The Hex That Never Was
Theme 44: Stupefy


"Stupef -"

The Slytherin chaser had little time to complete his spell: James Potter had flown at him before he could so much as say the word "Quidditch," and Avery Smith went down, his back grazing the grass as he slid across it, coming to a halt only when he collided, a little painfully, with the trunk of a tree.

"Prongs, you shouldn't have," Remus began, while Peter goggled, his eyes huge pupils of excitement, but James was panting, his gaze fierce. Avery staggered to his feet, threw James a look of pure hatred, and stormed off, a slit running down the long sleeve of his green, Quidditch robes.

*

It had begun, as anyone could have expected, in the Quidditch match earlier that morning: Sirius had been commentator and he had "accidentally" let slip "how happy" Smith had been that Mary Vendell, a Slytherin prefect known for her flirtatiousness, had made it to the quidditch team. Avery had boiled over with anger [you could have seen the muscles in his mouth twitch in fury, even when he had been fifty feet in the air] and cornered Sirius after the match.

Only to get punched in the ribs by James Potter.

Yes, Pillows CAN Bite
Theme 42: Silencio


How the mess had begun, none of them could say but, now that it had, it continued to grow at a fantastic speed: they had been engaged, only an hour ago, in a pillow fight that resounded with laughter, "Eeeek" and "Ouch, you hit me in the Unmentionables, James Potter!" but now the pillows lay around them, a heap of feathers, and the only that had survived had two arms, one eye, and several antennae.

"We can't tell anyone, can we?" Wormtail asked, and Sirius gave him such a withering look, he backed away. James frowned - he was holding the pillow by one arm, and it struggled against his grip while Remus held the thing's other arm - then used his free hand to tap the pillow's head [yes, the pillow had hair, let me clarify - in fact, a luscious, pink crop of it complete with side bangs]. The pillow yelped as the wand came down on its head, bared its antennae, then opened its mouth [a rip in the cloth, with one big tooth poking out of it] and, "RAAWWWRRR."

"Oh my," James said, his eyes huge.

"RAAAAAAAAWR!"

Remus sighed. "Silencio!"

The pillow bit James in response.

Lily Evans Who?
Theme 7: Confundus


Bulgaria against England - both teams were strong and, as he leaned forward to scan the quidditch pitch, James could feel the excitement pounding in the air, the chatter of the people as the first match of the Quidditch World Cup rolled into an opening.

The Veelas arrived, as he knew they would, and the eighteen-year old laughed as, to his left, Peter Pettigrew leaned forward, his pupils wide. "Silly boy," James thought - maybe he should use a "Confundus" on him for fun, James had heard the spell could increase an infatuation with the Veela. But, then again, a close friend would be the last person James would try out such a hypothesis on - and then the music began, building up in the pitch, and James was lost, lost in the silver of their hair, the delicacy of their hands, the rustle of their skirts -

"JAMES POTTER!" a voice thundered.

A hand, iron-like in its grip, pulled at his sleeve, and James jerked back to reality with a mental thud. To his right, sat Lily Potter, and she looked quite livid. "Remember me?" she asked, rather acidly. "Lily Evans? Your girlfriend?"

"Lily Evans who?" he asked, with a grin.

Truth or Dare?
Theme 09: Disapparate


It had been Mary Vendell's idea - flirtatious though she was to the last degree, the pretty prefect was unlike any Slytherin James Potter had ever known and, when she taken her suggestion of "promoting inter-house relations" to the Headmaster, he had agreed without hesitation, despite outrage from the student body [read: Gryffindor and Slytherin.]

In an empty classroom, now, members of the two houses had gathered, and they played a fierce game of Truth or Dare [led by Mary and Sirius, the former a little too warm to the latter]. It seemed more a game of "Must. Humiliate. Gryffindor" or "Must. Humiliate. Slytherin." [depending on which house the thinker was in], than an act of inter-house unity, however, and James had taken to dozing off in the shadows in a corner of the room, when the bottle spun, pointed right his way, and he was woken by the shouts of "Potter! Potter! Truth or dare, Potter?"

"Dare," he said lazily, opening one lid and giving the Slytherins crowding around him a very bored look.

"Excellent!" Mary Vendell said, and she stepped into the light. "I dare you to disapparate from here and apparate into the lake, Potter!"

