Hey! This is my first multichapter, so forgive my inexperience in updating and the like. I do hope you enjoy!
Lily Evans had been in love with James Dean for a little over a year now. Okay, not in love. You can't be in love with somebody you hardly know, right? She fancied him. She was mad about him. Okay, and he wasn't James Dean, either. There was an uncanny resemblance, though. Other than the too long hair, he could easily have passed for the muggle's twin.
Lily had worked at the Ministry of Magic for 3 years now. She had joined with big dreams of changing the wizarding world, but had fallen into a sort of routine of boredom. Everybody starts out in a division they hate, Lily. They get transferred somewhere better if they do good work. You do the best work, so you'll be fine. Lily had been doing good work for ages, but she had never been transferred. So she went to work everyday, drowning in her inability to change the world she had so desperately longed to be a part of. She had nearly given up her career in favor of quitting to become a muggle magician when she saw the handsome man.
She regulated the Floo network, and people watching had become her only solace in the monotony. She would sit in her subpar chair, eat a subpar bagel, and settle in for a day of observing the Wizarding World's Finest as they began or ended their work day. It had been a Monday, and she would always recall the way her heart skipped a beat when he went through her Floo entrance. His cheekbones cut like glass. His hair was shining like obsidian. He had a jawline for days. He was absolutely beautiful, and her heart stuttered when she saw him. He didn't see her, of course, but that day started a flurry of constant fantasies in which they met, married, and created 4 billion perfect babies. As unlikely as the dreams were, they kept her sane for a year.
It was Christmas season, and Lily was miserable. She was always miserable during the holidays, since she was utterly alone and nobody else was. The imminent threat of working on Christmas day was unavoidable for someone so kind as Lily. She could hardly bear to allow somebody else to leave their family on such a special day, so she always worked on a day that she would rather wallow in her own misery and loneliness. It was harder to wallow when she was in such a public place. Really, the only reason she could stand to come to work was the knowledge that he would be there.
As she slathered a healthy amount of strawberry cream cheese on her bagel, she eagerly watched for her James Dean to come through the Floo. He came very early in the morning, so she never worried about anybody else blocking her view. She saw his lovely hair appear, and let out a pterodactyl screech of delight. Her boss, Moody, shot her a look of disgust and amusement that she had long since learned to ignore. Lily unabashedly stared at the infatuation of her youth as he strode across the floor. He was nearly out of her view when two middle aged men in masks approached her man. Quick words were exchanged, a parcel was shoved into James Dean's hands, and he collapsed. The two men apparated away, and Lily dropped her bagel. She stared at him lying there, stared at the workers just walking around him, and stared at the package he gripped.
Nearly without thinking, she spun to apparate. The disorientation did nothing to her as she knelt next to him, calling for help.
Lily sprinted through various doors in St. Mungos as she rushed to the floor for Spell Damage. She wasn't sure that it was the correct floor, but it was the best guess she had, and she needed to find the man. The man she had saved, she thought to herself. She had needed to stay at work for the past hour to report the incident, and she had been mad with worry as she waited to meet him at last. While it wasn't exactly the love story beginning she had hoped for, she figured it wouldn't matter. It was as good a way as any, all things considered. She rushed to the desk.
"I'm here to see a man that was just brought in. He's fit, he's got dark hair-" Lily's urgent plea was cut off by the nurse's dreamy sigh.
"Oh yes, I did see him. He's absolutely yummy, isn't he?" Lily's bewildered look must have snapped the woman out of her reverie, since her next comment started the most outrageous series of events in the young woman's life. "Are you family?"
"Ah, no, but I'm-"
"Then you can't go back, dear." The nurse turned away from her, and Lily stepped back with a sigh.
"I was going to marry him." Lily's soft statement caught the woman's attention.
"Oh! You're his fiancee? That changes things! I'll take you to his room. He hasn't woken up yet, but I'm sure it would do him good to have you nearby." Lily started to correct the woman, but paused. This was it. She had been watching the man for a year, and this was the one chance she had been given to finally meet him. One chance. For all she knew, this would be it. If she didn't let this woman believe, just for a second, that Lily was his lover, she may never get the opportunity to make it really happen. It was just one woman, after all. Perhaps the lie wouldn't really matter.
Lily followed the nurse to the room. One lie isn't a big deal. And who knows, it may not even be a lie for long. Lily comforted herself with dreams of love at first sight, a fast connection, and an even faster engagement. As she approached the door, the nurse gave her a reassuring grin. Lily returned a shaky smile, and closed her eyes. This is it. The beginning of a fairy tale. She took a deep breath before entering, and pushed the door open.
While the gasp she gave at the sight of several figures already there was justified, she regretted it when they simultaneously turned around.
