Full summary: AU. It started as a mutual attraction that lead to an obsession. Lily Evans and Sirius Black were the perfect couple. James Potter and Sirius Black were closer than brothers. When a forbidden liaison begins between Lily and James they must hide their affair else it destroy the bonds of love and friendship that have taken a lifetime to forge.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
AN: So, I've edited this story and just changed a few things around. Anyone who's already read the first two chapters may want to re-read them. And I know the song is about a man cheating on a woman, and not vice versa, but work with me.
She says her love for me could never die,
But that'd change if she ever found out about you and I.
Oh - but her love is cold,
It wouldn't hurt her if she didnt know, cause...
When it gets too much,
I need to feel your touch.
I'm gonna run to you,
I'm gonna run to you,
'Cause when the feelings right, I'm gonna run all night,
I'm gonna run to you.
She's got a heart of gold, she'd never let me down.
But you're the one that always turns me on,
You keep me comin round.
I know her love is true,
But it's so damn easy makin love to you!
I got my mind made up,
I need to feel your touch!
- Run to You, Bryan Adams
Chapter One
"La da dum, back to school for me," Lily Evans hummed absently as she brushed out her long auburn hair. It was the morning of September the first, and Lily was getting ready to go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for her final year. However, unlike every other year, this year she would be returning as Head Girl.
Lily finished brushing her hair and then scrutinized it in her mirror. Gah, I wish it would cooperate! Why does it have to be so… red! And big! Lily had always tried to make her hair do what she wanted, and, much to her annoyance, her hair seemed to delight in doing the exact opposite. Many people called it her crowning glory, but Lily didn't believe that for a second. "Look at it!" Lily would rant to anyone who would listen. "It's big and wavy. Wavy! Who wants wavy hair? Why can't it just be curly like I want it? You know, those ringlet-y curls?" Lily smiled, thinking about the speech she knew by heart, and all the poor people who had been forced to sit through it countless times.
She examined the rest of her, and was happy enough with what she saw. She was 5'6", a height she found respectable for a girl. She had finally developed curves in the last year, and was now nicely proportioned. She was still slim, but now she had a good amount of curves to offset it. Sirius always assured her that he loved the way she looked. She had pale skin, a few freckles on her nose, high cheekbones, full lips, and bright green eyes, which were her favourite feature. Lily knew she was considered pretty, but, in her opinion, she could never compare to some of the other girls who went to Hogwarts. She sighed as she turned away from the mirror to finish her packing.
After double-checking she had everything packed, Lily looked at her watch and swore when she realized that it was past the time at which she had decided to leave. She raced down to the kitchen at top speed to tell her parents it was time to go.
"Mom, Dad!" Lily called, tearing into the kitchen at breakneck speed. "It's time to go! I don't want to be late! I can't be late, I'm the Head Girl!" She stopped, hands on knees, gasping for breath. "Come on,"she added exasperatedly as she saw her father leisurely eating some eggs and reading the morning paper.
Lily's father looked up from his paper, and then checked his watch. "Lily, we still have an hour before we have to get there, we'll make it in plenty of time," he said, his eyes crinkling in a smile. "You're such a worrywart."
Lily stood up to her full height, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at her father with all the energy she could muster. "I am not!" she spat indignantly. "I just want to be the first one there. I'm Head Girl this year, and I should be there to greet the other students. So let's go!" she added, grabbing her father's arm as he chuckled. "Come on Dad," she whined, giving him her best pouty face. "Please?"
Her father looked at her solemnly, but he couldn't hide the laughter in his eyes. "I don't know, Lil, there were a few things I wanted to do around the house before we leave. You don't mind if I mow the lawn first, do you?" he asked, watching in amusement as Lily began to get worked up
"I certainly do mind!" Lily said huffily, crossing her arms over her chest, annoyed, knowing her father was just pulling her leg, but unable to stop her reactions.
Lily's mother chose that moment to walk into the room, and chuckled at the sight before her. Her daughter was turning beet red and stomping her feet, and her husband was leaning back in his chair with a smile.
She walked over and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Lily, you know your father is just joking," she said placatingly. "You know he likes to rile you up."
"Yeah, I know," Lily said sheepishly. "He just knows how to push my buttons."
Lily's mother smiled warmly down at the daughter whom she was going to miss so much. "So I gathered. Go grab your things, and we'll drive you to the station."
Lily leapt out of the chair she was sitting in. "Thanks Mom, I'll just be a sec," she said with a huge smile, before turning and rushing from the room.