A Page in the Diary of a Fangirl
Theme 21: Langlock


I saw him by the lake, today. James Potter, I mean. Nicked off another snitch, he has. I know because he was showing off [WHO for? Not Evans, I hope, I'm beginning to kinda hate that girl. I mean, come on, the red hair's not that attractive. Really]. Know what, diary? It's POTTER'S fault, she's so haughty - Potter, that stupid, handsome git. Oooh, if I could only get my hands on him one of these days, I would kiss him to death - err, I mean, whack him across the face, and knock some sense into him. He is SUCH a cutie meanie.


Things to do:

* Forget James Potter.
* Stop thinking of his stupid snitch.
* Finish Arithmancy homework.
* Stop thinking of his eyes.
* Forget James Potter.
* Ditto.

....

.......

Ten words to describe James Potter:

Hot - Six feet of hotness, oh wow.
Handsome - He has those fathomless eyes, doesn't he?
Brilliant - I haven't seen a faster chaser, you know.
Haughty - Even that gives him style, darn it.
Langlock - According to my dictionary, a jinx that glues the target's tongue to the roof of his or her mouth.

HE SUPER-GLUES MY MOUTH SHUT, DARN IT!

Life Goes On
Theme 10: Engorgio


"JAMES POTTER!"

Her voice was furious, and James's hand jumped to his hair as he half-turned around to face Lily Evans. It was a breezy day, and her gown of yellow satin blew lightly in the wind - the effect was dazzling.

"Is there a problem, Evans?" He asked, his eyes travelling up her dress - he could even make that seem like a careless, negligent action.

"Let him down," Lily demanded, and her tones were fierce - the fact that he was the person behind a Severus who was now suspended, by his ankle, in midair, could only infuriate her.

"Your wish is my command," James said, the corners of his mouth twitching - he might have laughed, and that made her fierier - and he flicked his wand. Severus collapsed at his feet, a heap, and Lily's eyes widened slightly.

"You big-headed git," she said, fists clenched in anger. "What did you do, place an enlargement charm on your head? Something like Engorgio? You make me -"

"- Sick, Potter," he finished for her, with a yawn. "Thank you for the compliment." He swept into a bow, stretched his arms, and left. Lily stared after him, then rolled her eyes. GIT.

In Another Rain<3
Theme 11: Expecto Patronum


Below these eaves, in another wrap of rain, they had kissed what seemed a long, long time ago, and James still remembered its feel, the pressure of her lips against his lips. Like fire, the memory now flamed, an immortal spark of hot-red.

"Prongs." It was Sirius, and the young man's hand rested on James's shoulder, not calm, but tense, as if ready to spring any moment. Drops of rain slid down leaves, seemingly crystallizing into sharp, pin-like points as they dripped down fresh, green leaf-ends, and into the hair of the three young men beneath. There was a burst of wintry air, a twitch of Sirius's palm, and then the start of the once-young forest was a whirlwind of chill, and the flowers withered into lifelessness, and the ground seemed to crumble into little, muddy crusts in the bitter, hard cold.

"They're here," Remus's voice said quietly and, even as he spoke, James saw, in the far distance, the first dementor rise. He nodded, and the kiss burned itself into his mind, into his eyes, into his very heart. A lump in his throat, he raised his wand,

"Expecto Patronum!"

To Do or to Die
Theme 12: Furnunculus


They flew. Outnumbered one to five, the members of the first Order of the Phoenix fled the scene of the battle, not for their lives, but for the protection of the secrets that lay buried in their minds, the safeguard of the facts whose extraction capture could mean.

A hand grabbed the hem of James's robe and wrenched him back, and he tore free, slamming the death eater into a half-open door. The big man swore loudly as he staggered to his feet and, stripped of balance, fell backwards, through the doorway.

"Furnunculus!" James yelled blindly.

He could hardly breathe, but there was little time to lose - clutching his side, he reached for Sirius and helped his best mate to his feet. "This is a disaster," he said, his breathing heavy, restricted.

"We'll live through it, we've lived through worse before," Sirius said breathlessly and, wand at the ready, the two of them pulled themselves back-to-back. At the far end of the corridor, a door flew open and death eaters poured out. With a very sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, James raised his wand.

It was, he knew, do or die.

