Apology

/əˈpɒlədʒi/

noun

a regretful acknowledgement of an offence or failure.

"we owe you an apology"

At six o'clock in the morning on a Friday, the Hogwarts grounds were deserted. Not a person, witch or wizard, could be seen strolling along the great expanse. The emerald lawns usually scattered with students enjoying the sunlight were bare, golden in the glow of the rising sun. The trees that marked the beginning of the forbidden forest cast winding shadows across the ground, the small amount of light that filtered through cast yellow patches on the dirt below.

Hagrid's hut, sitting just on the outskirts of the forest, showed no sign of movement, the lights were off and the curtains drawn, the little crooked chimney not emitting its customary puffs of smoke. The small garden adjoined to the hut was also empty, the time for pumpkin growing having long past.

The whomping willow, its sixth year at the school just coming to a close, was similarly stationary- had it been human, you could have said it didn't move a muscle.

The far cry of birds could be heard, drifting upon the soft breeze, their gentle songs coaxing the consciousness of the many other creatures that dwelled upon the Hogwarts grounds. The giant squid could be seen in the lake, had anyone been looking, completing laps lazily and causing subtle ripples to break the loch's still appearance, allowing the light reflected off the black water to glimmer as if some miscevious student had deposited glitter into its depths (and who's to say that one hadn't, especially with the likes of the Marauders around).

Lily Evans sighed, drawing away from where she had perched on the window seat in her dormitory. Today was her last day before summer and, whilst everyone else was busy preparing for exciting adventures abroad or with their families, she was occupied with dreading what awaited her at home. Not liking to imitate the over-dramatic female stereotype that she couldn't stand, Lily wasn't usually one to overthink or dwell on anything. The prospect of returning home for the summer, however, provoked these actions uncontrollably. She did not want to return.

Little did the redhead know, but on the other side of the very same tower, in the Gryffindor sixth year boy's dormitory, a raven-haired, hazel-eyed boy was having a similar conflict, but for a completely different reason.

It wasn't that James Potter didn't enjoy summer, nor was it that he hated home. On the contrary, James adored his parents and house and often looked forward to all he had planned from June through to September. It wasn't that he was particularly attached to the old, stone building that housed him for most of the year either. Others may feel nostalgic, but while James enjoyed his time at Hogwarts, he found that his contentedness at home prevented him from forming too great an affection for the school, unlike his fellow Gryffindors Remus Lupin and Lily Evans.

…

Lily Evans. She, the Gryffindor prefect with flaming red hair, was the reason. It was true that he would not miss her nagging, or her constant irritation at his presence, but there was something about her that caused him to feel incomplete when they were apart. It might have been the way her green eyes twinkled when she was faced with a particularly difficult piece of charms work; but it wasn't. It could have been the way she would nibble on the end of her quill when reading over her transfiguration essay the night before it was due, having done a full foot over the expected minimum; but it wasn't. It was possible that it could have been the way her crimson hair caught the light, no matter how minimal, whenever she moved her head; but that wasn't it. The reason, no matter how much James tried (and failed) to deny it was that he was, in the words of his best friend Sirius Black, "in bloody love with the witch" (the last word having been purposely misheard by a certain Mr Potter).

Lily Evans, on the other hand, was having no such qualms about the absence of James Potter from her life for a whole two months ("Two months is a bit short," she could be heard whispering to Marlene McKinnon as they exited a charms class, in which Potter had 'accidentally' charmed her hair blue). As she sat and pondered in the early hours of the morning, it would be safe to say that James Potter was far from her conscious mind. Something that was at the forefront of her thoughts, however, was her family; or, more specifically, her sister, Petunia Evans-soon-to-be-Dursley. Petunia herself did not pose much of a problem to the anxious witch, aside from the snarky comments the non-magical (a sore point for the eldest Evans daughter) girl aimed at Lily, "freak" being her favourite and most commonly used insult. It was the 'soon-to-be-Dursley' part that really got under Lily's skin.