She hit the stairs running, taking them two at a time in her haste. She happily levitated her luggage, something she could do, since she was officially seventeen. As she bounced down the stairs, she thought about her last year at Hogwarts and what it would bring. Adventure? Maybe. Drama? Probably. Work? Most definitely. Lily had her work cut out for her this year. But she knew she was up to the challenge.
She reached her parents' car and levitated her luggage into the trunk, as the car was in the garage, so no unsuspecting Muggles would witness this bit of magic.
Lily and her parents climbed into the car and took off, driving the familiar route that would take her to King's Cross Station for the last time. At this thought, Lily smiled wistfully before drifting into memory of years gone by, thinking about how much she would miss Hogwarts when she was gone.
"Hey Lil," her father said, looking at her in the rear view mirror, jolting her from her thoughts of the Gryffindor common room. "I know we already asked you this, but who's the Head Boy again?"
"Oh, um…" Lily paused for a second, thinking hard, "I'm pretty sure it's James Potter." Yeah, she remembered Sirius mentioning it in one of his owls earlier in the summer. Lily and James didn't know each other very well at all, despite the fact that Lily was dating his best friend. Of course, because of Sirius, they had tried to get to know each other. Sure, they'd tried conversation. They'd tried enough times to know that they apparently had absolutely nothing in common, other than Sirius. Their conversations always turned out stilted and awkward. So, after about half a year of constant, uncomfortable attempts at becoming friends, they had realized it simply wasn't meant to be. And they were comfortable with that fact. It meant they didn't have to talk to each other unless necessary, which was preferable over their forced conversation. So, Lily and James now peacefully coexisted. They talked to each other if need be, but that was pretty much it.
"And is he a nice boy?" her mother asked, continuing the previous conversation.
Lily smiled. Her parents were worried that this boy she would have to work with all year wouldn't be nice to her. Plus, they were probably worried about her sharing living quarters with him. "He's nice enough, I guess. I just don't really know him that well. But, he is Sirius' best mate, and I trust his judgment."
Her mother's face brightened at Sirius' name. She always had liked him. "Oh, and how is Sirius? You two doing well? It's been nearly two years now, hasn't it?" her mother chattered animatedly.
"Yeah, about a year and a half," Lily said with a smile, thinking about him. They had been dating since partway through their fifth year, and Lily had never been happier.
The rest of the ride passed in relative silence, with Lily remembering all her happiest memories with Sirius, all of which took place at Hogwarts.
Our first walk by the lake.
It had been just after her fifth year started, just as the sun went down. Lily had been ecstatic when Sirius had asked her to join him for a walk. They were the only two outside.
The first time we held hands.
That had been on another walk, two weeks after the first. Sirius had been so shy about it, but Lily had never felt the kind of connection with any other boy that she felt when Sirius had taken her hand.
Our first date.
It had been a Hogsmeade trip, naturally, and Sirius had foregone all of his much-loved shops, like Zonko's and Quality Quidditch Supplies, in favour of going with Lily to her favourites.
Our first kiss.
They had been watching the sunset, and Sirius had said he had never seen anything as beautiful as Lily in the light of the setting sun, right before kissing her. It was the most romantic moment of her life.
When he asked me to be his girlfriend.
He had set up a fancy picnic where he had told Lily he had never felt this way about another girl, and Lily had happily agreed to be his girlfriend.
Our first fight.
Lily smiled about it now, but at the time, she had been so upset. It was about something stupid, Lily couldn't even remember what anymore. She had started avoiding Sirius after the fight, but he had tracked her down in the library and gave her the most beautiful apology she had ever heard, telling her he was sorry and he never wanted to lose her. This was also the first time he told her he loved her.
Our first year anniversary.
Sirius had taken her out to dinner in a fancy restaurant in Hogsmeade during one of the Hogsmeade weekends, and they had a romantic dinner by candlelight.
Then there were all the small things he would do. He would bring her flowers for no reason. He was always able to cheer her up when she was sad. He would come and bring her soup and her homework when she was sick, although he would have to get a girl to bring it up to her, as boys couldn't climb the staircase.
Lily was so deep in her reminiscing that it took her by complete surprise when they arrived at the station.
"We're here, Lily," her mother said, turning around in her seat and smiling at her daughter. Lily's head jerked up in surprise.
"Oh, already?" she asked, a bemused expression on her face as she got out of the car.
Her father ruffled her hair affectionately as he passed her on his way to the trunk. "You must have been in another world, kiddo. We were taking to you!"
