Hi! Thanks for opening up this fanfiction! I know most people skip this part, but the author's note is at the end!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Hogwarts, or anything else. If I did, there would be a prequel by now.

"Lily."

"No."

"Lily."

"Go. Away."

"Lily-Flower!"

"Potter!" screamed a very angry Lily Evans, "Leave me alone for two minutes, please! We have exams this entire week, and even though it's first year, I have to study! So take your fat bum out of this library if you know what's good for you!"

"Lily-Flower, don't you know I have to study too?" James asked innocently.

"You're not studying! You're bothering me!"

"I am studying. For my how to bother Lily Evans exam."

"That's not even a thing!"

"It is too a thing!"

"Is not!"

"Is too"

"Is not!"

"Is too"

"Is not!"

"Is not!"

"Is t-not falling for that." Lily stammered, beginning to organize her parchment.

"Aw. I was really hoping you would," James pouted.

Lily flopped her head down onto her transfiguration textbook. "What, Potter, will it take for you to leave me alone for the day?"

"Well, I'll leave you alone for the entire exam week if you sign," He said as he pulled a piece of parchment out with a flourish, "This."

Lily pulled the paper out of his hands and began to read, squinting her eyes, as if she were looking for hidden meaning.

I, Lily Evans, by signing this contract, agree to go to the Seventh Year Ball with James Potter in the year 1978. In return, James Potter will not say a word to Lily Evans the entire week of first year exams.

Below, there was a line, presumably for her signature. She sighed, before turning to Potter and asking, "Are you serious?"

"Nah, I reckon he's out chasing some girl right now."

"I'm oppressing the urge to smack you upside the head for that pun."

"Please don't."

Lily sighed in response before saying, "I'll sign your silly contract, as long as you promise to leave me alone."

"Of course. A gentleman always fulfills the requirements of a contract."

"Gentleman. Yeah, right," Lily snorted as she signed hastily. "I believe that contract begins immediately, as it is exam week, so scat!" she yelled before pushing him off his chair. James grinned at her in response, before running out of the library.

"Like he'll even remember that contract in seven years," Lily muttered, before returning to her transfiguration revision.

"Lily-Flower!" yelled Sirius Black, sprinting into the Head Common room, waving a tattered piece of parchment around. James came sprinting in after him, trying to choke out something that sounded suspiciously like "Don't-look-parchment".

"It's Lily," Lily corrected Sirius, before turning to him and James and asking, "What are you going on about? I'm trying to plan the ball right now, and it would be much more helpful if there was one Head Boy here and the absence of an extra person." Lily finished this statement by glaring at them both in turn. Despite becoming closer with both in the last year, in fact to the point where she would call them her best friends, she could still fix them with a death glare. That is, when she wasn't consumed with counting exactly how many colors there were in James' eyes while she glared at him.

"Funny that you mention the ball…" Sirius began, before James cut him off.

"Please don't look at the parchment," He begged.

"Why not?" Lily asked, before beginning to walk over to Sirius to get a glimpse of it. James, in a panicked state, rushed at Sirius to grab the parchment out of his hands. Sirius quickly used Levicorpus on him, flashing a trademark grin before handing the parchment over to Lily.

"I, Lily Evans," She began to read, "Agree to go to the Seventh Year ball… James Potter… 1978… first year exams?"

Lily turned to James an unreadable look in her eyes. She looked at him, dangling by his ankles in the middle of the Head Common room. His eyes were mixed with fear and embarrassment as her gaze penetrated him.

"You… kept it?" She asked, "It's been seven years since I signed this James, and you kept it? After all those times I called you a toe-rag, and arrogant, and conceited? After I told you at the beginning of the year that I only wanted to be friends? I think my exact words were 'The only thing we'll ever be are acquaintances'. But you kept this little piece of parchment from first year?"

James face was red at this point, from blushing or the blood rushing to his head Lily wasn't sure. He, after avoiding her eyes for this entire speech, finally looked up.

"Well, yeah. I guess I always had a little bit of hope. I mean, I always wanted to be your friend, more than your friend, as you know, and I was pretty much using any means to get there. But I changed this year, I know you noticed that Lily. I want you to go to the ball with me because you want to, not because of some piece of paper you signed in… it would have been 1972… says you have to."

Lily paused for a good half a minute before meeting James' eyes again. "Well, that's a shame. That you're not holding me to this contract, I mean. I definitely would have agreed to it, with no protests."

James was speechless, staring at Lily with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"I mean, 7 years ago, I would have never done this." Lily said nonchalantly. She pointed her want up at him, nonverbally used liberacorpus, and helped him up. Then she kissed him. Their kiss was everything that James 11 year old self had dreamed of, and much more, because how well can an eleven year old picture a kiss? They were positive that yes, this was heaven, but death had yet to come. The bliss was broken by the sounds of Sirius sobbing.

"That's… just so… beautiful," he stammered in between sobs. Lily and James took advantage Sirius' meltdown to quickly make their way out of the portrait hole, leaving a sobbing Sirius on the couch and a piece of crumpled parchment fluttering to the floor. They had to get ready for the ball that evening, and after all, James was a gentleman, and a gentleman always fulfills his contracts.

A/N: Would you believe that something along these lines actually happened at my school? Of course, the girl and the guy never got together after the prom, and they went as friends, but still! Apparently, in their freshman year, the gym teacher said that whoever lost the game would be going to the senior prom with that guy. There was actually a contract, she signed it, and he kept it! All 4 years! I think that's fantastic (as long as it's not me).

Thanks for reading!