Please forgive me! This is unedited and unbeta'd just something that's been floating in my head for a while. Please be gentle, it's my first go at sharing any of my writing, feedback welcome!
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Lily sits at the desk in her heads dorm, quill scratching away at her slowly filling potions essay. It's not slow going because she doesn't like potions, it's more that she keeps pausing to watch the window next to her. The grounds outside are filled with moonlight, the grass silver in its wake. She watches for any sign of movement from the forest, praying that there isn't and at the same time, she is curious about what they get up to. The trees of the forest are still, and there is no hint of movement in the still night. At midnight she gives up on her essay, it's no where near even half way, she doesn't care. She can fix it tomorrow with James and Sirius. When they come back. If they come back. She knows that they probably will, but there is still the element of danger. Extreme danger, they are out there, running around with a real life werewolf, so of course there is danger. She takes extra long getting ready for bed, brushing her teeth, washing her face. She braids her hair three times until it sits just right, but even that has only killed half an hour. She goes to bed, and waits for sleep to take her. Or for James to come back, but she realises after her clock finally moves to show 1 am, that she isn't getting to sleep this way. Taking the cover from her bed, she conjours up a comfy armchair and settles in next to the window to wait for her boys to come back. Somehow, she doses off, curled up in that chair next to the window. She dreams, broken fragments. Lights, yells, running to places she doesn't reach in time. She jerks awake after dreaming that Severus pushes her off a cliff that she doesn't see the bottom of. A glance at her watch shows her that less time has past than she thinks, it's only 3 am. Still a long time until the moon goes down. She sighs, knowing that she can't get back to sleep now, it's a lost cause. Instead, she decides to go and get some tea from the kitchens. Maybe a biscuit too. Wrapping her dressing gown around her and stuffing her cold toes into slippers, she makes her way to he kitchen and back with no incident, after all, she is head girl, no one would stop her. And no one should be awake now anyway. It's almost 4 when she gets back to the heads dorm, as she clambers through the portrait hole, she glances at James's room through his semi open door. It's empty, of course, the glowing embers of the dying fire from earlier make the room seem warmer than her own just across the room.. She walks over and pushes on the door, hoping that her boyfriend doesn't mind she is invading his space. His bed has been made, by the house elves no doubt, she stops thinking at this point. She just removes her robe and slippers and pulls the covers back, climbing into his bed. His sheets smell like him, like pine and broom polish and something warm and she loves it. She pulls the covers up, snuggling into his bed, his smell. Without realising it, she slips into a proper sleep, her exhausted eyes not holding up any longer.
James finds her not long after, he pauses in the door way, savouring the sight of his sleeping girlfriend occupying his bed. He smiles at her, even though she can't see it. He tip toes around the room, moves her dressing gown and slippers so she will have easy access to them later. He is so exhausted, he doesn't even bother with pajamas, merely slipped his muddy t-shirt and jeans off and climbing into bed in his underwear, savouring the warmth that Lily has infused into his sheets. She stirs as he scoots closer and wraps his arms around her. "James?" She sounds asleep still and he grins into her shoulder "just me love, go back to sleep. We don't have anywhere to be later" he says as she is already slipping "mkay, love you" she is sleeping before he can say anything back. "Love you too" he says anyway, before he falls into sleep himself.
Lily wakes with a start around 10, panicking, because where is she and why is she so damned hot! Seriously, it's a furnace in here. As she comes to her senses, she realises how late it is. "Oh god, I'm late. It's double transfiguration too, oh god" she is struggling to get up when she realises she can't, mostly because of her boyfriends arm. It's then she realises she fell asleep in here while she was waiting for them to get back, early this morning. "James, wake up, we are late! Mcgonnagall is going to kill us. Kill us" she is shaking James, trying to wake him up "merlin Lil, relax. It's Sunday" he is still mostly asleep as he says this, his arm around her hips where it had fallen when she had sat up in a mad panic. He cracked one eye to look at her, although it wasn't very effective because he could barely see without his glasses. "Lil, come back to bed. It's Sunday. Please, don't get up yet, please" his bottom, lip has shifted and he's pouting at her. "Huh. Sunday. It's fine then. No double transfiguration" she shifts back so she's lying down again, "I guess I can stay.." He grins and kisses her nose, "of course you can stay. As long as you want" he yawns, eyes crinkling "good morning by the way. Is this going to be a regular Sunday morning treat, or just when I stay out with the lads all night?" He's teasing her, but she blushes in his arms anyway.
"I, well, that is, I. I missed you last night. I couldn't sleep, and I ended up in here" she stutters through an explanation, her cheeks glowing,ducking her eyes so she stares at James's neck instead of his face, so she misses the wide, sleepy grin he has after her revelation. When he is quiet for too long, Lily peeks up at his face, his eyes are closed, but he's not sleeping. He is smiling, and revelling in this quiet victory. Lily missed him. "What?" She asks, although she is smiling too, his sleepy grin infectious. "Shhh, I'm just enjoying this, my victory. Lily Evans missed me!" He's teasing, but she can see the happiness dripping off of him, in his voice. "Oh hush you," she's relaxing more now, tangling her feet with his. She closes her eyes again, slipping into the quiet warmth of the room with no trouble at all. She is enjoying his arms around her and she slips into the space between sleep and awake.
It is an hour later that Sirius bounds up the stairs to the heads dorms, intent of finding James so they can go down to the kitchens to rustle up breakfast and lunch. He finds them in their small common room, talking quietly, hands intertwined, James head on Lily's lap in front of the fire. "What are you losers doing" he says, dropping himself heavily into the arm chair. He continued without waiting for an answer "You hungry? I'm starving enough to eat a hippogriff"
