The Golden Deer

Lily Evans stayed in bed until 9:00 on the first morning of Christmas break. The castle was quiet, there were no classes to go to, and she was the only Griffyndor 7^th year who had signed up to stay over this winter. I guess I'll have to go to the library after breakfast and get some books to keep me busy.

By the time she made her way to the great hall, everyone else had finished, so she ate alone quickly, then headed to the library. James saw her going and ran to catch up. "Hey, Evans! Going to the library? I'll walk with you."

What is he doing here? He never stays at Hogwarts over break. Lily gathered her pride and put on a 'you're annoying me' face, out of habit more than anything else. Part of her thought, "why don't you lighten up for once?" but the other part was too stubborn.

"Potter? I didn't know you were staying back. I don't think I've ever seen you without your little crew. What's going on? Are your folks out of town?"

"Actually, no. And Sirius it at my place, too. I just saw your name on the list, so I put mine down too. I thought we could get to know each other, you know, and then maybe you'd agree to go out with me."

Lily couldn't hide her smile, although she tried. "I think I've gotten to know you well enough over the last six years, James. You're wasting your time."

James noticed her smile. "Come on, Evans! There are lots of things you don't know about me! You'd be really surprised!"

She averted her eyes from his. Damn he's good looking! "Well, I'm alright with never finding out. Might be scary. Anyway, I want to get some books," she said, blushing.

She walked off into the library, and James followed, taking a seat at the corner table. He picked up the book that was lying there, more to look busy than to read it. "Ramayana: The Epic Story of Sri Ramachandra." He thumbed through the pages, stopping now and then to look at the pictures, while Lily searched the shelves. Although the story seemed pretty interesting, James was too busy watching Lily from behind the book to pay much attention until one plate grabbed his notice. A golden stag was prancing around, teasing a beautiful girl in the forest. She reached out to touch him, but he skipped away. The caption beneath the picture read: "The evil Ravana convinced his sorcerer friend, Marica, to take on his deer form in order to beguile Sita. ' No woman can resist your gorgeous deer form. She will insist that Rama catches you for her, and when you lure him away into the forest, I will grab her. Ha Ha Ha.'"

Women can't resist deer? Well, it's worth a try. Not the kidnapping part, though. James jumped up and walked out of the library, much to Lily's surprise. She saw a mischievous smile playing the corners of his dark eyes when he looked back at her. What is he up to?