As Lily walked into the Gryffindor common room after Christmas break ended, she could not believe how much everyone had changed. Every face held a little more shadow, a little more fear. Protected and shielded from the rest of the world at Hogwarts, every student that travelled home for Christmas felt the stress of the on-going war descend upon them while they were outside the thick castle walls. Panic resided under the surface of everyone's skin, horror lurked in everyone's eyes. Lily felt like the entire world was just a ticking bomb waiting to explode and take everyone with it.
"Hey, Evans!" a familiar voice called out. Turning, Lily saw James Potter grinning at her, his hair its usual mess and his glasses sliding halfway down his nose.
"You're looking beautiful as ever." James said gallantly, pushing his best mate, Sirius Black, into quiet Remus Lupin to make room for Lily on the couch. "How was your break?"
To James' surprise, Lily took the seat without argument.
"Truthfully, it was tense. The entire time I was away, I felt anxious to be back here." Lily said in a low voice. "This bloody war has everyone on edge and I feel like I'm the only one that feels it."
Remus Lupin looked up from his book with a sad look on his face.
"Lily, we feel it too."
"Yeah," Sirius chimed in, looking grim. "It was weird being at home and finding out what was actually going on. I mean, we get some news here through the mail, but it's just not the same as being there when you get the news for the first time."
Sirius' mouth tightened into a grimace and Lily recalled that his parents were staunch Purebloods—and had all been in Slytherin, which these days only meant one thing. Remus rested his hand on Sirius' arm gently. Lily felt his secret hurting and watched as Sirius and Remus excused themselves and drifted off to the dorms, hand in hand.
James, who had uncharacteristically remained quiet, now spoke to Lily fervently.
"Being at Hogwarts might make us feel safe, but we all have to come to accept that it won't always be safe." He looked more serious than Lily had ever remembered seeing him. "That's why it's really important to be here and learning all we can right now. We have to be able to fight when the real trouble comes."
Lily looked at James—really looked.
James' eyes were honest, all joking gone, his voice determined. Lily had no doubt that James would do whatever it took to be able to fight.
"James Potter, the Quidditch star, going from Hogwarts' prankster to defender of the innocent," Lily kidded lightly.
James looked at her oddly and suddenly, he was clutching her hands tightly in his own.
"Lily, you've got to believe me," James said. "You've got to believe me that I would do absolutely anything in the world to keep you safe. I mean, I know I've done stupid things," he conceded, "but times are changing and so am I."
He set his jaw and said firmly, "Lils, I'm going to keep you safe."
Those simple words sent a rush of calm through Lily. She looked at him with immense gratitude and said gently,
"You know, I think I do believe you."
James nodded with that serious look still on his face. The clock chimed a quarter past eleven and Lily blushed, suddenly feeling shy.
"I suppose I should be going up now," Lily said, tilting her head towards the stairway leading to the girl's dormitories. Their hands were still connected and she withdrew hers quickly. Lily stood and smiled at James who was remained sitting on the couch, a pensive look on his face.
"See you tomorrow, Potter." Lily said.
A smile lit up James' face and Lily smiled back before heading up to the dorm.