Work Text:
It was a quiet evening in the Hogwarts library. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, casting the stone walls in a golden glow, while the faint scratching of quills and the occasional rustle of parchment filled the air. Lily Evans sat at a corner table, her brow furrowed as she pored over an Advanced Potions textbook.
Potions was her favorite subject, but this essay on moonstone properties was proving more tedious than she'd expected. Sighing, she pushed a strand of red hair out of her eyes and flipped a page, her focus faltering.
That was when she heard it—a muffled laugh from behind the bookshelves.
Lily glanced up, her green eyes narrowing. She didn’t have to see him to know who it was.
James Potter.
Sure enough, a second later, he appeared, his messy black hair even more disheveled than usual. He was balancing a precarious stack of books in one hand while trying to suppress another laugh, no doubt at something Sirius had said.
James’s hazel eyes scanned the room, and the moment they landed on her, his grin widened.
“Evans!” he called, loud enough to earn a glare from Madam Pince.
Lily groaned, sinking lower in her chair. Maybe if she ignored him, he’d go away.
No such luck.
James sauntered over, depositing his stack of books with a loud thud on the table across from her. “Fancy seeing you here,” he said, leaning casually on the back of a chair.
“It’s the library, Potter,” she said without looking up. “People tend to study here.”
“Study,” he repeated, pretending to consider the word. “I think I’ve heard of that. Something to do with books, right?”
Lily finally glanced up, her lips twitching despite herself. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”
“Only around you,” he said, flashing her a grin.
She rolled her eyes and returned to her essay, but James didn’t move. He sat down across from her instead, propping his chin on his hand as he watched her write.
“Do you mind?” she asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
“Not at all,” he said cheerfully.
Lily sighed, setting her quill down. “What do you want, Potter?”
“To help,” he said, gesturing to her pile of books. “You look stressed. Let me lighten the load.”
“And how exactly would you help me with a Potions essay?”
James shrugged. “Moral support?”
She gave him a withering look. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Unbelievably charming,” he said, winking.
Lily groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Why are you like this?”
“Because it makes you smile,” he said, his tone softer now.
She froze, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. When she looked up, James wasn’t smirking or teasing. He was just… looking at her, like she was the only person in the room.
It was disarming, and for a moment, Lily didn’t know what to say.
“You’re impossible,” she said finally, but there was no heat in her words.
James grinned, but this time it was quieter, almost shy. “I know.”
They sat in silence for a while after that, Lily pretending to focus on her essay while James leafed through one of his books. But she could feel his presence, a warm and steady thing that somehow made the library feel less daunting.
After a while, she couldn’t help herself.
“Why are you really here?” she asked, her voice quieter now.
James looked up, startled by the change in her tone. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, why are you sitting here, pestering me, instead of… I don’t know, doing whatever it is you usually do?”
He hesitated, running a hand through his hair in that way he always did when he was nervous. “Honestly?”
“Honestly,” she said, meeting his gaze.
“I like being around you,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “Even if you’re yelling at me half the time.”
Lily’s breath caught. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, but it wasn’t that.
“You’re not as unbearable as you think,” she said, her lips curving into a small smile.
James blinked, clearly stunned. “Did you just… compliment me?”
“Don’t let it go to your head,” she said, her tone teasing but warm.
He grinned, his hazel eyes lighting up in that way that always made her stomach flip. “Too late.”
They fell into a companionable silence after that, the tension between them easing as the minutes ticked by. For the first time in what felt like forever, Lily found herself smiling without even realizing it.
And as James leaned back in his chair, watching her with a quiet contentment, he realized something too—this was enough. For now, just being near her was enough.