Hi! I was recently on Tumblr (mine is shadowjays, if you want to check it out) and I found this James and Lily head-cannon that I couldn't stop thinking about. So really, all credit to this idea goes to there-is-a-bluebird on Tumblr, I simply expanded on what was already there.
I haven't written anything for any fandom in a while and I haven't really been into it but I couldn't shake this idea.
This was written in about an hour and it isn't very good, so all mistakes are mine, haha!
Please leave feedback or whatever, Thanks and Enjoy!
When Professor Branstone announced in the middle of spring semester that they would begin working on the Patronus charm, James Potter was utterly un-phased. He and his friends had successfully transformed into full animaguses over a year ago, and he knew his Patronus would take the same shape of a stag. So, when the day came that the Professor was testing them on their charms, James knew he would have no problem.
Sirius was just telling him about some Veela girl he met in the Three Broomsticks and Remus was calling it bull shit when 'Evans, Lily' was called up to the front to cast her charm. James had been enamored with Lily Evans for years, and she still didn't seem to like him, even after all this time. (I mean, all he did was constantly pick on her greasy haired, hook nosed, Slytherin former best friend, but still.)
All the same, James was still listening to Sirius, who was now explaining how he got his Veela friend to go with him to the Shrieking Shack, he saw Evans scrunching up her face, which was currently almost as fiery red as her hair. She shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" and a large, familiar, silvery figure burst out of her wand.
He noticed the spindly legs and the broad body and – oh my god.
James Potter felt his mouth drop straight open.
Lily Evan's Patronus was a doe. A doe, which was the female counterpart, the pair, of a stag. His stag. His friends were never going to let him live this one down.
But when James Potter glanced over at Sirius, Remus, and Peter, fully expecting three shit eating grins, but he all he found was three pairs of eyes filled with bewilderment. The class, however, who didn't realize anything out of the ordinary had just occurred, were applauding Evans on her charm and James thinks he hears the Professor say something about full marks, but he can't focus on anything but her.
He knows she sees him staring at her, and she had an annoyed look cloud her previously proud expression. She stared at him for a moment before sitting down with a quiet huff.
The wheels in James' brain were turning. His Patronus and her Patronus match, which has to mean something, right?
Bloody Hell, he is so immensely screwed.
He was startled out of his reverie when he heard Professor Branstone call his name from the front. Brilliant.
He knew that when Lily Evans saw his Patronus that she would know something is up, as would the rest of the class. He couldn't do that to her. So James Potter stood up and sauntered down to the Professor's desk and began to speak. "Er – Professor," he was whispering, but he knew the whole class could hear him. "I was wondering if I would be able to, erm, just preform my charm for you after class? Alone?"
The Professor gives him a curt nod of her head, "Very well, Potter. But no funny business."
James shot her a thankful look before heading back to his seat, and he can hear a few people snickering. James sat through the rest of class and watched everyone else attempt at the charm. Sirius and Remus were back to their argument about one thing or another, and he knew that he was being unusually quiet, but he just couldn't stop thinking about that Patronus.
When the bell rings and the rest of the Gryffindor Sixth Years head to Dinner, James made sure the room is cleared and made his way to the Professor's desk.
He shut his eyes and thought of the party they held after winning the Quidditch Cup last year, and he shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" He opened his eyes and saw his familiar silver stag gallop around the room a bit before disappearing out the door with a trail of white mist.
Professor Branwell nods her head and has a surprised look on her face. "I doubted you Potter, but I'm impressed. Full marks."
James thanked her again for letting him stay after, collected his books and left to go down to supper. He was unaware that Lily Evans was outside watching the whole thing.
You can say she was a little bit suspicious that the great and powerful James Potter didn't wish for the class to see his Patronus. So curiously, she hid right outside of the door of the classroom. Peering inside, she saw Potter close his eyes, smile, and cast his charm. The first thing she notices is the horns. And the spindly legs and the broad body … no way.
Lily raises a hand to her chest and feels her heart beating rapidly, and she knows this has to be some kind of elaborate prank…right?
The stag gallops past her and disappears about halfway down the corridor and Lily is reeling from the fact that she and James Potter have matching Patronuses. She hardly has any time to throw herself into a nearby broom closet to avoid being seen.
After she makes sure the corridor is clear, Lily steps out, still in shock. Why had he waited until after to complete the charm? Surely James Potter didn't wait after class just to save her from embarrassment. There was no way…
As Lily makes her way down to dinner she is annoyed by the swooping sensation in her stomach and the smile that doesn't seem to leave her face. Wait, what?
Oh, she thinks, she is so massively screwed.