A/N: I came across this and decided I might as well share it. I wrote it long ago, and I haven't edited it, so I'm aware it's rough. Anyhow, enjoy!
It was during the transitional season between spring and summer, late March turning into early April, when Lily Evans sat in the common room, the tip of her quill pressed pensively to her lips and her eyebrows furrowed as she flipped through her Transfiguration notes. It seemed an ordinary day, overlooking the upcoming exams coupled with dreary weather that had left the majority of her classmates in a sour mood. Winter was taking it's dying breaths, the last of spring's rain and chilly wind coming down harshly as if determined to make a memorable departure.
The exams were nearly six weeks away, but most of the fifth years had already began to study, revising their worst subjects late into the night (or early into the morning, depending on how you looked at it) by the warm fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. Lily had begun reviewing Transfiguration (her worst subject) two weeks ago. For some reason, she had trouble getting it completely, and when it did come it seemed slower and less effective that her work in every other field. She was always quite dissatisfied with herself in that class and worked extra hard in an effort to compensate for her lack of natural ability.
Potions, on the other hand, was her best subject. She credited that mostly to the five years spent in close proximity with one of the all-time most gifted potion makers (in her opinion, at least). Severus was naturally ingenious at it. He had a keen eye for more efficient preparation techniques and better suited ingredients than the standard instructions. Lily had told him several times to write a book, open up his own potion brewing shop, share his knowledge, do something. But Sev always just gave her one of his faint half-smiles and left her pleas unanswered.
Charms was something she had a knack for. Perhaps it was her wand (10 inch willow, swishy, good for charm work) or perhaps it was just something she was good at. Lily liked to believe it was the latter.
Transfiguration, on the other hand, was a nightmare.
And so, after having completed Prefect rounds with Remus Lupin, she nestled into a chair by the fire, cracked her Transfiguration book open, and began cramming techniques and theories and incantations in her head, as she had done every other night for the past two weeks.
However, unlike those other nights, halfway through studying a particularly difficult spell, the peaceful silence that had settled over the common room was broken by James Potter blustering loudly (and angrily, it seemed to her) down the stairs. Sirius Black followed shortly behind him, but stopped as he watched Potter duck furiously out of the portrait hole without sparing Black another glance. Lily couldn't resist.
"Trouble in paradise, Black? Have a lover's quarrel with Potter?" she asked smugly. Black didn't turn, just stared sadly at where Potter had been moments earlier. She furrowed her eyebrows.
"All right, Black? Nothing the matter?" A bit of concern leaked into her voice. She hoped he hadn't noticed. He stood up straighter.
"Yeah. Fine," Black answered stiffly, giving no indication he'd even noticed who asked. He turned abruptly on his heel and stalked back to his door. Lily listened until she could no longer hear his footsteps.
Odd, she thought. She couldn't ever remember Black and Potter fighting in the five years she'd had the misfortune of knowing them.
She shrugged, turning back to her book. It was none of her business what they got up to. She wouldn't bother herself worrying about Potter and Black. They were insufferable sods who didn't know when to keep their mouths shut. Besides, Lily had exams to worry about.
That wasn't the only peculiar thing she noticed over the next week. Sirius Black had stopped turning up for lessons, and when he did come, he sat far away from the rest of the Marauders. Remus and Peter Pettigrew seemed to ignore Black, but Potter continuously sent looks of rage and what Lily had decided was hurt towards his ex-best friend.
In all honesty, she felt bad for Black. He seemed completely miserable. And while she noticed he never approached his old friends, or made an effort to reconcile, he did shoot them many apologetic and longing looks. It was as if he wanted to be back in with them, but knew he wasn't welcome. Lily found this very strange.
It'd trickled through the grapevine that James Potter had saved Severus Snape's life. Apparently, Severus had strayed a bit too close to the Whomping Willow, and Potter had snatched him back in time. She couldn't help but notice that this act of heroism coincided with the abrupt shunning of Black. Lily wondered what the two had in common. She was quite suspicious there was more to the story than let on.
During their rounds, she prodded Remus for information on the Marauder's sudden disdain for Sirius Black, but he never gave way. He took on a coldly polite tone and gave one worded answers. Eventually, Lily stopped asking.
She thought of asking Sev what he knew about it, but decided against it when he broached the subject himself. He always got out of sorts when Potter was mentioned, and he seemed almost deranged as he accused Lily of James Potter fancying her. She appeased him with the knowledge that she hated the breaths he drew.
