Author's Note: On Tumblr, a post was circulating that expressed a desire to see James portrayed like more of a bookworm. At first, I dismissed it with the idea that James is expressively portrayed by JKR as a mischief maker and a natural magical talent, with no mention of a love of books that weren't about Quidditch. Then, the thought became like a bug in my ear, buzzing away, and the idea for this one-shot came to mind.

Gee, thanks, Tumblr, you could not have inspired me back on track for A Magical Garden?

Edit 4-3-14:: Something was bothering me with this story, so I tweaked it.

Book of the Month

He loved he smell of the books, and he had since he was a kid. James Potter closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, allowing the smells of paper, leather, and just a hint of dust to relax his mind, as it always did. He wished that his friends would appreciate his love of the library. Well, he mentally amended, Remus probably would. Growing up alone due to a "furry little problem," Remus's only companions had been books, although he was more likely to spend his time gallivanting around Hogwarts than reading, now that he found friends who lacked prejudices (or, perhaps, lacked the sense to be wary around a young werewolf…or perhaps a bit of both). Peter hated to read, as many poor students did, and relied on clever cheating and the tutelage of his comrades to get by in class. Then there was Sirius, who would rather shack himself up in a broom cupboard with a fit witch rather than in a library with a book. Hell, thought James with a smile, he would rather do anything than read a book.

James stretched in the leather chair and breathed in once more. In honor of the approaching Halloween, James brought an old favorite to read on that gloomy day, Dracula by Bram Stoker. The cover was worn thin and the pages were soft-edged and dog eared from use, after being owned first by his father, then by James himself. He was still early on in the story, reading Dr. Seward's account on the mad Renfield, when a flash of red caught his attention. Pushing his wire framed glasses up his nose, he turned to catch a glimpse of the love of his life. While Sirius and Remus would have called him melodramatic (no, Sirius would have called him a bloody fool, Remus would have called him melodramatic; Sirius probably did not know what "melodramatic" meant), he could not think of any other words to describe his feelings for Lily Evans.

She was the reason he noticed girls when he started at Hogwarts at eleven. Before then, girls were just boring, prissy things that weren't any fun. When he saw Lily, they were suddenly very different. Her hair was like liquid fire, flowing down her back perfectly straight, and her eyes were almond-shaped and so green, he could not think of an adequate way to describe them. Her creamy skin held a charming collection of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Yes, when he set his eyes on Lily that first day on the Hogwarts Express, girls were not the same.

Too bad he made a right arse of himself right off, and they bickered at every opportunity ever since. She shot him down every time he asked her out, declaring how she would rather date the giant squid. It hurt at first, but it soon became something of a sport. How long would it take to rile her up? What clever retort would she fire back? She was indescribably beautiful when she was angry, her eyes flashing and cheeks blushing, and James found that he did not really mind being on the receiving end of one of her emerald glares.

This year, their final year at Hogwarts, was quite different. Lily was Head Girl (of course, no one was surprised), and James (in some miraculous turn of events where everyone was surprised) got named Head Boy. They had to set an example, so they took pains to avoid fights whenever possible. This, unfortunately for James, meant they simply avoided each other to avoid said fights.

They couldn't avoid each other in the library, though. They shared a love of reading, and often crossed paths perusing the shelves of the library for one book or another. James ran a hand through his hair and smiled to himself as he threw another glance over his shoulder at the object of his distraction. Would he dare?

Yes, yes he would.

Using his index finger to mark his place, he closed the book, stood, and approached Lily. She was curled up in another leather armchair with her stockinged feet curled beneath her, her shoes discarded next to her bag. She wasn't in her school robes (it was Saturday, after all), and she tilted her head up as he approached. His breath caught, as it was wont to do whenever he met her eyes.

Really, to have eyes that color had to be breaking some law of nature.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Can I help you, Potter?" Her tone wasn't rude, just puzzled. James took it as encouragement.

He smiled, hoping he did not look arrogant. "I'm just surprised to see you in here, is all. Why are you reading here and not in the common room?" He kept his voice low to avoid disturbing Madam Pince, the shrewd librarian.

She shrugged one of her delicate shoulders under a wide-necked dark blue sweater. "It was too loud. Sirius decided to regale the house with some bawdy sea shanties that I know can't be appropriate for the first and second years."

James ran a hand through his hair, noticing the gesture caused Lily to roll her eyes. "Well, you know Sirius. He'll corrupt them all, sooner or later, whether we want him to or not."

With a resigned sigh, she said, "I must say that I am surprised that you are not up there with him. As I recall, you were standing on the table beside him during the last rainy day concert."

He held up the novel and shrugged. "I wanted to read, so the farther I am from that lunatic I call a best mate, the better."

