Author stuff: My first oneshot. I hope y'all enjoy it. It was a quick little thing I felt that I had to type up before leaving tomorrow.
This is dedicated to my Papa (my grandfather), who passed away this morning due to lung cancer. May he be remembered as the doting man he was and not for the prankster life he lived.
Disclaimer: I do not legally own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Blind
By S A Logan
"Ow!"
James Potter rubbed his nose as he, once again, ran into something. The first time it had been the trunk at the end of his bed and the second had been one of the overly cushioned seats in the common room; followed by one of the benches in the dining hall, several students, a runaway chair on wheels, and an enraged Professor Minerva McGonagall. This time it was an open door.
"Sorry!" someone said. It was female and familiar. So, he hadn't run into an open it; it had swung open and hit him in the face. "Oh, Potter."
It was perhaps the first and last person he wanted to meet at the moment. The lovely Lily Evans (he didn't have to see to know that).
"G'd morning, Miss Evans." he said, sending a casual smirk in what he hoped was her direction.
"Close, Potter. I'm slightly more to your left."
He made a move to run a hand through his hair, a habit he developed because of the young woman he was now standing near. He hoped she was still standing there, he hadn't heard her footsteps move away from him yet.
"Did your friends forget about you?" she asked.
"Remus and Peter woke up early this morning, thinking Sirius would keep an eye on me. I lost the idiot on my way down here." he replied. "Am I even on the right floor?"
"No." she said. "We'll be late but at least we'll have a stable excuse. You not being able to see and everything."
"Think that'll get us out of detention?"
"Should. And if it doesn't, I'll just talk up to Slughorn. He likes me."
He smiled at her, knowing just how favoured she was amongst the school's staff. Horace Slughorn had a very soft spot for Miss Lily Evans, Lord can only guess why. His attention to her was nothing less than disturbing.
"Do you need help making your way down?" she asked.
"Er, yeah. Could you help?"
He felt a small, warm hand take his own. It was surprising, since Lily would never voluntarily touch him under normal circumstances. Perhaps she felt a little responsible for what happened…
"So." she said, obviously trying to start some sort of conversation. "So, how are you? Your eyes, I mean."
"They hurt a bit, at the beginning, you know? But they don't, much, anymore. It was my own fault. I mean, I should know better than to not pay attention during a game. It all just happened so fast."
"It looked frightening from the stands. I mean, Sirius was afraid your face would be smashed in."
"How about you?"
"How about me, what?"
"Were you worried?" he asked.
He noticed how she paused before speaking again, as if she was seriously contemplating telling him something.
"Yes, I was." she said.
James was surprised to hear this. He knew, sure, that she thought more of him now than she once did. But to actually be worried about him? It made something in the pits of his stomach stir with a warm, fuzzy feeling that made him slightly nauseated but in a good way.
"You are my friend now, Potter."
"We're friends?"
"Of course! Why, did you think we weren't? I swear, Potter, if you've been spreading the rumours about us…"
"That wasn't me, honest! I actually think it was Remus." he said, thinking. He stumbled on a small set of stairs.
"Careful, Potter. Sorry, I should have warned you about those. Gosh, I'm spacing today. It's probably a bad idea that I'm helping you to class."
"It's no problem. We all have those days." he chuckled.
"Anyway, you said Remus was the one spreading those rumours?" She snorted. It wasn't a pretty, little snort either. James found that he quite liked it. "You and Sirius corrupted him, didn't you?"
"You caught us. Corrupting those of pure heart and soul. If you don't watch yourself, Miss Evans, you will find yourself very much contaminated."
She laughed lightly. It wasn't a pretty sound; it was much like the snort. She stopped and said 'hello' to someone, whom he was sure was staring at the pair of them in incredulous looks. Well, Remus wouldn't be the only one spreading rumours now.
"By the way, Potter, did you dress yourself this morning?" Lily asked. "You look ridiculous."
"As ridiculous as Sirius' resolution to his boggart?"
"As much so."
"Er, yeah. I did dress myself this morning. Why, do I look that bad?"
"Several of your buttons of off. Way off. And your tie… Don't get me started on that." she said. He felt her stop. "Stand still a sec."