Once he'd began subtly hinting at his theory of Remus's lycanthropy, Lily became positive that she would definitely not be asking Severus for his theories about Black. She, of course, was certain that Remus was a werewolf. She was intelligent after all, and had noticed herself that his disappearances always happened to correspond with the full moon. Not to mention the fact that she'd gone to visit him once in the hospital wing once he'd gotten back (they had forged a sort of friendship through their Prefect duties) and recognized his injuries as that of a werewolf. She realized he must've done it to himself.
But Lily would never admit to anyone that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Not even Severus. No, she would not give him the satisfaction. It was Remus's secret to tell, if he chose to do so. It was not her place to gossip about other's misfortune.
She had not overlooked the fact that James Potter had saved Severus's life on the night of a full moon. She had the sneaking suspicion that Potter had saved him from more than a tree.
But that still didn't explain why Black had been exiled so coldly.
She watched from where she sat between Marlene McKinnon and Mary MacDonald as Sirius sat alone, playing with his dinner. He was a few seats down from them, and he kept sending miserably hopeful glances towards where Potter, Remus, and Pettigrew sat. It broke her heart.
Finally, Lily could take no more of this heart wrenching display and got up, assuring her friends she'd be back momentarily. She felt very conspicuous as she walked down the length of the table towards Black. She was sure that no one was actually watching her, but she felt as if every pair of eyes in the entire Great Hall followed her. She didn't waver as she took the seat opposite Sirius Black.
"Hello, Sirius," Lily greeted, lacing her hands together and setting them on the table in front of her. The boy across from her kept his head downcast, but slid his gaze to her face. She tucked some hair behind her ear.
"How are you?" she continued, pleasantly. He mumbled something incoherent that Lily didn't catch. They were both quiet for a moment. She could feel eyes boring into the side of her head, and she shifted her gaze to glance at where she knew Potter was staring at her. As soon as she caught sight of the heated glare cast their way, she quickly turned back to Black. Lily was unsurprised to discover he was looking at Potter as well.
"He's staring at us, isn't he?" Sirius looked back at her and nodded grimly.
"Seems a bit wound up, don't you agree?" she noted conversationally, picking up a goblet and pouring some pumpkin juice into it.
"He isn't exactly thrilled with me at the present time," Sirius admitted. "And I highly doubt you coming over here helped anything."
"Sorry," Lily answered breezily, sipping her drink. "Didn't mean to have caused you any trouble. I just couldn't stand watching you looking so hopelessly miserable. Always had a bit of a soft spot for the pathetic."
"Thanks." His sarcasm was not lost on Lily.
"Just being honest."
They sat there looking at each other silently for a long time.
"Thanks for the concern and all, but I can take care of myself," Sirius said coolly, leaning back, away from Lily and the table. She did the same.
"Can you?" They continued their staring match. Finally, Sirius cracked. He shoved his plate away dejectedly, leaning his elbows against the tabletop, and resting his head in his hands. She could hear his muffled groan. He swore quietly.
"What do you want, Evans?" the words were stifled by his hands, still cradling his face. The sheer sorrow in his voice made her expression soften, her tone gentle.
"I just thought you might like some company, is all. You've been alone all week. Ever since I saw you and Potter that night in the common room."
He lifted his face, and his expression completely broke her heart. His eyes looked completely dead, sans the pain she could see buried deep in the cool grey of his eyes, his lips trembled slightly as though fighting back the urge to sob. He wouldn't look her in the eye. He visible swallowed and his breaths were shallow as he regained his composure. When he looked back up at her there was fire in his eyes.
"Well, I don't. I'm completely fine by myself, thanks. I can take care of myself. I've been alone my entire sodding life. I don't need to be bloody coddled and looked out for, especially not by you. You don't even like me, Evans. I don't need your pity." Lily shrugged, running her little finger around the rim of her now empty goblet, watching him closely.
"If you say so, Black. It doesn't matter to me either way."
"Fine." Sirius stood up. Lily stayed seated, watching him with disinterest. She wouldn't get upset. That was exactly what he wanted, to get a rise out of her.
"Fine."
She watched him go, noting from the corner of her eye that Potter was still looking at her and had most likely closely observed the entire exchange. Finally, after she'd stared after Black, she got up and rejoined her friends at their previous spot.
Sirius Black and his happiness, after all, was not her responsibility.
That night the worst storm they'd encountered all week raged outside. Rain beat harshly on the roofs, wind whistled as it whipped loudly past the tower. Lily lay in bed, unable to sleep. Something about this storm was disconcerting. The storms that had plagued Hogwarts in the past week had been much smaller, growing and building to the monsoon that now lay outside her window. She shuddered as a boom of thunder and crack of lighting shook Gryffindor tower.
Eventually, becoming extremely fed up with lying in bed as the storm thrashed around her, she accepted that tonight would be one that she would not be getting much sleep and threw back her covers. She pushed her curtains away and moved towards the window.