She blinked owlishly, apparently to just then coming to the conclusion that there was more to James Potter than she thought. "Oh," she replied lamely.

James gestured to the chair adjacent to hers, and she absently waved a delicate pink-nailed hand in ascent, still looking as though someone just told her that nightshade wasn't actually poisonous. James resisted the urge to laugh as he sat down. Had she never noticed him in the library before? She never saw him reading by the common room fire as the other Gryffindor boys in their year played chess or Exploding Snap? He enjoyed how he had surprised her.

To make himself comfortable, he settled down into the plush chair and turned so that he could drape his legs over the side. Wordlessly, he went back to reading Dr. Seward's log.

They read in oddly companionable silence for several minutes before he heard her voice again.

"What are you reading?"

James turned his head and pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Dracula. It's an old favorite, and I read it every October in honor of Halloween." He indicated the slightly battered volume in his lap. "It has been around. It was my dad's copy before he died."

"I'm sorry." She sounded sincere, but then James remembered how her mother died from something called cancer two years prior. He smiled at her amiably.

"Don't be. He was an Auror, and the wizard that did it is in Azkaban now." The silence grew awkward for a moment. James fought to bring things back to how they were just moments before. "Since I told you what I was reading, what are you reading?"

A light blush darkened her cheeks and she would not meet his eyes. Without saying a word, she tilted up the book that was resting on her lap so he could see the cover. There, stamped in gold on the spine was the title:

Dracula.

James laughed aloud, earning him a glare and a "Shh!" from Madam Pince. He waved an apology, mumbling through his teeth, "Yeah, so sorry, you old battle-ax."

Lily giggled. "I also read it every October. Actually, I alternate it with Frankenstein."

"I don't know that one," James replied, smiling sheepishly.

Lily looked more confused at that statement than she did when he initially approached her. She arched one perfect copper eyebrow. "You haven't heard of Frankenstein, but you know about Dracula?"

"Was that other one written by a Muggle?"

"Dracula wasn't?" she asked as a response.

James shook his head. "Stoker was a half-blood. His father was a Muggle, and his mother was a witch."

"That's interesting. It's considered a literary classic among Muggles. Funny to think that it was written by a wizard." She grew contemplative. "That explains a lot, really." She did not elaborate, but James knew she referred to the book.

"What is that 'Frankie Sign' one about?"

Lily giggled, and the sound made James's insides melt, "Frankenstein, noodle-brain." James chuckled at her joking insult. They almost sounded like friends. He suddenly felt like dancing. "It's about a man who wants to be a doctor. He tries to discover a way to bring the dead back to life after his brother is killed."

"Like a resurrection stone?" James recalled a story from his childhood. No wonder she chose the book for Halloween! Raising the dead did not appeal to James. Not in the slightest.

Lily shook her head with a bemused expression. "Not really. He used science and electricity to do it. It works, and he creates a creature from various parts of dead people. The creature gets out and learns to be more…," she paused as she searched for a good word, her green eyes looking toward the ceiling like she always did, James knew, when she was not completely sure what to say, "human, like how to read and understand feelings. But, he's frightening to look at, so no one wants to be his friend. He blames Dr. Frankenstein, so he goes in search for him to exact revenge."

"Wow," replied James.

"Yeah," murmured Lily, blushing slightly. "It's really good, and it can be pretty scary, too. If you like Dracula, you would probably like it."

"I will have to look for a copy, then."

"Yeah," she said again, before offered a shy smile and lowering her eyes to her book once more.

This is amazing, thought James. They just had a civil conversation. No insults, he didn't even ask her out. What surprised him more than that, though, was that the thought of asking her out did not cross his mind. He was content just talking about books with her, no ulterior motives. If he had known that their mutual love of reading would be a one-way ticket to Lily's good side, he would have shared that facet of himself sooner. The fact of the matter was, Sirius has him convinced that she would think he was faking a love of books and literature to impress her. Now that he had crossed that hurdle, everything seemed to be all right. She did not accuse him of lying, nor she did not seem frustrated with him for coming to sit with her.

He could not help but wonder when he was going to wake up.

They read for a while longer, only the sounds of turning pages breaking the silence. James reread the same paragraph twice before he admitted to himself that he wanted to hear her voice again.

"So where are you in the book?" He inquired.

"The wolf has come for Lucy."

"Ah, you're farther than me, then. Renfield just ate a spider."

She shuddered. "Renfield gives me the creeps. Eating spiders and birds? Yuck!"

"You know that you also eat birds, Evans."

She glared at him, but the look was belied by the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Turkey, chicken, and all that does not count. However, I will be sure to remind you that 'we eat birds, too' when someone offers to serve you parakeet a l'orange."