Seduction is Overrated
Theme 16: Impedimenta


A simple Impedimenta and Severus Snape, too angry to deflect the easy hex, had been knocked out, quite cold. James wished he could feel triumphant, but the fact that Lily Evans - who had been warming towards him, for the past few weeks – had chosen that very moment to spill into the grounds in a swirl of bottle-green robes, ruined his momentary victory.

"Lily -" he yelped, bounding after her as, fiery kicking into her eyes, she turned on her heel and began to stomp off. "Lily, I can explain -"

But it was no use.

*

"You know," the cool, female voice was more seductive than flirtatious, and James raised an eyebrow as, on his way into the castle, Mary Vendell grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to herself. "She's not worth it, not really, Potter."

"Let go of my arm," James replied shortly.

She seemed not to have heard him, Mary, for she was now running the tip of her wand over his forearm. "Is it the red hair?" she asked, and her tones were soft. "Defenseless against it, Potter? Or," she leaned in, her voice a whisper. "Is it the eyes?"

James yawned widely, in response.

Awesome, New World
Theme 17: Imperio


It was a chilly day in mid-December, and the four biggest pranksters of Hogwarts [three, if truth be told - the fourth was more of a tag-along than an accomplice] lounged in the Gryffindor common room, discussing ways to make their Christmas holidays a blast.

"You're welcome for the hols, Padfoot," James said, stifling a yawn as he straightened his legs, and placed them on the chair in front of him. Disowned, his best friend could not return to Grimmauld's Place for Christmas, and James was only too happy to have him over.

"I know," Sirius replied. "But I'm going to miss Snivellus."

In the light of the fire, James's eyes seemed to shine merrily. "You know," he began, and his tones were mischievous, "I would love to meet Snivellus one more time before we leave."

"Here we go again," Remus said, with a shake of his head - fun, he liked, but fun with Severus, not. "And may I ask what you have on your mind, this time round?"

"Would you tell me I'm awesome if I say it involves a bit of Imperio, and Snivellus snogging a tree?" James asked with a grin.

"It's Called Stalking, Dumbo"
Theme 18: Incarcerous


It was late in the night when, half-covered by his invisibility cloak, James sneaked out into the grounds. The snow crunched beneath his shoes, until he came to a halt underneath the shade of a huge tree - not that the shade was required in the middle of a midwinter night. To his surprise, someone clapped a hand over his eyes, and pulled him into the shadows.

Taken by surprise, James tore free like a madman, hit the tree-trunk in his daze, tripped over his own feet and fell, face-first into the snow. "Incarcerous!" Spitting snow out of his mouth, he grabbed at his invisibility cloak as he staggered to his feet and shot a blind spell into the distance. Ropes flew out of the end of his wand -- and fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.

He swore and turned around - only to see Mary Vendell standing, several paces away from him, her green eyes laughing into the moonlit night. She looked beautiful, to say the least, but that was the last thing on James's mind. "What the heck," he said incredulously. "Do you think you're doing?"

"It's called stalking, dumbo," she replied loftily.

The [So NOT] Girlfriend
Theme 41: Scourgify


Grumble, grumble, major grumble. In his five years of Hogwarts James Potter had never been caught by a professor - not once - on one of his post-curfew prowls. His pride in that record lay, now, shattered at his very feet, as he scrubbed away at the floor of his Head of House's office.

"This," he glared at Mary. "Is all your fault."

She laughed blithely, and gave him a very evil, sideways look: she should have been cleaning the floor, too, but the professor was away, and Mary sat, cross-legged ["I have very nice legs, don't I?" she had asked him, less than five minutes ago] on the Gryffindor Head of House's ebony desk. "Is it?" she asked sweetly. "I landed us together, Potter, you should be glad."

James ignored her. "Scourgify," he muttered, rather darkly, wand pointed at the owl-cage in the corner of the office. The droppings vanished, and then Mary Vendell had jumped off the desk, and her skirt rustled as she straightened up. James eyed her rather warily. "You have a boyfriend, don't you?" he asked, rather hopefully.

"He's standing next to me," she replied, siddling up to him.

Talk About Self-Centred
Theme 34: Protego


Standing next to her, WHAT? James's eyebrows shot up - fangirls, he had known, but a girl trying to force herself on him? Oh my. "Sorry to disappoint you," he said dryly, taking a step away. "But I'm otherwise committed."