The downpour outside beats down on the glass. As she peered through the streaks, desperately trying to make out the grounds below, a particularly loud bout of thunder sounded and she jumped. Deciding that staying in her dorm was pointless, Lily crept from the room towards the common room.
Embers in the fire glowed sleepily, having long been extinguished, and dousing the entire room in an eerie orange glow. She struggled to make out what the hands on the clock over the mantle pointed to, but eventually came to the conclusion that it was a quarter past two. Without waiting for her eyes to adjust (she could make the journey blind and backwards), Lily moving to sit on the couch.
She did not come into contact with the soft, comforting cushion, but instead something lumpy and stiff.
Or rather someone.
Immediately, she jumped up, just as the person rolled off the sofa and onto the floor with a loud huff. Lily had her wand pointed at the mysterious stranger before they'd even gotten their bearings. Her illuminated wand pointed straight into the face of Sirius Black.
"Oi! Can't a bloke get any sleep around here?" he grumbled irritably. Lily glared, breathing hard. Her free hand clutched her chest.
"Bloody hell, Black. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Well, that's hardly my sodding fault, is it? You're the one who sat on me. And for Christ's sake, get your wand out of my bloody face!"
She dropped her wand, sticking it into the pocket of her white pyjama shorts. She's suddenly very aware that she's standing in front of Sirius Black in nothing but a pair of pyjama shorts and a pink camisole. She isn't even wearing a bra. She felt heat creep up her body, but refuses to give any indication of embarrassment.
"What in the hell are you doing down here? Why aren't you asleep?" Sirius grunted.
"I was asleep until you came storming in here, throwing me to the ground and screaming like a banshee," he grumbles. Lily crossed her arms and brushes some of her hair back.
"Why aren't you sleeping in your bed?" she's still angry, but the words come out soft. Pitying. Sirius bristles.
"I don't particularly get on with my roommates at the moment, and I've decided it's better for everyone if I just sleep down here for a few nights." Thunder sounds and rain pelts the roof even more savagely. Lily speaks up to be heard over the commotion that the thunderstorm is making.
"If you'd only just talk to them. I can't imagine doing anything bad enough to make them hate you so much they can't even sleep in your presence." Sirius looks at her darkly.
"You've no idea."
He gets off the floor back onto the couch, pulling the blanket he'd been wrapped up in over his lap. She sits on the arm and he fiddles with loose threads in the blanket. Neither speaks. Finally, Lily caves.
"So, what did you do, exactly?" Sirius seems unsurprised by her question, but doesn't answer straight away.
"I was stupid and immature and thought it would be funny to endanger someone's life and throw away someone's trust." Lily admires his honesty.
"But it wasn't funny," he continues. "It wasn't funny at all. And it wasn't even something I thought about. I just saw the opportunity and… did it."
"You sent Severus to the Whomping Willow, didn't you?" she asked softly after a few minutes of listening to the patting of rain. He looks at the carpet and nods ashamedly.
"I've always thought this rivalry you and James have had with Severus is ridiculous. Someone's going to get hurt someday-someone nearly did get hurt. Perhaps this will be a lesson to you next time you do something foolish without considering the consequences."
"I crossed the line, Lily," Sirius mumbles miserably. "I-I did something completely unforgivable. Now everyone hates me. I deserve it, of course. I'd hate me too, if I were them." A beat passes by. "I'm sorry."
Lily slides off the arm of the couch and moves to sit by Sirius. She doesn't put her arm round him or pat his back, but her presence is comforting to him. Like a mother.
"I know you are. And it's alright. We all do stupid things that we regret sometimes."
Lightning strikes and the common room in momentarily lit up. Lily shivers and Sirius offers her part of his blanket. She takes it, wrapping it around her midsection.
"They'll get over it, Sirius. You've just got to give it time. You'll see." He shakes his head sadly.
"I don't think they will. I really betrayed their trust, besides nearly killing Snape and James, in the process." The hopelessness in his voice prompts Lily to reach out and rub his forearm soothingly.
"How the hell did this happen, anyways?" Sirius asks her. "You comforting me after James and Remus and Peter have tossed me to the curb. What kind of world are we living in that you aren't calling me an insufferable prat and threatening to hex of my bollocks?" The arrogant smirk in his voice is a thousand times better than the hopeless misery that recently inhabited it, but it irritates her nonetheless.
"I never said you weren't a prat. And the night is still young." She menacingly taps him with the tip of her wand for emphasis. Sirius laughs, but it soon turns to a sigh.
"I'm a git."
"Yeah, you are."