James laughed and glanced at his watch. "Speaking of eating, it's coming up on dinner time, and last time I brought a book with me, Sirius tried to drown it in a carafe of apple cider." He got to his feet and marked his page before stretching.

Lily looked scandalized. "Oh my god! What book?"

"The Sword in the Stone."

Standing, Lily slipped a strip of beaded silk into the book to mark her place (James suddenly felt self-conscious of the torn off piece of parchment he called a bookmark) and tucked the book into her bag before slipping on her shoes. "I love that one! I haven't read it since I found out I was a witch."

Together, they left the library towards Gryffindor Tower. They talked about their favorite books and authors, and he learned she loved Jane Austen as much as he enjoyed Charles Dickens. She laughed at his story about how he discovered Dickens, who was a Muggle author. When he was little, he was in London with his mother and he managed to get lost. She found him in the Library with a copy of Cricket on the Hearth.

"She couldn't even be mad at me," he said, "she was so surprised that I got lost and found a library over finding help."

"You must have been adorable, all curled up with a book."

James felt his ears grow hot and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah…well, at least I didn't get punished, and she bought me a new Dickens novel for my birthday and for Christmas for several years after that."

Once they were in the common room, James and Lily walked together to the stairs to the dormitories. Sharing an awkward glance, they bade their farewells and went up their respective stairwells to their rooms to drop off their things for dinner. When James came back to the common room, he met up with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, and they were nearly to the portrait hole when he heard Lily's voice behind him.

"James!" She called out. "Hold on a moment!"

Not Potter. James. He nearly melted on the spot.

Turning, he saw Lily jogging across the common room to him. When she was in front of him, she held out a book. It was hardcover with the title stamped in silver that shone against the black leather and matched the leafing on the pages.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley.

Lily turned to Sirius before James could say anything in thanks. "Now, you listen here, Sirius Orion Black, this book is older than I am, so if anything gets on it at dinner or any time before I get it back, I am going to tell everyone exactly what you were doing that night when you should have been in detention last month."

Sirius brow furrowed. "What are you talking abouuuyyyyyou wouldn't dare!"

She stood, arms akimbo, and raised her head defiantly. "Try me."

The look of horror on Sirius's face had Remus and Peter clutching their sides in laughter. James felt himself stand a little taller, knowing this threat of Lily's (one that involved a botched tryst with a sixth-year Hufflepuff during the detention-in-question that Sirius refused to acknowledge even happened at the best of times) had ensured him table-reading rights for the rest of the school year.

Lily faced James, her expression significantly softer than the one she had aimed at Sirius. "Take as long as you need to finish it," she said. "Keep the bookmark. I noticed you did not have one, and I have plenty."

James opened the book to reveal a dark green leather bookmark embossed with stars. He could not help but notice that it was the exact shade of green as her eyes. However, he doubted Lily noticed such a detail. "Wow, thanks, Lily! For all of it."

She shifted nervously from foot to foot and tucked a lock of her perfect hair behind her ear. She began to play with the ends, and she stared at her hands as she spoke. "I was thinking," she licked her lips, and James felt butterflies deep in his gut. She took a deep breath and tried again, "I was thinking, when you finish it, would you like to meet at the Three Broomsticks to talk about it? I'm really curious about what you will think."

James felt his eyes bug out, and he could see identical looks of open-mouthed-shock on each of his friends' faces. "Erm…sure, Lily! I'll let you know when I finish it, and then we can plan for the next Hogsmeade weekend after that." He made a mental note to forget about Dracula and start Frankenstein as soon as possible. He had never been happier to be a fast reader than he was at that moment.

"Brilliant," she said, a radiant smile lighting her whole face. "Well, I'll see you at dinner."

James was so flabbergasted, that he barely registered her skipping past him to the portrait hole.

He was still convinced he was dreaming. "Umm, guys, w-what just happened?"

Remus chuckled and put his hand on James's shoulder, leading him towards the exit. "Lily Evans just threatened to completely emasculate Sirius publicly to protect a book, then proceeded to ask you out on a date."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." A big grin that James knew looked ridiculous spread across his face. Then, in an instant, it faded slightly. Turning to Sirius, he punched him in the arm. "You git, you had me thinking she would call me a liar if I told her I liked to read! Or that I would look weak! Lily and I could have been something by now if I had spoken up sooner!" The grin returned in full force and he lowered his arms (he had been gesturing wildly during his brief tirade). "Oh well, it doesn't matter, anymore."

"Oh?" asked Sirius, amused, while rubbing the darkening bruise on his arm. "And why is that?"

James raised his fists, one still clutching Lily's book, into the air and shouted, "Because I have a date with Lily Evans!"