disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
dedicated to: Glass (GlassCaseOfEmotion) for the Hugs & Happiness Challenge. I hope you like this, Glass! :3
written for: If You Dare, Pairing Diversity Bootcamp, Popular Songs Competition: As Long As You Love Me, Hugs & Happiness - Glass, Camp Potter: Campfire Songs, Fanfiction Academy: Mathematics Assessment 1, Hogwarts Online's Daily Prompt - "What did I ever do to deserve you?"
you cry a little in the dark, well so do i
- David Bowie, Letter to Hermione
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James Potter and Lily Evans first met on a train. That first second in time that they locked eyes, that first time that they exchanged words, was the beginning of something much bigger than just the two of them.
Not that they knew that.
The entire ordeal was a coincidence: if Lily's sister Petunia hadn't called Lily a freak, causing a boy named Severus Snape to comfort her, causing the two of them to be late in boarding the Hogwarts Express, maybe they would have gotten their own compartment. Maybe they wouldn't have stumbled upon an already-occupied compartment; maybe they wouldn't have met two practically fearless boys swinging invisible swords.
But they did. And the magical world would never be the same again.
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Before we continue, dear reader, there are some things you may be interested to know about our heroes. For instance, Lily Evans' middle name was Ruby, which was short for Rubella, which meant "red" in Latin. Her hair didn't come out for three weeks after her birth, but once it did, her parents knew instantly that they made the right choice.
James Potter's middle name was Harold, after his father. Harold wasn't a very popular name, or a very common one, but James liked it. Although, let it be said that he usually prefered to shorten the name to Harry, rather than Harold.
Now, back to the story.
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Harold and Delilah Potter had a son quite late in life, which attributed to the fact that James Potter grew up pampered, and rich. Going to Hogwarts, he met another pampered rich boy - but this one didn't want the gold, or the fame, or the power. This one wanted belonging.
This one's name is Sirius Black, and he is one of the most important characters in this story. James learns a lot from him, and vice versa. Sirius Black is also the first to declare Lily Evans "Red."
"Are you trying to be funny?" the girl asked incredulously, looking up in her armchair at the the boy's face, not quite believing what she was hearing. He didn't seem to be joking - but how could he know? Lily hadn't told anyone the secret surrounding her middle name yet, in February of her first-year, and she didn't plan to.
Sirius shook his head. "Nope," he said, moving forward so that he was able to examine Lily fully. "Your hair is red, your shirt is red, your eyebrows are red, you sneakers are red, and your cheeks - " He smirked. " - your cheeks are red, too."
"You're a prat," Lily answered sourly, accidentally moving her foot slightly to the right, so that it nudged him in the gut, and picking up her bag to a chorus of wails from Sirius Black as she walked up the steps to the girls' dormitories.
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The day that James Potter and Sirius Black met Peter Pettigrew was certainly a fateful day. Huddling under James' Invisibility Cloak, the two boys snuck into the kitchens and out as quickly as possible.
After successfully retrieving enough food for a feast in Gryffindor Tower, James and Sirius were on their way back when - bam! An explosion went off like a firework, and they were all pushed backwards. "Sorry," a voice said while they were sitting up. "It's all my fault - I should've been paying more attention." The boy's light, light hair was in stark contrast to his dark, dark eyes.
"What's your name?" Sirius demanded.
"Peter."
"I ought to throw my grapefruit at you, Peter," James joked after a few seconds of silence, with a wicked half-smile on his face.
Unfortunately, he didn't.
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The next morning - a Monday morning - James and Sirius ended up by the Shrieking Shack, goofing around and joking. There weren't any classes until noon, so they were both carefree and smiling - at least, until there was a noise from inside the Shack.
James' eyes widened. He turned to Sirius, only to see his own shocked and slightly excited expression reflected there. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" James whispered. Sirius nodded.
They walked, calmly yet nervously yet excitedly, into the Shrieking Shack, and another boy's fate was sealed as they did so.
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"Hello?" Sirius called while James searched. They'd found nothing yet, unless you counted scraps of curtain and marks that might've been claws. Finally, after searching for the better part of an hour, they came across a room in the very back, with a boy strewn across the floor, wearing a gray shirt with holes and sporting sandy blonde hair.
