James Potter was flying towards the center goal, the Quaffle tucked safely under his arm, a confident grin splayed across his face. He deftly avoided bludgers and Slytherin Chasers alike, zigzagging his way across the field. He stretched out his arm, the crowd chanting his name, "Potter! Potter!"
"Potter!"
His grin faltered, the Quaffle dropped. He knew that voice, knew it like the back of his hand, but he had never heard it sound so frightened...
"James?" Lily Evans whimpered.
James sat up in his four-poster bed, squinting at the door. "Lily?" he asked groggily.
He could barely make out the Head Girl standing by his door, her features lit by the wand she was clutching with both hands.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure..." he replied, feeling around for his glasses. He slid them on as she sat on the edge of his bed.
In the semi-darkness, Lily Evans looked... terrified.
"Are you alright?" James asked. Lily opened her mouth to respond when a bolt of lightning cracked across the sky. Her eyes widened and a small, scared-sounding noise escaped her throat.
James chuckled softly. "Lily Evans... are you afraid of a thunderstorm?"
Lily bit her lip and nodded, gripping her still-lit wand even tighter. James threw off his covers and sat cross-legged by her, smirking as Lily's eyes widened and she blushed deep red upon seeing his shirtless state.
"Like what you see?" he joked, striking a pose. Lily giggled at his antics, momentarily forgetting about the storm.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked. James shook his head and adjusted his striped pajama pants.
"No. Aren't you?"
"No."
James eyed Lily's cotton shorts and thin long-sleeve shirt skeptically. "Positive?"
Lily hesitated before nodding. "Really, I'm fine."
James rolled his eyes and moved back to his sleeping spot, holding up the scarlet blankets. "Get in."
Now it was Lily's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm not sleeping in your bed with you, James."
"I never said that," the Head Boy replied. "But you might as well be warm as you wait out the storm."
Lily glanced from James, to the window being pelted with rain, to the goosebumps on her legs. "Okay. But just until the storm's over."
She crawled in, laying down to face James, still clutching her wand. Thunder boomed outside the window, and the remainder of Lily's blush fled, turning her face bone white. Eager to get her mind off the storm outside, James continued with his questions.
"So what do you do when it's storming and you don't have my room to run to?" he asked cheekily. Lily laughed and shoved his chest, and James tried to ignore the electric jolt that came from her touch.
"Well at home I have Petunia to bother, and before this year I could just wake up one of the other girls in my dormitory. But since we have our own Head dormitories this year..." she trailed, shrugging.
"I know what you mean," said James. "It's weird being in a completely different part of the castle every night. I miss the other Marauders sometimes."
Lily nodded, then laughed. "This feels like a sleepover."
James chuckled. "I haven't had one of those in a while."
Lily nodded. "Me neither."
"What do girls even talk about at sleepovers?" James asked. "I've always wanted to know."
Lily giggled. "It's a secret."
"Aww, come on!" James pouted. "Just tell me."
She laughed again, then shrugged. "Nothing, really. Drama. Classes. Boys."
"Boys?"
"Yes, boys. That's pretty much it,"
"I can't help but wonder..." James smirked. "Have the Marauders ever graced the topics at a sleepover before?"
Lily snorted. "What do you think?"
James grinned. "I think we're the main topic. Am I right?"
Lily only shrugged, but the smirk on her face gave away the answer. James raised his eyebrows in shock, and before long the two were cracking up. James was wiping tears from his eyes and Lily was holding her stomach, when;
BOOM.
She grabbed James' arm tightly as another of round of thunder and lightning shook the castle and lit up the room. Burying her face in his bare chest at the sight of another round of lightning, James hesitated, then ran his hand over her silky red hair and rubbed circles in her back, making soothing sounds.
"Shh, Lily. It's fine, I'm here. Shh."
More thunder boomed across the grounds and Lily whimpered, pulling herself even closer to James. He continued rubbing her back, and after a long while the storm died down.
"Lily?" he whispered, pulling back to look at the girl in question. "I think it's over."
"Mmm," she murmured. "James."
She's asleep, he realized. Carefully, so as not to disturb her, James eased Lily's still-lit wand out of her grasp. It came easily, and her now-empty hand moved to rest on his chest.
Removing his glasses and muttering 'Nox', James set both items on his bedside table. He smoothed Lily's hair out her face and kissed her forehead gently, noticing how she smiled in her sleep as he did so. He wrapped his arms around her and she unconsciously snuggled in, pressing her body against his. James smiled and noticed they fit well together before nodding off himself, dreaming of flying and a certain redhead.
Too soon it was morning, and James, groggy and dazed, squinted at the daylight pouring in his window. He moved to sit up when he noticed Lily buried in his neck, his own arms wrapped protectively around her waist.
What the...? Oh yeah. The storm. Lily must have fallen asleep in here during it.
Deciding that an early morning fly around the pitch sounded better than Lily's sure-to-be-awkward awakening, James carefully maneuvered out from under her and dressed for the chill autumn air. At the last minute, he decided to leave the Head Girl a note.
Lily,
I just want you to know I'm here for you whenever you need me, and not just during the storms.
-James
A few minutes later James was walking out to the pitch, Nimbus on his shoulder, and glaring daggers at the perfectly clear and cloudless day before him.