into his trademark smirk, a mask for him to wear until he could get his emotions in order. "What do you reckon, Evans?" he said in a husky voice.
Lily stood up suddenly, pushing him away from her. "Get away from me. Taking advantage of me while I slept, Potter? Why are you so incapable of comprehending the meaning of a. Simple. Two lettered. WORD!" She turned around in rage and stomped up the stairs, seeing red. In a huff, she collapsed onto her bed, thinking only one thing: James Potter was not someone worth knowing.
A/N
HEY! So i wrote this just before my exams cause, well, there's only so much I can study. I'm sorry about the small chapter and the 1D reference but, hehehe, couldn't think of anything better. Hope none of you abandoned me :(
Also I have exams till like end of December *cries* so. Please don't leave me :( And it would mean the world to me if you could recommend this book to friends and such or people who enjoy jily fanfics. Love you guys!