"Why, hello," Sirius said cheerfully - and loudly. The boy jerked awake, looking startled. It would take a month or so before he became used to having friends; but he would, eventually, and they would be there.
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Now, dear reader, I'm going to have to ask you to fast-forward a few years: Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter are now the Marauders, Lily and Severus Snape have been drifting apart due to his strange and cruel friends, and all the while, Albus Dumbledore has been watching.
Our story resumes on a warm summer's day, with the sun shining and the stream gleaming in the background, weeks before the term would end. Out on the courtyards, students gathered in clumps or sat solo, soaking up sun and at the same time, saying goodbye, for they would not be coming back the next year.
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Lily Evans sat with her friends, listening to them giggle while letting her eyes roam lazily over everything around her. There was Paris Franklin, strutting down the granite paths wearing a black cocktail dress. Lily rolled her eyes; the party was all-girls, so, obviously, all the girls had to wear their dresses outdoors, to make sure that the boys could see.
There was Severus. Her eyes darkened a bit at the sight of him.
And there was - James Potter. Walking directly towards her.
"Oh, no," Lily groaned into her hands, separating herself from the rest of the girls slightly as Potter got closer still. He was probably coming to ask her out, again, and she was not in a tolerating mood.
James nodded as he reached her. "Evans," he said calmly.
"Potter," she answered, a bit surprised at how.. how normal he was acting.
"How are you?" he asked, seeming distracted, staring into space with those hazel eyes that she'd always thought were more amber than brown.
Lily shook her head to clear it. "I'm fine, and you?" He sighed.
"I'm okay - but I have a question - "
"James," she sighed. "No offense, but I'm tired of you asking me out of all of the time. And we're about to leave school. Then how will you harass me?"
"Lily - "
But she was just getting started. "I mean, what did I ever do to deserve you? I didn't bother you, you just automatically came onto me, and I'll admit, it used to be cute."
"Stop, please - "
"It's not cute anymore, though. Did you hear what Velma Edwards told everyone yesterday? She said that she was going to name her child Morag, and then Robert McDougal came up and told everyone that their child would be named Morag McDougal. And it was all very sweet, but it made me think that no boy will ever be interested in me with you around, always - "
"Lily. Stop. Now!" She did. His eyes were mutinous.
"I came to ask for your forgiveness, not to get a lecture." His voice was hard, and her breath caught.
"I'm sorry, James, I'm so sorry - I didn't realize - "
But he was already gone.
Later that day, she heard Sirius whisper something about "his parents" and "dead."
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The next day, she was sitting by the window in the Common Room, when she saw James trudging through the night to the Quidditch pitch. There was a slight second of hesitation, and then she stood up and made way to the door. After passing Filch, she opened the doors of the school and took a deep breath of the clean, night air.
Her only light was the moon, huge and bright that Tuesday evening. She walked slowly until she saw him in the sky; he looked like some sort of bird, swooping and twirling and soaring in midair.
"James!" Lily called. She saw his head turn slightly, and she heard a faint sigh. Then he was speeding towards the ground, coming to land right in front of her.
His amber eyes searched her warily. "What do you want, Evans?" For the first time, she was happy to hear him call her by her surname. It meant that they were normal again.
"I just wanted to apologize, for last night. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that - especially not - not when - " Lily faltered, seeing his expression change for the worse.
"Not when my parents are dead?" James' voice was strangely quiet, but it demanded attention. "I'm different now, because I'm an orphan? You don't want to upset me? Well, you had no problem upsetting me back when - back when I had parents."
Lily stared at him. She watched as a streak of silver appeared on his face, slowly streaming downwards. "James," she said softly, gently. "You'll be okay. Maybe not now, but someday."
James hid his face in his hands. "Lily, I don't need your comfort right now."
"Yes, you do," she answered. "You need someone. It's alright to cry, James, everyone cries. Even James Potter. Even Lily Evans."
"James Harold Potter," he corrected her, and then he succumbed to the tears.
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The rest of that night, Lily and James sat, talked, cried, and slept out on the Quidditch pitch. She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder, and when she awoke, with the sun shining above her and the light glinting off of his glasses, making his eyes shine even more, there was really only one thing to do.
Lily kissed James, and that was the second beginning of something much bigger than just the the two of them.
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a/n: please don't favorite without reviewing, thanks. also, constructive criticism is welcome, because i'm not very happy with this at the moment.