A foreword of sorts must be written, I believe, before such a problem is explained, as, to an impartial observer, the youngest Evans sister's dread would seem misplaced and unnecessary. You see, Vernon Dursley was a somewhat big man, in both size and personality, but he was also, what many would consider to be, dull, extremely so. Some, such as Lily herself, would go as far to say that he was as dull as he was wide, which, in all actuality, would not be far from the truth. It was not these qualities, the complete and utter boringness of the man paired with his love of fattening foods, however, that made him such an unlikeable character. In fact, had he only possessed these two characteristics he may have been bearable. The fact of the matter was that, in all truth, Vernon Dursley was a thoroughly unlikeable personality. His opinions, often in-keeping with that of the National Front (an extremely right-wing political party), could not be contradicted in his presence for fear of not only retribution, but also the terrifyingly real possibility of being sat on (an event that had actually occurred a few years prior on a particularly alcohol-laden Christmas at the Gunning's, a drill company, work party). Logically, then, it is not a stretch to believe that Dursley did not hold for any nonsense that was 'out of the norm', and therefore took a dislike towards Lily since the moment they had been introduced, only two years prior. Even before Vernon had learned of Lily's supposed 'abnormality' (it was always referred to as such in conversations between the couple, like it was some sort of contagious and deadly disease) he had harbored a kind of aversion towards the outspoken young redhead- Lily strongly suspected that it was to do with her hair, as red didn't fit with the marshmallow's 'normal' ideals.

So, naturally, it is easy to see why Lily dreaded her return to Cokeworth, the small industrial town in which her family lived. Even so, the sight of 'the whale' (a name that had been adopted by both Lily and her father when referring to Vernon) every once and again as he picked up and dropped off Petunia would have been manageable, Lily would usually just retreat to her room for the five minutes that it took the couple to arrive and depart, however the great lump had gone and asked her sister to marry him- the idiot- and their wedding was scheduled for the last week of July. Some who were more naïve than Lily would look on the bright side, saying that it was only one day out of sixty, but lily knew better. In the month-and-a-bit leading up to her sister's wedding, there would be a constant flow of people, mostly Petunia's friends that looked down on Lily, believing that she attended a boarding school for delinquents (St. Brutus' School for Incurably Criminal Girls- a name that, little did Lily know, would be re-used for her only son). Not only that, but she would have to put up with Vernon's side of the family as well, his sister, Marjorie, had taken a particular dislike to Lily the only time they had met, setting one of her bulldogs, Ripper, upon the redhead when she questioned the woman's choice to go back for a fourth slice of pie (she, similar to Vernon, was easily the size of a small house).

The Hogwarts Express pulled up outside King's Cross station, the morning having passed in a blur of joyful shouts and tight hugs for Lily, who, too preoccupied with her own thoughts, had not participated in the excitement that surrounded her. It was only when the gentle voice of Mary MacDonald reached Lily's ears did Lily look away from the smudge of dirt that graced the otherwise spotless train window.

"Lils," She softly shook her best friend's shoulder, "We're here."

In a daze, Lily nodded, standing slowly and looking around blankly for a second before coming to her senses and offering a half-hearted grin, not able to bring herself to be fully excited at the prospect of returning home. Seeming to understand her friend's reluctance, Mary simply pat her on the shoulder before retrieving her trunk from the racks above, where it was stowed.

"Write, yeah?" Her other best friend, Marlene McKinnon encouraged from the entrance to their compartment, ready to depart with her parents to their holiday home in France for the first five weeks of break. Lily only nodded in response, but that was enough for Marlene. She, too, had picked up on Lily's mood and knew the best way to console the brooding redhead was to leave her to make her own decisions.

The compartment was now empty, and Lily found herself facing the wall, unprepared for the summer. To an outsider, it may seem like no big deal, but it was to Lily, and, one thing that was understood by anyone who had ever been in the presence of the Gryffindor prefect was that if she was worried, you should be, too.

James didn't participate in the joyful banter that filled his compartment as much as he usually would. He didn't roar hysterically at the jokes made by Sirius, nor did he pretend to care when Peter Pettigrew, another friend of his, told about the time he had nearly fallen off his broom thanks to a particularly vicious raven that had nested in his back garden (not that James, along with both Sirius and Remus, hadn't heard the story at least ten times before). In many respects, he acted as Remus Lupin did on the train rides home- he kept his head lowered, his eyes scanning the letters of the book which he had already learned by heart (before anyone could express surprise at the notorious prankster having his head in a book, however, Sirius would quickly remind them that it was a book about quidditch and, therefore, not so much a book as a bible- really, he understood his best friend's need for peace). It was only at the soft coaxing of Remus' voice did James shift his sight from Fifty Quidditch Techniques You Have To Learn Before You Get Too Old To Use Them by Augustus Quaffle (a lengthy title, but a rather captivating read).

