It probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world for Alice to be awake in the middle of the night, standing beside Lily's bed, staring at its occupant. Mainly because Lily had recently confessed to Alice the way James Potter made her feel. Partly because she would look crazy if discovered.

It didnt' matter in that one moment, because for a few minutes, Alice could pretent Lily was hers. Her eyes followed the soft lines of Lily's face, the slight swell where her cheekbones lay, her closed almond-shaped eyes. The slightly upturned end of Lily's nose made Alice smile, and really, all she wanted to do was to trail her hands along Lily's pale, fragile-looking face, to cup it in her palms.

She wanted to map out every inch of Lily, be the reason for her bright smiles, see her every morning and every night.

And she hoped that maybe, just maybe, when this horrible war was finally over, the two of them could have the happy ending the so deserve-

Lily turned to her side, facing Alice. Alice's breath caught in her throat, and for a moments she was overwhelmed with feelings. What if Lily woke up? She would look like an idiot or like a stalker if caught, and Lily would not want anything to do with her. Alice's heart pushed blood through her faster than usual, and it pounded in her ears. A few moments passed, and during that time Alice barely breathed. When she finally decided that all was good, that the coast was clear, she let out a shuddery breath and closed her eyes in relief.

She wanted to stay there by Lily's side forever and a day, but she knew that it was really late (or really early, depending on how one looked at it), and that she should probably go.

She leaned down, holding her breath once more. She got in close enough to inhale some of Lily's scent - like flowers, freshness, and a warm summer's day - and imagined she was allowed to brush her lips on Lily's. How wonderful that would be, to be able to openly do that. But no, Lily was taken - for the moment, at the least. She could deal with all of this once the world was back to normal, she could wait another year or so.

When she turned and left, only making the old floors creak once, Lily opened her eyes and smiled just a little bit. Maybe, just maybe, she thought, when Voldemort was defeated and all was right in the world, they could have their happy ending.