The class ended. All the students started to close their books and leave the classroom. They had about 10 minutes to get to the other classroom and not get lost in the huge castle.
"Hey mate, if you keep this up, you'll be grounded every week," said Lupin, approaching the table and looking at James.
"Who do you think is to blame?" growled James, looking at Sirius, who was pretending not to listen.
As the group left, James noticed a person waiting at the door. It was Lily Evans.
"James," said Lily.
James said goodbye to Sirius, Lupin, and Peter and walked over to Lily, "What's up?" asked James.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Lily rhetorically, "We have to make a study plan for Mary and Toby to learn the transfiguration spell. Today we will make the study plan, and starting tomorrow we will teach them."
'She's already got it all structured...' thought James with a roll of his eyes.
"Fine, whatever you say," James said, walking again wanting to catch up with his friends.
"Wait! God... We have to meet at the library today from six to seven. Otherwise, when do you plan to do it?" asked Lily.
"Six to seven? I can't. I have quidditch team practice," replied James. By now everyone knew of his connection to the team, although they also knew that he only trained and would not be able to play in the official matches. He had trained three nights a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6 to 7.
"Five to six?"
"I can't. I'm in detention with Professor Slughorn," said James, shaking his head.
Lily clicked her tongue slightly, "Four to five?" she asked with an annoyed expression.
James thought that time slot he had free. The bad thing was that it was at the end of the last class, and he would rather waste time with Sirius and the others than be planning a boring study plan in the library with Lily Evans.
Seeing Lily's frowning look he had no choice but to agree, "Okay, in the library?" asked James.
"Yes. You know where the library is, right?" asked Lily with a raised eyebrow.
"No..." replied James, and Lily put on an incredulous expression. She couldn't believe James hadn't visited the library even once since classes started.
James had been too entertained with his new group of friends, quidditch, and his feud with the Slytherins, so he forgot to visit the great Hogwarts library.
His entire childhood was spent reading books and practicing in the training room his father had built. He saw no harm in taking a few days off.
'It was to be expected. I've never seen him in the library... there's no way he's in a quiet place,' Lily thought, looking at James strangely.
"I already have all the books I need. Why would I go there?" said James to defend himself from the look Lily was giving him.
"Ugh... when the defense against the dark arts class is over, we'll go together," said Lily as she started walking to the classroom since she had wasted so much time.
Defense Against the Dark Arts class wasn't as much fun as everyone had expected since the beginning of class. Professor Antennae Fitzman was not to blame. It was because, in these initial weeks, she was teaching them the basics.
"That's all for today. We still need to look at a few more topics before we move on to the practical. Be patient," said Professor Antennae with a stoic expression.
All the students nodded without emotion, "When are we going to stop reading the stupid book?" asked Sirius as he stretched lazily.
"I hope soon. I really wanna learn some more useful enchantments," said Lupin. The only charm they learned was to shoot a stream of red or green sparks from the tip of the wand.
"How about a few games of Exploding Snap? We have an hour before we start the mission," asked Sirius with a smile happy that the weekend will begin.
"Yeah. This time, I won't lose," said Peter enthusiastically. Lupin agreed too, he felt like playing a few games.
"And you?" asked Sirius, looking at James.
"I can't," replied James dryly.
"What, why?" asked Sirius.
"I've got something to do..." said James, not wanting to give any more information.
Sirius was about to ask what James was supposed to do but just remembered Lily waiting for James at the exit of Transfiguration class. A smile slowly began to creep onto his hegemonic face.
"Don't tell me... That you have a date with know-it-all Lily Evans?" asked Sirius with a smirk. Lupin laughed, and Peter tried to hold in his laughter so as not to piss James off.
James said nothing. He put his stuff away and started walking to the exit of the classroom, "Come on, maybe it's not that bad," said Sirius, following James.
"Shut up. After the library, I'll go straight to Slughorn's office, follow the plan," said James grumpily as he walked out, he noticed Lily was already waiting for him.