"James, we've arrived." Said Remus softly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and effectively snapping James out of his reverie.

A jumble of "goodbye!"s and friendly handshakes were performed, James not really taking in or considering his actions as he went mindlessly through the motions. It wasn't that he didn't care, his mind was just elsewhere.

James Potter wasn't one to get obsessed, or at least that was what he told himself, but when it came to Lily Evans, he was not himself in any way. Normally, however, James wouldn't be as concerned with the redhead, no matter what his feeling for her were, but with the war in full swing, James couldn't help but worry. It wasn't that he thought she was incapable, no, he'd learnt that she was very capable a number of times, often it was him she was demonstrating her capabilities on, but Voldemort (it was silly to call him by any other name, James believed) and his followers were ruthless; they didn't fear rules and didn't bother with boundaries; if they wanted you dead, you were as good as. Lately, more and more muggleborns had been targeted, only last week RFM, Rights For Muggles, had been targeted by the tyrant's followers. It wasn't safe, and James didn't feel comfortable knowing that Lily and others like her were in danger.

It was then, staring at an empty wall in the now empty compartment that James made a decision. He couldn't enjoy his summer without knowing if Lily Evans was okay, even if she could deal without it vice versa. He had to apologise.

Those who don't know James Potter would now think that this is a somewhat silly solution, and those that had not met him may assume that he was a bit dim, but those who have met him will know: James Potter does not apologise unless he truly means it. When James pulled his first prank on the Slytherins in his first year, he didn't apologise, even when Professor McGonagall forced him to stand in front of the whole school, he stayed silent (earning him a month of detentions). In third year, when James and his fellow third-year Gryffindors charmed every classroom with an enchantment like that on the Ravenclaw common room, only allowing visitors that knew the answer to a riddle (this stunt being the one that earned the four boys their 'marauder' title), he didn't apologise, even when the stunt left six people (one Gryffindor, two Hufflepuffs and three Slytherins) in the hospital wing for scrapes which they had earned trying to break the doors down. In his fifth year, James didn't apologise to Severus Snape for hanging him upside-down in the middle of the schoolyard (as he claimed that the 'slimy git deserved it'), though he did share his repentance when the same Slytherin was almost killed due to his best friend's actions. In short, James Potter only apologised for very serious reasons.

"Evans?" Potter's voice made Lily turn quickly, forgetting the very interesting beetle that she had been following up the cabin wall. What is he doing here?

"Potter?" her tone, while not hostile, was not particularly welcoming. "I'm surprised you're not off attempting a last minute prank on the Slytherins." She half expected him to come up with a witty comeback ('it wouldn't be an attempt so much as a success'), but, instead, the boy stayed silent. Unused to the absence of Potter's cheeky remarks, Lily studied her fellow Gryffindor's features, searching for a hint of what this sudden seriousness was about.

"I came to apologise."

Lily stopped. James Potter rarely, if ever apologised; this was big, something was going on. Lily's first thought was that perhaps it was a prank, or some sort of elaborate scheme that he had concocted against her, but the way he stared at her, desperately scanning her face for some sort of clue as to what she was thinking told her otherwise.

"For what?" was the only thing she could think to say.

"Everything."

They stayed silent, the pair of them, for what seemed like hours (but what was more likely a few minutes), Lily furiously processing the words that James Potter had just spoken to her, and James anxiously awaiting some sort of conclusion on the part of the redhead. More minutes ticked by, and still Lily couldn't come up with a suitable response. Seeing this as a failure, James turned to go, not wishing to get caught up in Lily's infamous temper once she had come to her senses.

"James, wait."

She never called him James. He turned.

"I accept your apology." She gave him a half smile, which he returned with a wide grin.

"Friends?" He held out his hand.

"Friends." They shook.

Lily wasn't completely sure why she had accepted James' apology (if you could call it that) with such ease and calm. If anything, she should have laughed at his pathetic excuse for a peace offering, but there was something about the way he had looked at her, a silent pleading in his eyes, that convinced her that, while he hadn't said it in so many words, he was truly sorry for all the pain and grievance he had caused her in their past years at Hogwarts. It was also true that during their sixth year, the one just past he had become nicer (or at least less pig-headed) towards not only her, but also the Slytherin house. It made for a nice change and, Lily had found, when James wasn't busy being head-marauder and king-prat, he could actually be quite a decent human being.

First Fic, I don't own anything recognisable, Please comment your thoughts, cheers for reading

Looney