"Oh, sorry," Lily said, her cheeks tingeing pink. "I was thinking about Hogwarts." Her parents nodded as the three of them unloaded the luggage from the car, sans magic.
Lily put all of her luggage onto a trolley and led her parents to the entrance of platform 9 3/4. Since they were both Muggles, they couldn't enter and had to say their goodbyes there.
Lily hugged her parents, promising to write frequently to them and assuring them that she would miss them just as much as they would miss her. She also promised them that she would say 'hello' to Sirius for them, laughing at this request.
"What's so funny?" her mother asked with a confused smile.
"Nothing," Lily replied. "I just never thought Dad would like any guy I brought home. It's just so weird that he actually likes Sirius."
Lily's father grinned. "I agree, it's unnatural," he said. "But the boy's too damn nice! It's impossible not to like him. Plus, he's polite, and he treats you well. Not to mention I can see how much he means to you."
Lily smiled before giving her parents a wave and running through the barrier into Platform 9 3/4. She had never gotten into the habit of casually walking through. Once through the seemingly solid wall, she stopped to take in the familiar chaos of the station thirty minutes before the train would pull out. She was most certainly not the first one there, as she had hoped she might be. The station was packed. There were kids everywhere, saying goodbye to their parents, meeting up with their friends, boarding the train. Lily absorbed the sight of the scared first years who didn't want to leave their parents, the cocky second years who were happy not to be those first years anymore, and so on, up to the self-assured but nostalgic seventh years who were preparing for their final trip.
Lily quickly scanned the crowds for her best friend, Jacqueline Dubois. She didn't see her, although she saw many other people she knew. Lily made her way to the train, saying 'hello' to everyone she recognized.
Eventually she managed to get onto the train and began scanning the compartments for Jacqueline. She found her about halfway down the train, reading a book. Knowing Jacqueline, it was likely to be a romance. The two of them were both a little addicted to romance novels. It was an enjoyable escape to a world of perfect men.
As Lily slid the compartment door open, Jacqueline looked up. "Hey Lily, you look great!" she said, jumping up and hugging Lily.
Lily took her friend by the shoulders and gave her a good look. "Wow, Jacqueline, you look awesome! I love your hair like that! I can't believe you actually cut it!" Jacqueline was the same height as Lily and had light brown hair and hazel eyes. Before the summer her curly hair had been very long, but she had cut it so that it bounced just above her shoulders.
"Thanks. So how was your summer?" Jacqueline asked as she helped Lily to store her luggage away on the racks. The two girls sat down across from each other and began to catch up on what had happened over the break.
The girls talked until the train began to pull out, with frequent interruptions from friends and acquaintances they hadn't seen all summer, including the boy Jacqueline liked, Adrian Duclairc. He came in just as the train was picking up speed, and Lily made her excuses and left the two of them alone.
They're so gonna get together. It's so obvious, Lily thought as she began searching the compartments for Sirius. The sounds of loud laughter led her to the right compartment, where she pushed open the door and entered.
Sirius looked over at the door as it opened, and seeing whom it was, he leapt up. "Hey Lil!" he said, giving her a kiss. "It's been two whole weeks since I've seen you! How are you?" he asked, his gray eyes twinkling. Lily examined him as the two of them settled on one side of the compartment, his arm around her waist, across from Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.
Sirius was the most handsome man Lily had every seen, she mused, looking at his smooth black hair that always fell into his steel gray eyes and just brushed the collar of his shirt. He had a smile to die for, which was enhanced by his square jaw, she added, watching him laugh at something Peter had said. And at 6 feet tall, he was very broad-shouldered and quite well built from all of his Quidditch. All in all, he made Lily's heart turn over just by looking at her. He was broad and muscled and manly, exactly the kind of man she wanted.
"Hi Remus, hi Peter. How are you?" she asked, looking at the two boys. Remus was Sirius' height, but much thinner, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was very handsome, but he always seemed tired, for reasons Lily had always been suspicious about. Peter, on the other hand, could, at best, be described as cute. He was a head shorter than the other two, and on the plump side. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. However, to make up for his looks, he was very nice, and could be quite funny.
"Oh, by the way," Lily said, turning to look at Sirius. "My parents said to say 'hi' to you. They love you, and I can't for the life of me figure out why!" she teased, kissing Sirius on the nose when he began to pout. "So what were you guys laughing about when I came in?" she asked, changing the subject. The boys looked at each other and grinned before launching into an elaborate, and surely exaggerated, story about some prank they had pulled over the summer.
