Note: Highschool!AU

Lily Luna grabbed her guitar case and started to pack her guitar up. She was shaking her head while the idle chatter faded in the distance. She couldn't do this.

"What do you think you're doing?" came a voice behind her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, turning around swiftly with a glare. "Are you trying to give someone a heart attack, Scorpius?" she hissed.

Scorpius folded his arms, an eyebrow raised. "Maybe you need the boost because it looks like you're flailing out on the show."

Lily bit her lip, looking up at her blond friend. His expression didn't waver, and Lily knew it was futile to argue with him. With a sigh, she stood up and dusted her hands.

"I can't go out there," she expressed in a low tone. "Did you see how many people are out there?"

He nodded. "As a matter of fact, I have. It's a full house in the auditorium wanting to hear you perform for the school assembly, Lils."

She swallowed hard; her nerves were starting to get the better of her. "I shouldn't have agreed to this, Scorpius. I'm not as good, really. I should tell the principal I'm not feeling well and–"

Scorpius was standing in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. Green eyes met grey.

"Lily Luna," he said. "You're the most talented guitarist this school has ever had. You even have a voice to match it. Do you really want one of those banshees like Mulberry to go and pierce everyone's ears?"

She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the dark-haired bully going onstage and screeching everyone's ears off. Laughing made things feel a little bit better for her.

Shaking her head, Lily said, "No. No, I don't want that."

"So will you go out there?"

"Only because I don't want to see Mulberry onstage."

Scorpius rubbed her cheek with his thumb; the gesture was extremely comforting. "Atta girl. You've got this, so believe in yourself."

"Ms Potter! We'll need you in ten minutes!" came the principal's voice.

Lily took a deep breath and looked back at Scorpius. He gave her a gentle smile and a wink before making his way from backstage. As he walked away, Lily couldn't help but think that she had the best friend ever.

She took her guitar out of the case, strapping its strap around her shoulder as she headed for the stage. With each step, she mentally told herself that she could do it, that she could get through two songs easily.

Passing through the curtains, Lily was met with a full house as Scorpius had said. All of the school had come for the assembly; sweat started to build around her forehead.

Then she found the grey eyes of her best friend in one of the middle rows, giving her a look that told her that she better keep her butt on that stage. He was endearing in his own way, and Lily was grateful for it.

Lily approached the mic standing front and centre of the stage, the principal coming behind her with a handheld mic to start the beginning of the assembly. She didn't hear the words coming from his mouth, only watching as the crowd clapped and acted accordingly. All the while, Lily was keeping her nerves in check for this performance.

All eyes were then on her, and she knew it was her time. With a deep breath, Lily started to strum the strings on her guitar and opened her mouth, words flowing melodically with the music she played from her instrument.

If she were honest with herself, she didn't even know what song she played. It all came through a natural, basic instinct to perform and express herself. When she played her instrument, Lily was in another world, somewhere that she had no fear.

It was her story she told, each chapter being something different, but the one thing that kept the pages turning was the cool gaze from a pair of grey eyes. She'd be forever grateful for the guy those eyes belonged to.

Soon enough, Lily's first song reached its end. She looked around at the audience; a small afterthought that they'd laugh at her crept in her mind, but it was the exact opposite. Nearly everyone beyond the stage was clapping for her. It was a relief, to say the least.

Lily smiled widely, bowing her head out of respect for their applause. She'd made it through the first one, and now all she had to do was get through the next. Seeing that this one had been a success, the next song wouldn't be too hard; she had the confidence to do it now.

A/N: Written for The Houses Competition and HSWW (Challenges and Assignment)

(THC) House: Gryffindor; Year/Position: Year 3 Stand-In; Category: Standard; Prompt: (Courageous), [Action] Performing

(HSWW) Assignment #9 Wandlore Task 3: write about someone faithful

Word Count: 797