Summary: Lily is finally at Hogwarts. Her first night there, she starts feeling homesick and her big brother James is going to try to comfort her.
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never did. Never will. I don't make any money from writing this. Never did. Never will.
A/N: This was written for the Family Fic Competition using the characters of Lily Luna and James Sirius.
Knut for Your Thoughts
It was September 1 and Lily Luna Potter was curled up on the couch in the Gryffindor common room staring at the fire. Her feet were peeking out from under the hem of her purple bathrobe. It was her first night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had been begging to come here ever since her eldest brother had gotten his acceptance letter. She had been so excited to get on the train this morning, so nervous at the Sorting this evening, and now that all the excitement had died down, she was missing her parents terribly.
She had been staring at the fire and so deep in thought about her parents that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching. She jumped when she felt someone sit beside her, but settled when she realized it was just her eldest brother, James.
"Knut for your thoughts, Lil," James said to his sister softly.
"Just missing Mum and Dad," Lily said shrugging her shoulders.
"Yeah," said James. "I did, too, on my first night. The only difference is I didn't have a big brother to comfort me and tell me everything would be all right." James put his arm around Lily's shoulders and hugged her to his side. "I had a feeling you were down here."
She sighed and laid her head on her brother's shoulder. She always felt safe when one of her brothers hugged her. They were her protectors when they were away from their parents. James was special to her, though. He always knew when she was upset or worried and she knew the same about him, even when they were apart. They both just sat and stared into the fire, each lost in their own thoughts.
Finally James cleared his throat and removed his arm from Lily's shoulders. "It's past midnight, Lil, and we both have classes starting in the morning. I think we both need to head to bed."
Lily nodded and stood. She didn't even realize she had been crying until she saw the wet spot on the shoulder of his pyjama top. She hastily wiped her tears and turned to head to the girls dormitory. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned for James to pull her into a tight hug. He kissed the top of her flaming hair and whispered, "Everything will be fine Lil. You have me, Al, and the whole Weasley clan here."
"I know, Jamie," she whispered back. "It doesn't mean I still don't miss Mum and Dad."
He kissed the top of head one more time before letting her go. "You want to know a secret?" he asked her. At her nod he looked around to make sure they were alone. "I miss them when I'm here too. And if you ever tell anyone I will hex you and deny it with every fiber of my being."
She grinned. "I won't tell, but you do know you gave me perfect blackmail material."
He sighed. "I know, but I trust you with this secret."
"Good night, Jamie."
"Good night, Lil."
15 years later
James was sitting on the sofa in his parents' family room. He had his elbows resting on his knees and was studying the empty hearth. Lily came down the stairs and watched him for a minute.
Until Lily's fourth year they had continued to find each other in the common room when one of them was sad or anxious about something. Their connection hadn't been dampened when James left school either. His head would appear in the common room hearth with, "Knut for your thoughts, Lil," coming from his lips.
"I had a feeling you'd be down here," she stated.
He had seen her come into the room in his peripheral vision. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
"I'm worried about tomorrow," he said, without any prompting.
"You're not the one getting married," Lily reminded him.
"I know. You're marrying Scorpius Malfoy. How could you?" he joked.
She laughed and lightly smacked his arm after letting him out of her embrace. "I know," she sighed with a slight smile on her face. "I love him, Jamie. Everything will be fine."
He looked at her for a while. He sighed heavily. "I sure hope so, Lil. You know it won't stop me from worrying."
"Yeah," said Lily. "You know that's a really unattractive trait." She grinned at him.
He laughed and bumped her shoulder with his. "You know you love me."
"We have a big day tomorrow. We should head up to bed," Lily said.
"Ok," said James.
He threw an arm over her shoulders as they walked to the stairs. His arm dropped as she ascended the stairs ahead of him. Outside her room, she wrapped her arms around James' waist. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her flaming red hair.
"Want to know a secret, Jamie?" Lily asked.
"Sure," he whispered back.
"I'm really nervous about tomorrow. There's so much that can go wrong."
He hugged her a little tighter and whispered, "Everything will be okay, Lil."
They released each other and she turned toward her room. "Good night, Jamie"
"Good night, Lil."
Later that night, after the festivities of the Potter-Malfoy wedding, James was again to be found sitting on the sofa staring into the hearth. Suddenly, the fireplace flared to life with green flames and a smiling face framed with flaming red hair was floating there.
"Knut for your thoughts, Jamie."