"And then he said, 'but I don't like green!'" Sirius finished, leaving the four of them bent double with laughter, tears streaming down their faces.
By the time they calmed down, Lily realized that there was someone missing. "Hey, where's James?" she asked glancing around the compartment. Suddenly it hit her. "Oh no! He's in the Heads' compartment! Where I'm supposed to be! Holding a Prefects meeting!" Without another word Lily ran out of the compartment, leaving the three boys laughing at her forgetfulness. It was so unlike her.
Meanwhile, Lily had slid through the door of the Heads' compartment just as James was closing it to begin the meeting. "Sorry I'm late," she muttered in James' ear as she passed him.
"It's okay," James mumbled back as he turned and faced the Prefects. "Hi, everyone. I'm James Potter, and this is Lily Evans," he said, gesturing to himself and Lily in turn. "We are this year's Head Boy and Girl," he continued before looking at Lily, waiting for her to continue. Lily took a deep breath, straightened her shirt, and launched into her introductory speech, feeling more and more relaxed as she talked. This was where she belonged; she had worked hard for six years to be where she was today, and she was not going to do anything to screw that up.
"I have a lot of things I want to do this year…"
An hour went by, and with it came the retreat of the Prefects, back to their friends as the meeting finally drew to a close.
"Whew," Lily said, dropping onto a seat. "I think that went well," she added as she reached for the bag she had dropped on the floor earlier and pulled out the latest book she was reading.
"Yes, it did," James said, disappearing behind his copy of the Daily Prophet. The two had to stay in this compartment, so that if anybody needed to search out the Head students, they would know where to find them.
The rest of the trip passed in silence as the two read. It might have seemed odd, that the Head Boy and Girl were ignoring each other, but Lily and James were used to not talking. They would say 'hi' in the halls, and even occasionally talk about homework or the weather, but that was more or less the extent of their conversation.
Although she and James weren't on the friendliest of terms (or really, on any terms), Lily had no worries about their working relationship. Whenever they had had to work on a project or assignment together for a particular class, something that was bound to happen after six years of nearly identical schedules, they had worked together quite well. They each shouldered the burden equally, and were both highly intelligent. Lily knew he had been the obvious choice for Head Boy, and she had no problem with that.
A few hours later, Lily looked up from her book to see James folding his newspaper. "We're just about there," he said, standing up and straightening his robes. "We should get ready to go." Lily closed her book and stood up as well, peering out the window. She could just make out Hogwarts in the distance. She figured that the train was less than five minutes away.
"Alright, let's go, then," Lily said, leading the way to the door and out into the hall. By the time they made it to the front of the train, it was slowing down. When it stopped, Lily and James held open the doors as the rest of Hogwarts poured out, most moving towards the carriages, only the first years going elsewhere.
Lily waved and said 'hi' to all of the people she knew, just as James did. When Jacqueline walked by, still with Adrian, Lily winked at her and wiggled her eyebrows with a wicked grin. In response, Jacqueline trod on Lily's foot, causing her to let out a yelp that made several people look over at her with curious expressions.
Sirius, Remus and Peter also stopped to chat with the two of them before racing to see who could get to the carriage first. Lily shook her head in amusement as she saw them running towards the carriages, laughing and pushing each other on the way, each trying to get there first.
After the train was finally empty, Lily and James walked over to last remaining carriage. Once there, James held the door open, allowing Lily to climb in first.
"Thanks," she said, settling into a seat, James sitting across from her as he climbed in.
"You're welcome," he said, and the two lapsed into silence each looking out the window as they drew ever nearer to Hogwarts, basking in the glow of being back, although they both felt a tinge of melancholy in the air, as they each knew that it would be for the last time.
Once they reached the school, the two followed the crowd in, and once they got to the Gryffindor table, Lily followed James to where the Marauders were sitting.
"Hey Sirius!" Lily said, leaning down from her standing position to give him a kiss.
"Hey Lil," Sirius said, kissing her back. "What's up?"
"Just wanted to say 'hi' before I go and sit with Jacqueline," Lily said, smiling at her boyfriend and ruffling his hair affectionately.
"Okay, come and see me in the common room before you go to bed. You and James have new living quarters, right?" Sirius asked, a slightly envious look on his face.
"Oh, that's right!" Lily said, laughing at his expression. "Oh, don't be jealous. You'll probably be up there all of the time, between James and I," Lily consoled him before continuing. "Anyway, I'll come see you later. Bye!" she called over her shoulder as she went to sit in the spot Jacqueline had saved her.
