Something About the Rain
It was raining. Thanks to this rain, Lily Luna Potter was stuck inside the Three Broomsticks with Lysander Scamander, the two of them desperately needing to get back to school before curfew unless they wanted detention – which, incidentally, they didn't. The rain wasn't exactly helping with that. Lily checked her watch. Nine fifteen; fifteen minutes until curfew, until they were locked out of school. The rain pounded calmly on the window. Shit, Lily thought.
Lysander sat next to her at the bar, sipping his butter beer quietly. He watched the rain outside the window with a calm that Lily could never hope to achieve. There was too much Weasley in her, too much redheaded temper – though, now she thought about it, her father wasn't exactly mellow either. How Ly could just sit here and watch the rain escaped her completely.
Lily took a deep breath. They needed a way to get back into Hogwarts by curfew without getting totally soaked. She decided she would relax and think. The rhythm of the rain pounding on the roof and walls of the pub helped her to calm down (the only thing it was good for, it seemed), and she soon organized her thoughts into an escape plan.
Her father had told her about all the secret passages from Hogwarts into Hogsmeade. His favorite had always been the one in the Honeydukes cellar, the one that led to a statue only a few corridors away from the Gryffindor common room.
Lily's brown doe eyes shown with excitement as she turned to Lysander, a wide smile on her face. Lysander looked at his friend, a look of mild bewilderment plastered on his face due to the sheer deviousness of her grin.
"I know how to get out of here," she whispered hurriedly. His pale eyebrows went up, but other than that he showed no sign of shock. Lily ignored this; she was used to her best friend's lack of expression.
She quickly explained her plan to Ly in hushed tones, the words stumbling over each other as they tried to get out. Ly nodded along with a blank look on his face that made Lily wonder whether or not he understood a word she said. But then he said, "So I send a Patronus to James, telling him to leave the Cloak by the statue of the hunch-backed witch, then we run across the street to Honeydukes, slip into the cellar, and crawl through the passage. We come out, get under James' Cloak, and then sneak back to Gryffindor common room, correct?" Lily nodded in relief.
"Alright then," Lysander said, clapping his hands together. He flagged down Madame Rosmerta and paid for their butter beers, then pulled the hood of his cloak tightly around his head. Lily did the same and they both waited by the door.
Lysander muttered a quick spell under his breath and a few seconds later a silver hare stood on the floor next to them. Lysander muttered a quick message, and in a blur of silver, the hare was gone.
"On the count of three," Lily started. "We run for it. One. Two. Three." Both teenagers dashed out of the Three Broomsticks and across the brick road towards Honeydukes.
Lily and Lysander scrambled under the thin awning that clung to the building. It didn't do much good, but as long as they kept their bodies pressed to the wall, they stayed relatively dry. Without pausing, Lily grabbed desperately at the door handle and pulled, but the door wouldn't budge. She tried again with no success. She continued tugging futilely, tears streaming down her cheeks. The rain soaked her to the skin and her wet clothes clung to her curves, showing off her body nicely. Turning to look at Ly and her hair framed her face like a halo. Her bright, brown eyes seemed to shine.
Lysander gaped openly as this suddenly beautiful girl sat down and began to cry. Lily put her head in her hands and sobbed. They were going to be late, and they were soaking wet. She couldn't have imagined a worse Hogsmeade trip.
Suddenly, she heard Lysander sit down next to her. He wrapped his arm around the crying fourteen-year-old, pulling her in close. Lily rested her shoulder on Lysander's chest, staining his already-drenched shirt with tears. She felt his gentle breathing on the top of her head.
"Shh," Lysander murmured into her hair, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. After a few moments, Lily took a shaky breath, drying the last of her tears with the side of her hand. Ly tilted her chin up so that she was looking him straight in the eyes. Lily had never before noticed what beautiful eyes he had. They seemed a sort of silver-blue, like the stars sparkling at night.
The rain still poured down on them, but neither of them noticed. Lily gazed into Lysander's eyes and completely forgot her troubles. They didn't really need to get back by curfew; they could suffer through a detention.
Lysander kept his hand under her chin; with the other, he tucked a strand of dark red hair back behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek. Raindrops glistened on his dirty blond hair and Lily thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Ly leaned down closer, until they were nose to nose. Lily stretched her neck upward and finally their lips met. Her eyes closed and the whole world melted away. All that mattered was that she was here in Lysander Scamander's arms and the world felt like pure bliss.
Rain poured down around them and it was well past curfew, but the two didn't tear away. Lysander's tongue traced the outline of Lily's lip and she grabbed his hair. His arms were locked firmly around her waist as their lips moved in sync in the perfect kiss. The two stayed kissing passionately until a large, silver dog barked and moved between them.
The dog opened his mouth and when it spoke, it had James' voice. "Where the hell are you two? You better hurry up, Filch is in a bad mood," it told them before dissolving into silver mist.
Lily and Lysander stared at it for a second and then returned back to each other. James would no doubt be pissed, but who cared about him when you could snog the newfound love of your life? The two resumed their battle of tongues, water droplets still falling all around them. There was just something about the rain.