He felt her undoing his buttons and then redoing them. If it had been their fifth year, he would have accused her of undressing him. Now, though, he knew it was a kind gesture to help out a fellow human being.
"Thanks. Before I forget, am I wearing trousers?"
She didn't say anything, she just continued on with his buttons.
"Miss Evans, am I?"
"Hm? Oh yes, of course. Hold still a few seconds more. I'm going to fix your tie." she said.
She was quite good at that, very deft. She must do her father's ties for him. James wouldn't put it past her. Lily would be that kind and skilful; plus there was the fact that she was a daddy's girl. He'd seen it all the time at King's Cross. The man she called 'daddy' was always the first to receive her hugs and the most protective. He had caught James staring a few times and with a single glance he had scared the young man off.
"There," Lily said, "you look presentable. Come on, we're very late."
She slipped her hand back into his. He had to admit that her hand fit so well into his own. It was soft and warm and petite, just like the body it was attached to.
He smiled and squeezed it.
"Thank you, Miss Evans." he said.
"You're welcome, Potter. I'd always be willing to help a friend."
They walked in silence for a minute before she spoke up again.
"Why do you call me that?" she asked.
"What?"
"'Miss Evans.' It's a bit ridiculous."
"Well, you are an unmarried young woman and you are technically an adult in the Wizarding world. It's only appropriate."
"You can call me 'Lily,' if you want." she said after a beat.
"I can?"
"Okay… Lily. Oh, hey, Lily? You can call me 'James,' if you want."
She laughed and squeezed his hand. He smiled.
"Alright then, James. It's agreed." she said. He could tell she was smiling by the way she spoke. "You will call me 'Lily' and I will call you 'James' from now on."
"Good."
They didn't speak the rest of the way but fell into a comfortable silence. She stopped only a few times for a few things. But their walk ended at the classroom.
"We're here." she said.
James loosened his grip on her hand, but Lily didn't let go. She still held on. He was confused as she opened the door and apologised to Slughorn.
"Sorry we're late, professor." she said.
"Lily was helping me, professor." James said, covering for her. "I got a little lost and couldn't find my way."
"That's fine, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans. Please take your seats." Slughorn said. "Now, as I was saying. The Draught of Living Death…"
Someone grabbed James' arm and helped him to his chair.
"Prongs, what's going on between you and our Wild Flower?" Sirius asked. "You two are acting awfully chummy."
"Nothing, we just came to an… agreement, of sorts." James said, setting his bag on the ground. "Sorry I won't be able to help this period, Remus."
"It's fine." he heard his friend say. "So, you and Lily came to an agreement?"
"Yeah."
"And what's this agreement?"
"We're friends."
"James, we're not blind. Unlike a certain someone we know." Sirius said. "You two come in holding hands and calling one another by your first names. Neither of you have done that since first year. And that only lasted a week."
"Yes, because someone compared her eyes to a frog."
"They are an unusual shade of green… And I do believe that was you."
"Oh, sod off."
"So, you and Lily are friends now?" Peter asked, speaking up for the first time that day.
"Yeah. Apparently we've been friends for a while. She was worried about me during the Quidditch game, she told me. Friends are supposed to worry about one another and help the other out in their time of need."
"No, that's the rule for new friends who just want to get inside your pants." Sirius said. "Real friends ditch you and hang your pants up where everyone can see. Our Wild Flower saw them and blushed a lovely shade, by the way."
"…You did what now?"
Author stuff cont'd: Well, tah-dah! I wanted to write something to cheer me up, so this is what you're all getting. Did you like it?
For those who don't understand what happened, James had an accident during a Quidditch match. Let's say it was against Hufflepuff. (We're much more sneaky than people suspect! No one ever suspects the Hufflepuff.) Anyway, he was looking around to see if he could spot Lily. He spotted her and saw she was watching him. And wham! bludger to the face. This broke his glasses. Shards stabbed his eyes, temporarily blinding him. Pomfrey would have kept him longer but he charmed his way out of the Hospital Wing and promised to go back every evening to check to see how the healing process was going. So, yeah.
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