"Oh, look!" Jacqueline exclaimed as Lily sat down. "There are the new first years! They're so small! And look how scared they are. I remember when that was us," Jacqueline said with a laugh before adding wistfully. "It feels like just yesterday."
"Yeah," Lily agreed, looking nostalgically at the Sorting Hat as it was placed on the first child's head. "I can't believe it's almost over."
Jacqueline turned and grinned at her. "Don't worry about it, Lil. We still have a whole year ahead of us. Our most exciting one yet!" The girls settled into silence as the rest of the Sorting went on, cheering when new students were put into Gryffindor.
After the last student was Sorted, the feast began. Lily and Jacqueline happily ate as much as they could, chatting animatedly between mouthfuls, speculating about the coming year, who had changed the most over the summer, who had gotten together, and who had broken up. "Speaking of couples…" Lily said, looking sidelong at Jacqueline. "What's up with you and Adrian?"
Jacqueline blushed and looked down at her plate. "Well… I don't really know. I like him but… I don't know how he feels. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes." Jacqueline blinked and then laughed. "Wow, I guess I've finally matured. This time last year, I would have been whining, 'does he like me? Does he like me?'"
Lily laughed along with her friend. "Don't worry. It's obvious he likes you too. Just give him some time." At this point, the feast had just ended, and Dumbledore stood up from his seat and gave the school the usual start-of-term announcements before allowing everyone to leave.
Jacqueline stood up and started to leave before realizing that Lily was not with her. "Hey, you coming?" she asked, turning around, a questioning expression on her pretty face.
"Can't, remember? I have to go see Professor Dumbledore. James and I have our own rooms," Lily reminded her friend.
"Oh, that's right!" Jacqueline said, smacking her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Hey, I want to see them! How about you show me tomorrow?" At Lily's nod, Jacqueline began to walk away. "See you tomorrow. Good luck with the new rooms!"
Lily waved goodbye to her friend before making her way over to James and Dumbledore, who were standing together by the professors' table.
"Hello Miss Evans," Dumbledore greeted her. "I hope you had a good summer." At Lily's nod, he continued. "If you two will follow me, I'll show you where you will be staying," he said, his eyes twinkling as they so often did.
"Mr. Potter, did you get much flying in over the break?" he asked conversationally as they walked. They spent the rest of the way chatting lightly about this and that, until they reached a painting that depicted a field of flowers with a little girl nestled amongst the long grass, playing 'he loves me, he loves me not' with a daisy.
"Password?" she asked in a childish voice.
"I've taken the liberty of choosing a password for you," Dumbledore said, looking at Lily and James. "It's 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus'. As you know, that is the Hogwarts motto, and it means 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon'. Make sure you remember it, as it is the only way into your rooms. Also," Dumbledore said, looking pointedly at James, "do not tell anybody else this password. It is meant for you two alone. Good," he said as the two nodded their heads in acquiescence. "Then I will leave you to your rooms. Good night," he said, turning and walking away before Lily or James could say anything.
The two looked at each other for a moment before Lily said, "Alright, let's go in, then," before turning to the little girl and saying, "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus."
The portrait opened and James stood back to allow Lily to go through first. She climbed through the portrait hole, straightening to her full height once she was out. Once James had stepped through, he stood beside Lily and they both observed the room. It was about a quarter of the size of the Gryffindor Common room and painted a deep blue. There were two comfy-looking armchairs and a couch with a coffee table in front of it, all grouped around a stone fireplace. There was a half-full bookcase with room enough for any books Lily and James had, which stood against a wall beside a desk that was twice as long as a normal desk, with two chairs placed in front of it and two sets of drawers down the side. There was also a big bay window with a cushioned window seat in it, which overlooked the Quidditch Pitch.
"Wow," Lily said, her mouth hanging open. "This is incredible!"
James smiled as he walked over to the desk, pulling open the drawers and looking inside. "Blank parchment, that's it. Yeah, this is pretty great."
The two of them continued to examine the room for a few minutes before deciding to look at their own rooms. They walked up the single staircase and split up at the top, Lily going to the left, and James to the right. Right at the top of the staircase was the bathroom. Lily walked into her room (at least, judging by the plaque on the door, it was her room), which was painted a deep, forest green, her favourite colour. There was a nice four-poster with a cream comforter, a dresser, a night table, a wardrobe, and a vanity table. All of it was done in a cherry wood. Lily walked to the window where she peered at her view of the Great Lake for a minute, before turning and looking at her room again, nodding as she found she quite liked it.
