Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AN: So this story was by far my most popular, so for those of you that read/reviewed and added this to your favorites; first of all thank you much from the bottom of my heart. I am so glad that you liked it. Second; Don't panic. I promise it hasn't changed much at all, I just "spruced it up" a bit.
It was a few hours before sunrise when the tiny, doll-like figure darted from the doorway across the hall into the room her eldest brother slept in. It was a trip the young girl had taken many times before, ever since she could walk, and even in the near-pitch dark she was able to maneuver easily to peek over the edge of her brother's bed and poke him sharply in the arm. "James!" she hissed as loudly as she dared. "Are you awake?"
James -a gangly young teenager huddled under a mass of blankets and pillows- grumbled "I am now." Assuming that this was just like every other time his sister had woken him up in the middle of the night for a nightmare or monsters under the bed, he rolled over lifting the blanket for her to crawl in next to him. "Wa's wrong Lil?" He asked drowsily, opening one sleepy eye.
"I'm scared." Lily told him pulling the blankets up to her ears, like she was five, not eleven, and still believed that a simple blanket and her brother's presence could protect her from any danger.
Teddy was her hero, and Albus was her best friend. But James, James always had been, and would always be her protector.
He licked his lips sleepily and said "Why?" he was slowly going back to sleep -Lily could tell- so she pinched his nose between her thumb and finger. "Okay," he said his voice a little odd but definitely awake, "I'm listening."
"I don't want to go to school," she confessed. Her gray eyes filled with nervous fear.
For the past two years, since Albus had left for Hogwarts, all Lily could talk about was how much she wanted to go. How she couldn't wait until the day when she would get on the train and go to the magical school just like all of her brothers and cousins. So when-the night before she would finally get her chance-she admitted that she didn't want to go, James was...surprised to say the least.
Her brother frowned. "Sorry?" he asked hoisting himself up on his elbows to look at her.
It was like a damn breaking. Suddenly every piece of anxiety she had been feeling since she received her letter came flooding out. "I won't be good enough. I won't have any friends. I'll fail every examination. I won't be on the Quidditch team. I'll lose my house a billion points because I won't ever get a question right and, and-"
"Lily!" James cut her off quickly. "Lily, wait. Stop. Where's all this coming from?"
She looked at the pillow. "I'm not funny like you," she said. "I'm not great like Teddy, or smart like Al. I'm not brave like mom." And I'm not him. The last part went unspoken, but both siblings heard it as clearly as if she had screamed it.
"Lily," James began, "You're eleven. You haven't even learned the basic spells yet. How do you know how smart you're going to be, or what kind of witch you'll turn out to be?"
She pouted "What if I'm in the wrong house?"
James shook his head. "Lily, you'll be fine. You'll make lots of friends and you'll be an amazing witch. You'll almost definitely be on the Quidditch team. You're one of the best players in the family -excluding myself of course," he added trying to make her smile. It didn't work. He sighed. "Teachers don't take away house points if you get an answer wrong, only if you do something bad. You won't fail every exam." He tweaked her nose affectionately. "And who cares what house you're in?"
"You told Albus that if he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor you'd disown him." She reminded him.
"I was joking. He's not in Gryffindor now is he?" he asked her.
"Well no..."
"And I haven't disowned him yet have I?"
"No, but..."
"No buts. I don't care what house you're in. You're still my baby sister, and I'll still love you."
Lily knew she was the only one that he would talk to like this. For everyone else he was a tough, fun-loving boy who had no time for sappiness of any kind. For Lily he was always forgot that rule. She was his Lily-bug, his baby sister. She knew he would do anything to make her happy as long as it was in private. He did have a reputation to uphold after all.
After a few moments she nodded. Her nerves and fears resigned as they always did when her big brother was around.
"And Lily?" he said rolling onto one side so he could look directly into her clear gray eyes, the same eyes that he shared. She looked at him questioningly. "I'm not him either." he told her seriously.
There was no need for words after that so they both settled down, ready to go back to sleep and get ready to face the day ahead.
"James?"
"Humm?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
"James?" she asked after a moment, sleepily.
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
He whispered back, though he knew she was already sound asleep, "I love you too Lily-bug."