"But we're meant for each other," Mary insisted softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, and looking into his eyes. She had bright, green eyes, much like Lily's, which was pretty unnerving. James took another step backwards.

"Is this my cue to shout "Protego" and run away breakneck speed?" he asked dryly.

"Oh no," she replied, batting her eyelashes at him, long, thick ones that curled prettily at the end, but were such a waste of beauty. "This is your cue to lean in, kiss me, and declare that I'm the love of your life, and have always been."

James raised an eyebrow. "Nice imagination," he said dryly, rolling his eyes and selecting a relatively clean sponge from the supplies. "Get down here and start doing your share of the work, lady. You're the one who landed us into detention the first place."

"Yes, don't I just rock?" Mary replied with a sweet smile.

Many Years Before
Theme 39: Sectumsempra


"GIVE THAT BACK!"

The furious voice was Snape's, and it thundered across the ground. James grinned and shook his head - in one hand he held his opponent's wand and, in the other, the book Severus had been reading.

The book, James had had little interest in, when he had been at a good distance - but then he arrived, and the latter had tried to stow the textbook out of sight in such a hurry, James's curiosity had taken the better of him and he had snatched it. The robbed-of-book Slytherin was now glaring at him from two feet away; James ignored him.

"What d'you reckon it is?" he asked Sirius, dusting the cover and flipping open a page. It took him a moment to realize it was only their standard, potions book: the familiar type; the well-known ingredients. At the top of the page they had opened were scribbled the words, "Sectumsempra; for enemies," but, in their disappointment, both of the boys missed this.

"This is dull, Snivellus, real dull," James said and, rolling his eyes, he tossed the book back at Snape, who caught it with a relief neither of them noticed.

The [Not So] Perfect Adjective
Theme 22: Legilimens


"It was funny, how one girl could drive him up the wall with her attention, when there was another who drove him up the wall with her lack of attention. Sitting on top of a stack of hay, James rested his chin on one hand - only to be jerked out of his thoughts [literally], as Mary Vendell arrived and shoved him in the ribs.

"Get your hands off me, Vendell," James said, pushing her away and jumping off the stack.

"Touchy, are we?" she asked, and her voice was as soft as it was sharp. In a very silky, very Mary Vendell way, of course. "Evans turn you down again, Potter?"

"None of your business," James replied shortly.

Gracefully, Mary climbed on to the stack, then crossed one leg over the other. "You know, Potter," she said, and her sly, sparkling green eyes seemed to bore into him - If she had told him she was a Legilimens, James thought dryly, he would have found it very hard to doubt - and then she looked away, towards the sky. "There's something about you, that's so..."

"Handsome?" James suggested, with a roll of his eyes. "Amazing? Perfect? Fantas -"

"Naive," she said firmly.

On an Empty Stomach
Theme 29: Obliviate


Hel-LLO diary.

Did you think you weren't going to see me again, Big Book of Blank Pages? Know what? I thought so, too. I mean, Evans seemed as impressed by my "sensitivity" as she is by a bit of mushroom.

Where did mushrooms come into this story?

....

.......

You know, Professor Mongel caught me snapping Malcom Baddock's wand in half, earlier today. NOT my fault, honestly! The bloke tried to snap my neck in two and, if Padfoot hadn't been there, I might have been in some creepy graveyard, by now. How the heck can anyone expect me not to retaliate when people are too jealous of my awesomeness not to consider harming me?

Ahh, I guess there is always is a price for good things. Woe is me, Big Book of Blank Pages, for I have, each day, to pay the price of sheer awesomeness. Did I mention one of memory charms accidentally backfired last night, the tricky little Obliviate thing, and Padfoot forgot his middle name? Wasn't too much of a bother, because Moony set things right at once, but I was pretty scared, for a moment there.

I'm hungry.

Night, Big Book!

Like Ruins After a Hurricane
Theme 26: Morsmordre


Nida Armora, James Potter had known for seven straight years. He still remembered her as he had first seen her, small but gentle. Her eyes were no longer the playful blue they had once been but, sometimes, the somberness would depart, the knowledge of being a double-agent for the Order vanish, and James would see them shine again.