Lily decided to look at the bathroom next, the one place she hadn't seen yet, with the exception of James' room. Lily walked over to the other door in her room, figuring that it lead to an adjoining bathroom, which it did. She entered the room to see James already in there, putting some of his personal items away. The bathroom was painted in a rich spice colour, and was very large. The stand-up shower took up a large part of one corner, its frosted glass winking in the brightness of the overhead light. The bathtub was large, square, and inground with five or six taps with different bubble baths. The sink and bathtub were a beige marble, and the sink had space for toothbrushes and other personal necessities. The bathroom was lit only by the overhead light, which gave the room a warm glow.
James' door was open, and Lily quickly peeked in. It was done in a light gray that managed to not look drab or boring, and his comforter was in a much deeper shade of gray. Otherwise, the room was the same as Lily's, minus the vanity table. He instead had a mirror over his dresser.
"This is pretty nice," James said as he dropped his toothbrush into the holder.
"I'll say," Lily agreed. She walked over to the bathtub where she turned on each of the taps in their turn, so she could smell what bubblebaths were there. She breathed in deeply as she smelled vanilla, her favourite scent. This is heaven, Lily thought, looking at the deep bathtub in admiration.
After her exploration of the taps, she turned to see James placing his last item (a razor) in one of the cupboards. The two of them both left the bathroom through a third door that lead into the hall between James and Lily's rooms at the top of the stairs. "Well, I'm gonna head to Gryffindor," James said as he made his way down the stairs. "Did you want to come?" he asked, looking over his shoulder as he walked over to the portrait hole.
"Sure," Lily replied, hurrying to catch up with him. "I promised Sirius I'd come," she added in explanation. James nodded.
The two left their dorm and headed towards the Gryffindor common room, walking, as was their way, in a silence that was not quite uncomfortable. Once they had climbed through the portrait hole at the Gryffindor entrance, Lily looked around the room to see if Jacqueline was in there, but she was nowhere to be seen. Probably with Adrian, she thought to herself as she headed for Sirius. She looked over her shoulder and saw James heading towards his other friends.
Sirius tried to split his time up fairly between Lily and his friends, generally eating most of his meals with the guys and hanging out with them half of the time. They got Friday night, Lily got Saturday night. Any classes he shared with both Lily and the guys, the guys took precedence, and Lily didn't mind. After all, he had been friends with them long before they had started dating. Beside, Lily also had Jacqueline to hang out with.
"Lil!" Sirius said, jumping to his feet to give her a hug when he saw her. "How are the rooms? Are they really cool?" he asked, settling down on the couch again and pulling her into his arms.
Lily snuggled up to his chest contentedly. "Yeah, they're amazing. You have to come see them sometime. You'll love them!" she told him with a smile before reaching up to pull his face down to meet hers.
Lily hung out with Sirius for a couple hours, just talking and cuddling on the couch by the fire. Once it reached about half-past eleven, she checked her watch and realized she ought to head off to bed.
"Sirius, I've gotta go," Lily said, giving him one last kiss.
"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back onto his lap, where he kissed her again.
"Yes, I'm sure!" Lily said, giggling. "It's time for me to go to bed! We have class tomorrow." Sirius groaned at this remark, never one to be overjoyed at the mention of class.
"I know but-" he was interrupted as Lily kissed him.
"Alright, night Sirius. I love you," Lily told him as she stood up.
Sirius stood up as well. "I love you too, Lil." He pulled her into a hug before pushing her gently towards the entrance. "Night."
Lily climbed out the portrait hole, looking over her shoulder as she did so. Sirius was looking at her, so she blew him a kiss just before the portrait closed.
Lily walked back to the Heads' rooms. She yawned as she said the password to the sleepy little girl, and once she climbed through the portrait hole, she headed immediately for the stairs. When she reached the top, she realized that James must still be in the Gryffindor common room, as his door was open and he hadn't been in the Heads' common room. She shrugged it off. After all, he was of no concern to her.
Lily entered her room and got ready for bed before climbing in and turning out the lights. Her new bed was very comfortable. She was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow, slipping off into a world of dreams of the year to come.
I'd swim across lake Michigan,
I'd sell my shoes.
I'd give my body to be back again,
In the rest of the room.
To be alone with you.
You gave your body to the lonely,
They took your clothes.
You gave up a wife and a family,
You gave your goals.
To be alone with me.
- To Be Alone With You, Sufjan Stevens