A/N: Because it's not about the big picture, it's about the little moments.
I own nothing!
Lily Evans sat quietly at the edge of the lake, trying not to cry. It was a gray November day, and she was holding a letter from Petunia in her hand. It was a response to her last attempt at a proper relationship with her sister. A plea sent from Hogwarts that Petunia might try to understand, and love her despite her "freakish" abnormalities. A letter that had been five years in the making.
Petunia's response was simple. Please stop writing to me.
Lily crumpled up the letter and threw it into the lake. They were supposed to be sisters! Was the fact that she was a witch really so unforgivable? So abhorrent that it was worth throwing away their bond? Petunia, apparently, thought it was. She was civil, of course, when Lily was home from school. But it was all just a show. Lily knew it, and her parents knew it too – even if they tried to pretend otherwise.
The sound of laughter dragged Lily out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw James Potter and the rest of the Quidditch team heading back from practice. Lily turned away quickly, praying James hadn't seen her. She was not in the mood to be teased right now, or to have his undying love for her confessed in front of all of his friends, like it was some sort of entertainment put on for their amusement.
She breathed a sigh of relief as they passed, and resumed her position, pulling her legs against her chest and staring out at the dull horizon.
"Lily?"
The voice made her jump. Potter, of course. She hadn't been as lucky as she'd thought.
"Whatever you want, Potter, I'm not in the mood."
"Well, it's just – "
Lily glared up at him from her place on the ground, "Was there some part of that statement that was unclear to you? Go. Away."
James looked torn, glancing up at the castle before turning his gaze back to the girl on the ground in front of him. She'd been crying, he could tell. And he felt an overwhelming urge to make it better. Whatever "it" was.
"It's just," he continued, sitting down next to her and ignoring the disgust on her face, "It's just that …"
"If you have something to say, spit it out."
"You just look really sad," James blurted out lamely. He ran nervously through his hair and heaved a sigh.
"What I mean to say, Lily, is that I saw you just now when we were coming back from practice, and you just looked so horribly sad. So I wanted to come over here, and –"
"And what, Potter?"
James put a hand tentatively on Lily's shoulder, and even though she knew it shouldn't, Lily had to admit that the simple gesture made her feel better. Just a little.
"And tell you that whatever it is, I wish I could make it better."
The sensitive words caught Lily off guard. In fact, she was fairly certain it was the first serious thing James had ever said to her. No teasing, no proclamations of love, just … sincerity.
She felt James gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and a moment later he was gone.
Lily sat at the lake for a long time after James Potter left. She thought about all sorts of things – about her sister and her family, about the friends she'd lost, but also the ones she'd gained. And, if she let herself, she thought about the very sweet words a boy had said to her.
Words that somehow really did make her feel as though everything might be all right.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first drabble! I'll be writing a lot more of them