"Morsmordre," he read, the report she had given him, only this morning, spread out in front of him. "The incantation that activates -" There was a knock at the door, and he raised his head, eyes weary. "Yes?" he asked. Headquarter of the Order of Phoenix this may be, but that did not mean it felt good to be disturbed when he was off-duty.

"It's me," Lily's voice was quiet and James stood up as she pushed open the door. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Lils, what's -"

"She's gone," Lily said quietly. "Death eaters broke into her house this morning, we found Nida's body -" he sat down, buried his head in his arms, and heard no more. Within him, the tears struggled, twisted themselves into a storm, and all was grey, like ruins after a hurricane.

Butterbeer Nights<3
Theme 25: Mobilicorpus


Drunk on butterbeer, that was what Sirius Black was. It was the Hogsmeade Ball, one of the Headmaster's new "introductions" to the school - the person behind it was more Mary Vendell than the man himself, though - and, nine bottles of the drink later, Sirius could barely speak, let alone walk back to the dorm.

"I'm not so sure about this," Remus said, but James was grinning. He bent down, whispered something into Sirius's ear [Remus was pretty sure it was "I see Snivellus"] and, when Sirius only gave a sleepy sort of smile in response, looked up at Remus. "You're right," he declared. "He's unfit to walk for now, Padfoot is, Moony old boy."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Stop it, Prongs. What do we do with him, now? I believe a lot of girls are eyeing him - it's their day made, Sirius with no wits about him, I would say."

James frowned. Then he pointed his wand at his mate. "Mobilicorpus!" Sirius rose into the air, his body limp and, with a wave to the crowd of girls in the corner, James exited the Three Broomsticks, Sirius trailing in the air in his wake.

Pain; To Let Go
Theme 27: Muffliato


"Lils -" Things had warmed up between them and, this time round, James had been more than hopeful that her answer would be a yes. It shocked him, then, when she said no, said she could not possibly date him.

"Lils, listen -" he began. His voice was slightly higher than usual, but it did not matter - he had a cast silent "Muffliato" [a spell he had read in one of Severus Snape's books] at their surroundings before talking to her, and knew no one could heard their ongoing conversation.

"I'm sorry." Her voice had lost some of its recent, genial touch, and her tones were cool, a reminder of the times they had not gotten along at all - times when she had hated him too much for words, because she thought he was conceited, too selfish to cause any good. "You're a wonderful person, James, and any girl would be lucky to have you, but I'm sorry, I can't."

Later that night, she would wonder why she had spoken to him like that, want to rethink her decision but, for now James, knew none of it. In silence, he nodded; in silence, he let her go.

The Beauty of Emotions
Theme 31: Orchideous


"By the light of a lamp, James stayed awake that night, the flame burning in the air, while his heart seemed to burn in the flame itself. Had he been, he thought to himself, over-confident? He had changed for her, given up a lot of things -

It wasn't enough, he told himself. You should have known it wasn't enough, you fool.

He stood up, a shadow in the light and, without knowing it, without thinking of it, raised his wand. "Orchideous," he half-whispered into the night and, from the end of his wand, a scatter of flowers erupted, gentle, deep-red roses that glistened with dew. In the half-light, their crimson seemed deeper than it was, and their moisture seemed to spring to life, its glitter like the essence of his pain and of her beauty.

Emotions, he had once read, affected magic. Was it, he thought quietly as he held up the roses to the light to see them better, the pain or the love he felt that had made, now, his spell so strong, beautiful enough to produce such a charming beauty?

Forget it, he told himself.

-- This Christmas would hold little mirth.

RedRoses&&SilverSparks
Theme 37: Relashio


When James entered the Kitchens, that night, the house-elves were clearly making ready for their beds. "Shawna," he called out, and the house-elf looked up. "James Potter!" she said happily.

He grinned - he liked Shawna, and it was clear the house-elf was pretty of fond him - but the action lacked the joy it usually held. The house-elf noticed, and looked concerned.

"Is James Potter not happy?" she asked, pulling at his sleeve. "Can Shawna get James Potter a cookie?"

"No, don't go," James said, a little wearily - he was tired, so tired. "Could you do me a favour, Shawna?"

"Anything -" the house-elf began.

