Even Better

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero."

—Marc Brown

Lily Potter stumbled through the falling snow, her wand lighting the way. Part of her ached to be back in her dormitory already, but another part just wanted to be alone. She wasn't in the mood to listen to Pippa's endless questions on where she had been. Lily knew they would be warranted—it was nearly curfew and she had been gone for hours—but that didn't make them any more enjoyable to answer.

Lily shivered and cursed as her knit cap flew off her head. She really needed to invest in those bobby pins her dorm mates were always raving about. She halted her progress and reached down to pick the hat up. Green and silver stripes glared at her from the snowy ground.

Her stomach lurched.

It wasn't hers. She had been in such a hurry to get away that she had grabbed the closest thing to her. How could she have accidentally taken his hat?

Her eyes filled with tears and she took off at a run, leaving the cap behind.

Time ran together in a cold, miserable mess until she reached the front doors of the castle. The bell had already signaled the start of curfew, but she couldn't muster up the energy to care. She had to find a bathroom or a private corridor—anywhere to get away.

"Lil?"

Lily's steps faltered on the second floor staircase. She knew that voice.

Without a second thought she turned around and hurled herself into a pair of long arms.

"Lil, what's wrong?" Albus tightened his hold on her. "Why aren't you in Gryffindor Tower?"

Lily took a deep breath and buried her face farther into Albus' chest. She could feel his prefect badge pressing into her cheek, but she was reluctant to give up the embrace. She could finally feel herself calming down.

"Lily," Albus' voice was accompanied by a small shake. "Talk to me, yeah? What's wrong?"

Lily waited a moment before pulling back to look up at her brother, allowing her head to clear. Upon studying his matured stance, she realized just how long it had been since she really looked at him. He had grown taller since he had started his sixth year, and Lily could see where he had missed shaving this morning, probably from oversleeping after a late-night study session. His eyes were crinkled with concern and he opened his mouth to, presumably, ask his question again. She spoke quickly to stave him off.

"Al, please. I don't want to talk about it."

Lily deliberately widened her doe eyes, praying Albus would just let it go. Mere seconds ago she had wanted nothing more than his comfort, but now she just wanted to go to bed. This was not a story she meant to share with her brother.

"Lily, do I ever fall for those eyes of yours?"

Lily dropped the pretense.

"You used to," she scoffed.

"That was before you learned to manipulate them."

"That was before you taught me how."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "James taught you that."

"Keep telling yourself that, Al." Lily gave him a cheeky smile, glad for the banter. Since the start of their childhood, Albus had always been able to cheer Lily up—the two had been close from the moment Lily could follow him around the house. Her past four years at Hogwarts had only strengthened their bond, forcing Lily to go to Albus in search of Potions tutoring and survival skills—she had learned early on to fact check with Al whenever James opened his mouth.

"Lily," Albus pressed, pulling the redhead back to the surface. "What happened?"

Lily sighed. "Al, you really don't want to know."

"Lily."

Lily threw up her hands in frustration. "Fine—but you have to do something first."

"What's that?"

"You have to stop being a brother."

There was a beat of silence before Albus raised his brows. "What?"

"You have to stop being a brother," she repeated. "I won't tell you if you're going to act like a brother."

"Lily," Albus said slowly, catering his voice for a small child. "I am your brother."

"Well, yes, but sometimes you don't act like it. Sometimes you're more of a friend—that's who I want to talk to. Not my brother."

Lily was adamant. Now it was Albus' turn to sigh.

"You're looney. You know that, right?"

Lily flashed him a crooked grin. "That's my name."

Albus led her to the top step and sat down, inviting her to do the same.

"Ok, so, friend; not brother. I can manage that. Now spit it out."

Lily cringed slightly before beginning her story, knowing she wouldn't make it very far.

"Well, I was outside this evening with Scorpius and—"

"—Wait, what?"

"Albus!" Lily shoved him on the shoulder. "Friend, remember?"

Albus' nostrils flared as he settled his temper. He nodded his head for her to continue.

"We were outside on the Quidditch Pitch, looking at the stars—it was hours ago, before it started to snow—and things were going great. He had charmed a blanket to stay warm and we had brought a radio and butterbeer. It was perfect." She paused to gage Albus' reaction. He definitely didn't look pleased, but he wasn't storming toward the Slytherin dorms, either, which was definitely a plus.

"So, we were just talking and watching the sky, but between the blanket and the butterbeer, we got a little too comfortable, I guess, and we fell asleep." She saw her brother's mouth opening once more and jumped in before he could speak. "Friend, Albus. Friend."

Albus took a deep breath before asking his question as calmly as possible.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!" Lily spoke louder than intended and took a moment to look around before continuing. "We were just sleeping—but then we woke up and saw how late it was and…he got really upset, Al."

Albus' forehead creased. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he jumped up when I woke him, naturally, but it wasn't just because of curfew. He was…he was embarrassed. He kept muttering about staying out late with a halfblood and about how stupid he had been." Lily's eyes welled up with tears once more. "Al, things were so perfect. Why would he say something like that?"

Albus sighed. Friend-agreement or not, he was going to kill Scorpius.

"Because boys are prats, Lily."

"But he's never said anything like that before! He's never minded that I'm a halfblood."

In order to give himself time to gather his thoughts, Albus pulled his sister closer, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Sometimes when a guy gets worried about what his mates will think, he makes any excuse he can to brush it off as a moment of stupidity," he finally settled on. "I've seen James do it a half dozen times over the years—it doesn't matter if he likes the girl or not. He just gets so overwhelmed by the situation that he doesn't want to have to handle it."

Lily pulled away to look Albus in the eye.

"I don't understand."

Albus gave her a sad smile.

"Believe me, neither do we."

Lily laid her head on Albus' shoulder, letting things go quiet.

"Boys are stupid," she said after a while.

Albus let out a small chuckle. "Rose told me those exact words just last week."

The silence of the corridor took over again as they studied the cracks on the stair case, Albus' prefect duties long-forgotten.

"Hey Al?"

"Hm?"

"You're pretty good at this whole friend-thing."

Albus smiled.

"Oh, I can afford to be," he said as he jostled her a bit. "Because James sure as hell won't be when he finds out."

Lily jerked back.

"You wouldn't."

"Hey, someone has to be the brother around here, and since it can't be me…" Albus trailed off, watching his sister's expression darken.

"Never mind," she said with a scowl. "I don't want to be friends with you. You're a jerk."

Albus put an arm out to pull her into a hug, but Lily didn't reciprocate the gesture. She punched him on the shoulder and scooted down a step.

"Well, every friendship has its ups and downs," he continued. "Ours was just short-lived."

Lily sucked on her teeth and sent a glare his way.
"You're an arse."

"Nope," Albus said, a smile overtaking his face. "I'm a brother."

A/N: Thanks for reading, everybody! This was written for Round Two of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. I, as Captain of the Caerphilly Catapults, had to write about a familial friendship. Thanks again for taking the time to check out my story! If you have time, please leave a review or shoot me a PM with any comments or criticisms! I really appreciate all of the feedback I get :)