You Sure Know How to Pad a Word Count

"Stop right there, Snivellus! What gives you the right to go to the library with Lily?"

James suddenly burst around the corner, with Sirius close behind, and the two charged straight at them. Lily hurriedly pressed herself against the wall, afraid the reckless James would crash into her. Wait, what gave him the right to call her by her first name? Were they that close?

"Potter! What are you doing?"

Without a word, James waved his hand and sent the books in Snape's arms flying. Then he and Sirius burst out laughing and dashed away.

Lily simply couldn't understand what was wrong with those two.

A vicious chill churned in Snape's eyes as he stared fixedly at the corner where they had disappeared. He silently resolved that, the next time they played such a trick on him, he would pay them back twice over.

Lily crouched down and picked up the scattered books one by one. "Severus, are you all right? I really don't understand those two. They don't seem very bright."

Her words echoed Snape's thoughts. He also thought the pair seemed to have had their brains gnawed on by a Troll.

"I'm fine. Let's carry on to the library." He took the books Lily had picked up. The little incident hadn't disrupted their plans, and the two walked quietly into the library.

Meanwhile, Sirius had an arm slung over James's shoulders as they strolled toward the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Mate, I reckon Snivellus is going to fight back next time."

James scoffed dismissively. "So what if he does? That gloomy Slytherin lot only know how to pull underhanded tricks they can't show in public."

Sirius particularly envied James's free-spirited, uninhibited nature. A Howler had arrived from home that morning, publicly berating him for betraying the Black family and making him lose face at the long table, but he refused to compromise with his family in the slightest.

"Come on! Let's explore the whole castle!" James eagerly pulled Sirius along, and the two made their way through the castle corridors, searching everywhere for secret passages and unexplored corners.

For Herbology that afternoon, Lily had learned her lesson from nearly being late to Transfiguration that morning and arrived at the greenhouse twenty minutes early. With nothing else to do, she strolled along the rows of growing racks, closely examining the strange herbs as she waited for the other students to arrive.

Several Gryffindor first-years entered the greenhouse one after another. Though Lily couldn't name them, she still went up and greeted them with a smile. When Mary and Marlene pushed open the door, they saw Lily pacing back and forth, inspecting the potted plants as though surveying her own territory.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Mary hurried over to her side.

Lily tipped her chin toward several potted vines nearby. "Look at them. They sway from side to side, following the direction people walk."

Mary took a couple of steps back and forth and saw the vines sway after her with her own eyes. "Oh my, that's amazing! What plant is this?"

Marlene followed their gaze and thought for a moment before answering, "It's a Christmas cactus. Its vines naturally follow people walking nearby."

"So that's what it is. It looks so gentle." Once Mary learned it wasn't dangerous, she reached out to play with the trailing vines.

With only a minute left before class, James and Sirius hurried into the greenhouse, followed closely by two unfamiliar faces—Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Lily recognized all four at once, and her heart sank slightly. Whenever she thought of Peter's future betrayal, she found it hard to face him calmly. Fortunately, the four didn't yet have an unbreakable bond. She quickly put the thought aside and quietly waited for Professor Sprout to begin class.

James shoved his way through the crowd and forced his way to Lily's side. Dorcas, standing nearby, frowned deeply and challenged him. "Potter, why did you have to squeeze in over here? There's clearly room over there."

James paid no attention to the looks from those around him. He pulled Sirius over to his side as well and tossed out a ridiculous excuse. "The view's better here."

He could only fool himself with that. Professor Sprout was already standing in the middle of the greenhouse. She clapped her hands and assigned the day's tasks: identifying rare herbs, picking leaves properly, extracting herbal essences at low temperatures, and recording the medicinal properties of every herb. In addition, everyone had to grow dittany themselves that term and individually complete an essay explaining its medicinal effects.

Lily put on her thick dragon hide protective gloves and crouched in front of a flowerpot, carefully replacing the soil and dividing the dittany into separate pots. James thought Marlene was in the way, so he simply squeezed her behind him and planted himself right beside Lily. Marlene rolled her eyes helplessly and could only stand behind them, watching Lily tend the herbs skillfully.

"You're really good at this." It was rare for James to offer praise, but before he had even finished speaking, he couldn't resist reaching out and yanking the dittany from the soil, roots and all.

Realizing he had done something stupid, he hurriedly stuffed the dittany back into the soil before Lily could react. Lily shot him a cold glare but said nothing more.

As soon as the bell rang, Lily hurried ahead, clearly intent on shaking James off. Mary and Marlene followed at her side, both wearing knowing expressions.

"Potter definitely likes you," Mary whispered, leaning in on her left.

"He hasn't taken his eyes off you since last night's feast. He's obviously trying to pursue you," Marlene agreed from the other side.

Lily didn't slow down. As she walked, she explained helplessly, "Where I'm from, that kind of behavior doesn't count as pursuing someone at all. It's just deliberate provocation. I suspect he'll challenge me to a duel sooner or later."

Mary paused, then thought back on how James had shoved people aside and caused trouble. She actually felt Lily had a point.

"Then when is he going to issue the challenge? We'll definitely stand on your side and cheer you on!" Marlene readily accepted the idea and even volunteered to help her.

"I don't know either. Let's go to the library and finish the Herbology essay first." Lily took the opportunity to invite them both along.

Mary nodded at once. "Perfect. I'll finish my Transfiguration essay while I'm at it."

Marlene, however, shook her head and stopped, clutching the thick copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. "You two go ahead. If I don't write home soon, my grandpa will send me another letter scolding me." With that, she turned and headed toward Gryffindor Tower.

Lily and Mary sat together at a library table, their heads bent over their writing. The atmosphere was quiet and solemn. Just as Lily was absorbed in her work, a sheet of parchment suddenly appeared before her eyes. She looked up, and sure enough, it was James again.

Lily's expression was cool. "Can I help you, Potter?"

Perhaps because he couldn't make noise in the library, James simply brought Sirius, Lupin, and Peter along and pulled up chairs so they could sit around the table. Seeing this, Mary silently edged to the side, deliberately putting some distance between them. Sorry, Lily, but with a group this size, we really will get thrown out.

"I feel like my Herbology essay is still missing something. Can you take a look for me?" James pushed the parchment in front of her.

Sirius was surprised. He had never seen James seriously write an essay, and he hadn't seen this draft before.

Lily thought his question was reasonable enough and wanted to get rid of him quickly, so she took the parchment and read it carefully. After reading its repetitive, padded contents, all she felt was a throbbing in her temples.

The entire essay went round and round the same point: dittany could be used to heal wounds because it had the function of healing wounds. Healing wounds was a notable characteristic of dittany. When people were injured and wanted to find something to heal their wounds, dittany would naturally come to mind as the best choice for healing wounds, because dittany's function was the best among healing effects. Therefore, everyone needed dittany because of its notable healing effect. Lily silently tossed the parchment back in front of James, then turned sideways and pretended the four of them weren't there.

Sirius picked up the draft and skimmed a couple of lines, nearly laughing out loud on the spot. Bound by the library's rules of silence, he could only struggle to hold it in. "Merlin, did a human being really write this?"

James caught sight of Lily's now-cold profile. Far from being disappointed, he smiled. In his mind, Lily's willingness to give him a cold look meant he had a place in her heart. Wasn't a place she hated still a place?