"Shhh you'll disturb everyone still up, Sirius!" whispered Remus Lupin, guiltily fingering his prefect badge.

"Oh Moony, when will you ever learn that the squares who care are already in bed, they're not going to be just sitting around by the fire-"

Sirius Black stopped in his tracks, stretching the invisibility cloak to its limit over the four not-so-small sixteen year old boys.

"Bloody hell Padfoot!" hissed James coming to a halt, "what are you playing at?"

Sirius did not reply, but Peter managed to quietly stammer out "It's, it's Evans, Prongs."

James turned to the other boys and said, "I'll see you boys up in the dormitory."

"Are you sure that's wise after what happened yesterday?" asked Remus cautiously, but James had already slipped out from under the cloak and was approaching the figure on the couch.

"Evans." He said gently, without getting a response.

Lily Evans lay with her elbows sat on top of the couch arm, head tilted towards an old radio on the side table which was tuned into Wizarding Wireless Network and playing a crooning Celestina Warbeck tune.

James walked around in front of her, crouching down next to her and asking again, a little more desperately, "Lily?"

Lily's face turned from the warmth of the fire and James could see that there were tiny little pearls of tears sitting in the corners of her eyes.

"Lily, please tell me what's wrong."
Lily looked at him confused, and turned back towards the fire, shutting off the wireless with a flick of her wand.

"Look, I know I'm an awful, 'arrogant bullying toe-rag' as you so aptly put it, but that doesn't mean I don't care."

"You wouldn't understand," mumbled Lily, playing with the band of her jumper sleeve. "Besides," she said with her eyes narrowing, "what are you doing out of bed?"

"I just came down from the dormitory to, uh, get my transfiguration notes…left them on the big table in the corner," James lied quickly, praying she wouldn't turn around and see the empty table.

"You're an awful liar," said Lily without looking at him, "you don't make notes for Transfiguration, and you certainly did not come down those steps. They make quite a distinct noise you know, even over the wireless."

James opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off, "-and before you lie again, I don't really care. Not today. Maybe not tomorrow either, or ever for that matter."

James was taken aback, Lily Evans, apathetic? "Lily, I know we're not really good friends, but something is most definitely up. The Lily Evans prefect extraordinaire I know would never hold back on questioning me about my misadventures."

She turned to look at him this time and said wistfully, "Well Potter, some things change…Perhaps your misadventures are no longer such a pressing issue in the current climate."

"Err, well I can't say I'm not happy about not having to explain losing more house points tomorrow at breakfast…" James replied ruffling his hair, brow furrowed, "but that still doesn't really answer my question."

Lily looked at him, scanning his face for something inexplicable, but when she found it, she started speaking, the words tumbling out with a momentum of their own, "I'm not sure I can do it anymore. Hold my head high, walk around like there's nothing going on," she sighed before continuing, "If you must know I was listening to the late night bulletin. They replayed a speech of Harold Minchum's, and he kept saying all these positive things about solidarity and that good will triumph, but he's scared, everyone is! He's doubled the amount of Dementors guarding Azkaban. Things aren't any better outside the wizarding world either, my dad's lost his job and my mum can't find one…and I don't know why I'm telling you any of this because I'm sure you actually don't care."

James lowered himself down onto the ground so he was sitting next to the couch, "Ouch Lily, I do care. You're a good person, and you don't deserve this. Nobody deserves this and that's the point. I wonder if some of these negative feelings came about because you skipped dessert to study…" he trailed off, producing a large slice of treacle tart from his pocket and offering it to her.

Lily laughed one of the tears breaking loose and running down her cheek, "my favourite!"

"Mine too," said James, "and it's always better at midnight."

"Bloody hell, is it midnight already?" Lily said her eyes widening.

"Mebee…" replied James, his mouth full of a second piece of treacle tart, "bu iz Sa-rday oomorrow."

Lily smiled trying to keep a straight face. She took a bite out of her piece treacle tart and replied, "fanks for issenin an th ood o course"

James swallowed and said, "Now you're getting it Evans. This is what life is about, midnight treacle tart."

"I'm starting to come around to your point of view I think, but seriously, thank you James. If only you could be this kind all the time."
James knew what she was talking about and took this as his chance to reprieve himself, "about that-"
Lily waved her hand rapidly in front of his face, cutting him off, "It doesn't matter James. We both know what you did yesterday was awful. Try and be a better person tomorrow."
It was James' turn for his eyes to widen in surprise. He couldn't reply, he just made gulpy noises. Lily laughed again, it was warmer this time, "Yes, the treacle tart did sweeten me up, the conversation wouldn't have gone quite this well a few hours ago…" tapping her prefect badge she added, "and anyway, isn't it time you went to bed?"

"Uh, yes, of course," James replied, scrambling up from his seated position, and heading towards the boys' staircase, "G'night Evans."

"Oh and Potter," James stopped and turned to look back at her, her smile tugging up at one corner, "Five points from Gryffindor, otherwise you'll be seen as bribing a prefect."

James pouted melodramatically in response, but when he turned around to walk up the stairs to the dormitory his grin stretched from ear to ear.