Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. All rights go to JK Rowling/Warner Bros. I do not profit in any way.
A/N: A secret santa gift for Amina (tumblr user laughsandcuriosity). Prompt: "Jily in their seventh year, Sirius, and/or cookie." Hope you like it :)
"He doesn't even look happy. I don't know why they're together."
"I blame it on the alcohol, Sugar."
"Don't call me that."
"But it matches your sweet temperament!"
"Sirius, shut the hell up and spare yourself a few braincells."
Lily saw Sirius smirk at her out of the corner of her eye, and she repressed an eyeroll, keeping her gaze firmly set on the table five metres away from them, in the middle of the library.
James was holding her hand across the table, but it seemed to be inconveniencing his reading. Lily watched him try to keep hold of the heavy textbook and turn the page with one hand, and it gave her some kind of small satisfaction to see him wince when the book fell flat on the table.
"James, are you even listening to me?" asked Michelle Abbott. She tightened her grip on his hand, making the skin around her hold turn white.
"'Course," James responded.
"He wasn't listening," Sirius said, and Lily nodded her agreement.
The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes, watching James and his girlfriend of three days. Michelle tried to make conversation with him, but he gave noncommittal replies every time.
"He doesn't like her."
"She looks like she's trying to cut off the blood circulation to his hand," Sirius observed.
"Not to mention the self-indulgent conversation," Lily added.
"She doesn't even like Quidditch," Sirius said, tearing his stare away from the couple and picking up his quill.
"Treason," Lily agreed.
Sirius went back to writing his Transfiguration essay, occasionally taking a chocolate chip cookie out of his pocket and not bothering to eat it discreetly. Lily had already turned down two lint-accented cookies, as appetizing as they looked.
Her own essay sat at a comfortable two and a half inches when her gaze was drawn away from James.
"Sirius Black!" hollered the familiar, harsh voice of Madam Pince.
Lily and Sirius spun around to see the librarian approaching, frowning and red-faced.
"Shit," Sirius said.
"She's seen your fucking cookies!" said Lily, shoving his cookie laden hand down into his lap, too late.
"No eating in the library!" The short, scary woman said, pushing her glasses up her nose and not bothering to keep her voice low in the library.
"Pincy," Sirius started, shaking his hair back and giving the batty librarian a winning Sirius Black smile. "Is this really necessary?" he dropped the biscuit back into his robe pocket. "See? Problem solved."
Madam Pince looked at him, eyes narrowed, and Lily was fairly sure that if she hadn't been worried about the safety of the book, she would have clobbered Sirius over the head with A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration.
"Out!" she screeched, picking up Sirius and Lily's books, and hurrying them off with her swatting hands. "Go!"
"Get off me, you mad old bat!" Sirius said, trying to dodge her slaps.
"Come on," Lily said, grabbing his arm and her bag.
They had to walk past James and Michelle's table on the way out.
He grinned at Lily, his hazel eyes lingering on hers for a moment too long. He'd loosened his hand from Michelle's vice-like grip.
And then he turned his smirk onto Sirius, shaking his head.
"Nice one, Padfoot," he said.
"Shut up, Prongs," Sirius snapped.
A few weeks later, Wednesday evening found Lily and James patrolling the school as Head Boy and Girl. Checking broom cupboards for stray couples, sending cheeky third years to their dormitories, docking points.
All the glamorous jobs.
They'd just been laughing from some stupid joke James had told. Lily couldn't even remember why it was funny, only that she wanted to keep laughing with him, wanted to see the ever-present sparkle of mirth in his eyes, watch him as his smile grew.
Somehow, in the aftermath, her mouth got away from her.
"How's Michelle, then?"
She could have punched herself.
Truly.
The smile slipped off of James's face, and he said, "I wouldn't know."
Despite herself, Lily's heart lifted a little.
"No?" she asked.
"No," James said, "We broke up."
He wasn't looking at her, staring straight ahead as they climbed the stairs to the astronomy tower. His expression was carefully painted blank.
Lily turned her head to look straight ahead, too. "Oh," she said. "I'm sorry."
James didn't reply for a moment. They reached the top of the staircase, and he heaved the heavy wooden door open, holding it for her. Lily mumbled a quiet thanks.
He closed it behind them.
"I'm not," he said. "Sorry, that is. The whole thing was a massive, Firewhiskey-induced mistake."
Lily fought to keep the smile off her face as she followed him to the edge of the tower, looking out over the grounds. "Was she upset?" she asked, reluctant to drop the line of questioning which was beginning to make her feel oh-so-much better.
James made a face, "Do me a favour, Evans. If you ever see me with three Firewhiskeys on the go after a Quidditch game, take two away."
"You can't blame the alcohol for all your problems, Potter."
"Just watch me," James said, smiling a little as he turned to look out over the forest again. Lily laughed.
James and Lily were silent for a few moments, lost in their separate thoughts, which happened to run in more similar paths than either of them knew.
"It's beautiful, isn't it," James said finally, breaking the silence. "My Dad always used to sneak me out of my bedroom as a kid, we'd go stargazing in the garden. They look even better here, though. He'd love them."
The smile had dropped from his face all of a sudden, and Lily caught him biting on his lower lip in an endearingly childlike fashion.
"If he's anything like you," she said after a moment, "I'm sure he saw the open night sky from a Hogwarts tower in his day."
James averted his eyes from the stars to look at Lily in that way reserved only for her; all wide, bright hazel eyes and small lopsided smiles.
And Lily desperately wanted to take his hand as he tilted his face back up towards the sky, but she didn't.
Not that time, anyway.