"How can you stand to be around me?" he asked. "Even my best mates find me intolerable."
"It comes and it goes. I suppose I'm just a sap for hard luck stories."
"You should go to bed. It's late. I'm tired, anyway," he tells her. Lily clasps her hands together.
"Not unless you promise to go upstairs. You can't sleep down here, really. It's humiliating, and I'm fairly certain it's a school rule-" He snorts at this. "-Plus, it's not like they're waiting with rope and a gag to pitch you off the astronomy tower. I'd say it's a safe bet they're all sleeping soundly." He rubs his arm uncertainly.
"I've already caused enough trouble."
"They miss you," Lily says softly. She knows it's true. She can tell by the way the other three regard him. Especially Potter. He is quiet, thinking, considering her words.
"No," he finally declares with a sigh. "No, I'll stay here." She frowns and abruptly gets up.
"Alright, enough of this moping. For goodness sake, are you a Gryffindor or not?" The moonlight from a window glints off his eyes as he stares at her, hands on hips and clad in only pyjamas and a stern expression. She snatches his wrist, dragging him off the sofa. "Well, come on then!"
Lily pulls him up the stairs despite his feeble protests. She demands he show her which door is his door, and when he does promptly throws it open and switches on the light. Irritated groans and curses fill the air as she shoves Black into the room and blocks his exit, leaning against the doorframe with her arms cross. The swift swishing of material and clangs of the curtains being drawn back begin fills the air as three boys are pulled from their slumber at two thirty in the morning by the storm that is Lily Evans. She is much more dangerous and much more persistent than the downpour that throws a tantrum outside.
Peter squints confusedly back and forth between Lily and Sirius. Remus coolly leans against his bedpost, avoiding either's gaze. James gropes blindly for the glasses laying on his nightstand. Everyone waits patiently for him to speak as he gets his bearings. As soon as the spectacles are on, he looks confused.
"Evans? What the hell are you doing here?" Potter's eyes roam her bare legs and the camisole that clings to her upper half.
"Nice outfit," he finally says, smirking at her. His eyes still haven't met hers and she frowns at the unclean thoughts she's positive are running through his mind. Lily is sure that if she said nothing, he'd never notice his ex-best friend standing in the room.
"Same to you," she snarls, quirking an eyebrow at the red flannel pyjamas covered in golden snitches that he's wearing.
"James," Lily begins, standing straighter. She's not sure if the use of his given name will work in her favor, but she's willing to give it a shot. "I swear on my wand, I will go on a thousand dates with you, I will snog you every day of the week from now till next term, I will let you have your way with me for an hour, I will do anything if you just be his friend again." She gestures madly at Sirius who is standing guiltily in the corner.
"Honestly," she continues, rolling her eyes. "The mood that's fallen over this school. It's as if someone's died. I would like to be able to sit on the sofa in the common room without having to worry if there's going to be someone sleeping there." She turns to look at Peter and Remus, pointing her finger at all three in turn.
"You should be ashamed of yourselves. Turning your back on Black just because of one terribly foolish and insensitive mistake. He's stood by each of you when you've done something stupid. Some of you multiple times." Her eyes flit to James. "I know that he can be an awful git sometimes, but he's your friend, and he's completely miserable without you. Don't you think he's been punished enough?"
The boys are all quiet. None of them will look at Lily.
"She's right," Remus finally says. He's staring straight at Sirius. "Sirius, you did a really stupid thing. But Lily's right. You're our friend."
"It hasn't been the same without you, mate!" Peter interjects, all too happy to jump on the bandwagon and accept Sirius back into their group. Sirius gives them each small smiles and turns to Potter.
"Prongs?" he says hopefully. James scratched his head. His hair stands on end, looking as if he's been electrocuted. He adjusts his glasses and purses his lips. Thunder is rumbling, but quieter as if resigning. There is something about the noise of rain slowing on the roof and windows and the lulling sound of the quieting thunder that suggests finality.
"You were a right tosser, Padfoot. But, I suppose they're right. Everyone deserves a second chance." Sirius beamed and lunged at James, throwing his arms around his neck and ruffling his hair.
"God, I've missed this," he says, practically glowing with happiness.
"Seems as if my work here is done," Lily mutters, stifling a yawn. She leaves the reunited friends in favor of her warm bed. She curls up and falls asleep almost instantly, the storm that plagued her earlier in the night dying away.
The next morning the sun is shining brightly on the reconciled best friends, all signs of a storm forgotten. Because all storms can only last so long. Eventually, the sun will come out.
I really love the idea of Lily and Sirius being friends.
I think it's super cute.
Tossed in a bit of Lily/James just for fun.
Once again, it's an old piece.
Cheers!
-C