"Thanks," James said. He held out the roses he had produced earlier, beautiful in the light though now they were wrapped. "Take these to - No wait," he paused, placed the tip of his wand into the bouquet. "Relashio!" He said, and sparks blew into the air, lovely and silver, enwrapping the roses. "Take this to the Gryffindor's girl dormitory, and place it next to Lily Evans' bed - she'll be the redhead -"

When he fell asleep, at three in the morning, he smelled of red roses, felt like silver sparks.

Love Conquers All
Theme 36: Reducto


Later that night, Lily curled up in her blankets, her lids shut against the dread of the world. Why, she thought quietly, had she turned him down now, now that it was apparent that he had changed?

Perhaps it was - no, definitely it was - because a shred of the old mistrust lingered, a general amazement how great the change that had taken over him was. What if he was only pretending it, what if he was only trying to - she flinched at the thought - use her?

She fell into a restless blackness - dreams rose like chains; "Reducto," she yelled in her sleep - and when she woke up on Christmas morning, the first thing that met her was the scent of richness. Lily inhaled deeply then caught, with a jolt, the brush of softness against her cheeks. Not sitting up, she reached out a hand, and when it came away, it held petals.

She sat up, only a little, and the bouquet that had lain against her cheeks came into full view - wrapped in plastic of delicious, translucent silver, the roses were huge, red-rose in the loveliest way she had ever seen.

"James," she whispered, clinging to the bouquet. "James."

The Best Medicine
Theme 38: Rictusempra


The laughter that rose from the Gryffindor boys' dormitory was merry, infectious. Anyone who could have heard it, then, would have thought they were a couple of fine, very fine boys, cheerful and ready to take life in its stride.

Nothing could have been wronger.

Fine boys, they were, of course but, as James bent over his bed, laughing uncontrollably, the noise in the room was anything but pure joy. It was, rather, their homework for the day - they had learned of the Tickling Charm in a lesson that morning, and the assignment given at the end of the class had been practice of the spell.

It had been James's idea to practice together. "Would save us looking like loonies, separately," he had grinned, and the others had agreed readily. Now they sat, holding bits of furniture for support [they would have been rolling on the floor, otherwise] as they laughed, and it was pretty clear some of the spells had gone pretty wrong.

"I - can't - stop - laughing -" James said, between tears of what, he supposed, was happiness. "Padfoot - I - Rictusempra! Rictusempra! Rictusempra!" He let out a wail of mirth, and collapsed on his bed, a laughing heap.

Some Things Never Change
Theme 32: Petrificus Totalus


She had known James had a large house, but how large, Lily only realized now, as she rang the great doorbell of the Potters' mansion.

"Hey there, Lils!" It was James, his head poking out of the door. "Hello," Lily smiled, then stepped inside. "Big place," she commented. "I passed James Potter Park in the way, the woman who was on the Knight Bus with me told me your parents own it, and named it after you."

"Yes, surprising I never had a big head, isn't it?" he asked, and the corners of his mouth twitched, as if restraining laughter.

"Not funny," Lily said, giving a roll of her eyes. "You're still big-headed, in case you think you've changed," she added, as they stepped into an unlit hallway. "In fact -" She let out a scream of "JAMES, HELP!" as someone grabbed her arms; twisted herself free; and yelped a blind "Petrificus Totalus!"

"OUCH!" James shouted - it was he who had been behind the "attack" and, even though her spell had missed, she had stepped, hard, on his toe. "LILY! Stop it, it was just a joke."

"Git," she snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Embraces of Another Kind
Theme 43: SpeRevelio


Her eyes were wide in their almond-shaped astonishment, and the roses brushed against her cheek, their red petals soft, their stems thick but gorgeous. Inside the bouquet's wrapping ran silver sparks, delicious in their shimmer.

A sudden smile lit up her face. "Magic, isn't it, Potter?" She whispered and, bouquet gathered in her arms in an almost-embrace, she freed one hand, reached for the wand lying on her bedside table, and tapped the tip of the roses with it.

"SpeRevelio," she commanded, and the sparks began to fade. "Enchanted lights, eh?" Lily removed her wand with a grin, and then she had bounded out of bed and down the dormitory, not caring that she was in pajamas that had little skulls on them.

*

James sat up, eyes weary after a restless night. Would she, he thought quietly, realize who the gift was from? There was no note, but she knew him so well now. In silence, he stood up and went down into the common room to get himself a quiet drink of water while no one was awake -

- And found himself being pinned to a wall, as Lily Evans literally threw herself at him.