Hey! I'm not really sure what to write here--- my first fanfic, you see. Nothing's owned by me; it's all JK Rowling's. Well, except the things you don't recognize. But the rest is hers. The chapters should be getting longer, this one's a bit short… anyways, hope you like it, and reviews would be appreciated!

Finally. The first day of seventh year. I've been waiting for this all summer--- and guess what? I'm Head Girl, too! Normally that would be wonderful news, but this year, I'm stuck with Potter. Yes, the James Potter. Head Boy! What Dumbledore was thinking, I'll never know. I mean, he's not horrible looking--- what am I thinking, yes he is! And how does that have anything to do with choosing the Head Boy! Anyways. His marks are awful! Well, they're not completely terrible (not that I keep track or anything--- because I don't!), people say he's excellent at transfiguration--- wish I was--- so I suppose he's not all that bad. I mean he is! He is! Gosh. Why am I having complimentary thoughts about Potter? I must be having an off day.

Anyways. I think I'll head to Herbology early, I heard that Professor Wheaty got in a new order of Mandrakes!

Bumping into about 15 people on my way out of the hall, I realized that I forgot my gloves, so I had to run all the way back up to my dormitory(I never fully appreciated just how far the Gryffindor dormitories are from the Great Hall until now), and then run all the way down to the greenhouse, just a tiny bit late. And I mean, come on, it's not like it's my fault, what's with the inconvenient placement of the greenhouses! Really, did they ever think of us students when they decided to map out Hogwarts in this stupid way! And it's the first day. Maybe I got lost! Honestly, I think I might really have a case here!

Bumping into my thinking, Professor Wheaty says, "You're late, Ms. Evans."

"Sorry, I, er, got lost," I mumble pathetically before sitting down next to my friend Eliza.

"Got lost?" Eliza snickers into my ear. Scowling at her, I turn my attention back to Professor Wheaty, who goes on to say that we're reviewing the repotting of the mandrakes(so second year!) and to put on a pair of earmuffs, which I was grateful for(no time for Eliza to tease me).

From my seat, I can see James sitting next to Sirius Black. He looks so cute, with his hair spiked all over the place from under his earmuffs…wait! No! I hate his hair! I hate him! What's wrong with me today! School must just be messing with my mind. Getting up this early, it does horrors to your thinking processes. Really. I'm not just saying this because I suddenly have the urge to run up to James and run my finger through his hair(not that I do). WAIT! When did I start calling Potter by his first name? I sure am having an off-day. What was I getting at anyway? Oh. Right. Getting up early. Bad.

Several uneventful hours later, I'm sitting in the Great Hall eating dinner with Eliza. She sure does talk a lot.

"…but I really prefer lemon…"

Ah well, nothing interesting, I guess I can just go back to daydreaming about James---I mean Potter--- and how dashing his hazel eyes look when his head turns up and the light catches them and… oh, look, he's getting up. Well I suppose it's time for me to head up, too, I've got a nasty potions essay to start...

Turning around in my seat, I find myself face to face with the one, the only--- you guessed it--- James Potter.

"I--- hello--- you---" I stutter. I can just feel my cheeks getting redder.

"Lily! You look marvelous."

And redder.

"Had a good summer?" James asks me.

"Yes--- f-fantastic!" I say in a rather out-of-breath way, though there's no reason to be out of breath, really, it's not like I just ran a marathon, or---

"Spiffing! James had the pleasure of spending the entire summer graced with my presence!" Says Sirius Black, popping out of nowhere. Eliza snorts and mumbles something, and Sirius turns to her, starting a conversation.

"Anyways," says James, "we're supposed to patrol the corridors together every night, so I was thinking we could meet in the common room around 9:30 and start then?"

"Sure… that… sounds great!" I say, in that same out-of-breath-ish way, though I really don't understand where that's coming from.

"Fantastic! I'm looking forward to it," says James earnestly, and with a "see you then" he and Sirius turn and walk out of the Hall(rather smoothly so, I might add, James has a marvelous walk…).

"Stop gaping, you look like an idiot," says Eliza, smirking at me. "What was that, anyway? You seemed really… I don't know… like you fancied James or something." She snorted. "I thought you hated him?" She says in a half-statement half-question way. I really hate it when people do that, those phrases where you really can't tell whether you're supposed to respond or not--- so annoying.

"Yeah…" I say, rather distractedly, as I am still thinking about those half-question phrases. Where did they start, anyway? Hm… "Yeah, well we should really go get to work on that potions essay… I'm surprised Slughorn gave us homework on the first day…"

Eliza looks at me in a rather suspicious way, then stands up and goes rambling on about lemons or whatever again…

But really, she's right, Eliza… I did hate Potter last year. I did hate every stinking thing about him, his messed up hair, his constant pestering, his cheeky attitude… but now all those traits that I previously didn't care for don't seem so bad… endearing, almost…

But why? Why am I suddenly not bothered by James? Why do I suddenly want to be rather--- well--- friendly… with him? Why doesn't he bother me anymore? Is it possible, that all these years, I was wrong about him? Or maybe… maybe, he's changed. Maybe I've changed. Maybe the cause of all these kind feelings towards James isn't because I have to get up early… But whatever the reason, James suddenly doesn't seem so bad anymore…

…

A/N: Yes, rather cliff-hanger-y, I know. Well, I hope you all like it, it's kind of short, but I promise, the chapters will get longer. Reviews would be appreciated!