"Okay, see you," said Sirius, waving goodbye to James as he left with Lupin and Peter to the Gryffindor common room. James looked at them enviously, but quickly Lily called out to him, "Let's go?" asked the girl and James nodded.
"Where is the library?" asked James as he walked alongside Lily.
"First floor," replied Lily, who was planning in her head the steps to take so that Toby and Mary could learn the spell in two days. Lily didn't care if James was punished or not, although she didn't want James to be punished either.
She raised her hand and volunteered to consolidate her knowledge about the subject and also have McGonagall look at her in a more favorable light.
"Lily!" as they walked towards the library in silence someone called out to the redhead, who turning her head and seeing who they were smiled radiantly, "Sev, Did your class finish already?" asked Lily, approaching the boy.
James looked at Severus Snape with narrowed eyes. Snape was a scrawny, pale boy with greasy black hair. His aura was grim the opposite of James' or Sirius' aura which overflowed with confidence.
"Yeah, I just finished charms," said Snape, glad to see Lily, but when he saw James his brow furrowed, "What are you doing with Potter?" he asked, looking at James with a grim look on his face.
'Don't fight...don't fight...' thought James, who didn't want to keep making trouble and get punished again. He stood on the sidelines waiting for Lily.
"We have a project together. Right now, we're on our way to the library," Lily replied.
"Can I go-
Before Snape could finish asking his question, someone called out to him, "Hey Severus, are you coming with us?" asked a long-faced Slytherin boy along with one other boy.
The two boys approached and immediately recognized James Potter, the sworn enemy of the Slytherin first years. They quickly stood on guard.
'Why do they keep coming?' James thought in exasperation. It seems fate wanted him to fight the Slytherins.
"What are you doing with two Gryffindors?" asked the other stocky blond boy.
Inter-house relations were very tense, especially the Gryffindor and Slytherin ones. It was very rare to see two students from different houses as friends.
"I wasn't talking to him," Snape said coldly, "See you, Lily," he added as he led his two friends away from James. Snape knew that with James there a conflict could arise at any moment, and he didn't want to involve Lily.
James and Lily resumed their journey to the library. Upon entering the library for the first time James was in awe. The vast space stretched out before him, with endless bookshelves reaching great heights, filled with books of every color and size imaginable. Soft lights illuminated the aisles between the shelves, creating a cozy and mysterious atmosphere.
The distinct smell of books and parchment pages permeated the air, polished wooden tables and chairs were strategically distributed throughout the library.
Looking up, he could see the high, ornate ceiling, adorned with charming architectural details. A large number of students were immersed in their studies.
"Surprised?" said Lily with a smile, as she the first time she saw the majestic library she put on an expression similar to James'.
From one of the numerous shelves, Lily took a book titled: A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. Then they sat down at a far table, facing each other.
"We have two days to teach Toby and Mary the spell. We should start by teaching them the basics," said Lily, pulling out a parchment and quill.
"Yes, we need to get them to understand the Transfiguration formula before we go with the spell. Maybe the Transfiguration alphabet will help teach them," said James, concentrating on the task. He didn't want to have a week of punishment.
"Good idea. I have the alphabet copied in my notebook, then we'll use it," nodded Lily.
An hour passed slowly. Lily and James were discussing how best to teach Toby and Mary. When they agreed, Lily wrote down the lesson plan on the parchment.
James could tell that Lily had very nice, neat handwriting, even if it was a bit small. He also noticed that Lily was not as irritating a person as he had first thought.
In Lily's case, she thought the same of James. She was surprised that he wasn't as haughty and cocky as he appeared.
"It's almost six. Go get to your detention, Professor Slughorn won't want you to be late," said Lily, looking at the ancient clock in the library.
"How thoughtful," joked James getting up from his chair and feeling his arse square from sitting for an hour.
"Shut up," said Lily with little patience as she jotted one last thing down on the parchment.
'Her personality isn't bad, though she's got a bit of a temper,' thought James, walking out of the library.