Lily Evans was a good Head Girl. Honestly, she was. She followed the rules, always came to time, helped the Prefects and students at Hogwarts, and she always did her patrols.
This wasn't something she planned on changing.
Well, that was until she had run into Amos Diggory in the library, and they had begun talking. In the beginning, she had planned on nothing else, but to borrow One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi for her Herbology class, and then head back to the shared common room, of her and James, so she could hopefully have a bit of time to study, before patrols started.
But alas, Lily should've guessed she would never have such luck. Time had seem to run so fast, when they had talked, and now...
Well, Lily was late, alright.
She was at the moment, rushing through the halls of Hogwarts, her shoulder bag bouncing up and down, hitting her thigh, but she didn't have the time to adjust it. Merlin's beard, Head's was all the way on seventh floor! She couldn't possibly make it in time.
In her head, Lily was already making up stories, that would excuse her to James:
I ran into a bunch of Slytherins, throwing dungbombs...Professor Flitwick asked to talk to me about my Charms assignment...I had to take a third-year Ravenclaw to the Hospital Wing - yeah, got a bloody nose, from a duel.
None of them sounded very believable.
So she would have to deal with James' endless teasing, over that she was the one who was late, and how, hey! Hey, wasn't it funny, how she was the one who had scolded him for coming late to class but now- Oh yes, now, she was the one who was late. Not very good at following our own rules, are we, Evans?
Oh, she could already hear his teasing voice, echoing in her head. Merlin, she would have to hear for this for the rest of the patrols.
Bloody hell, no! Lily still had five minutes, and she wasn't... All too far from Head's Common Room, was she? No. Well... Perhaps a bit, but she wouldn't let James Potter have the glee, of her getting there late.
So she sped up even more, if that was possible at the time, and ignored the screams for air, that her throat were begging for, and the throbbing on her upper leg, that came from the annoyingly heavy bag.
She had to remind herself to not keep so many books in her bag.
And then, finally, after what seemed like forever, she could say the password to the common room, and stumble inside, gasping for air.
She leaned over, resting her hands on her knees for a bit, before stumbling over to fall down on the nice, soft couch.
Another thing she would have to remind herself, was to get in better shape - this was embarrassing.
But as Lily said there, a small frown appeared on her forehead, as she didn't hear no taunting voice. She stood up, and glanced around the common room, and little after, her mouth fell slightly agape, her heart skipping a beat.
It couldn't be...
"James?" she called, as there still was the chance, that he might be hiding in his dorm. Quickly, she walked to the stairs that led to his room, biting down on her lower lip hardly. "James? Are you there?"
She stood for a bit, but the only sound hearable, was her own deep breaths. No one returned her calls, no footstep could be heard, stomping over the floor, no nothing.
Lily couldn't believe her luck! James actually hadn't arrived yet! Oh, wands and toads, she wouldn't have to hear of his taunting all night long!
Relieved, she walked back to the couch, falling down on its soft, red, cushions. She heaved her bag up next to her, and opened it, grabbing the book she had borrowed.
It wouldn't hurt if he didn't know that she was, in fact, also late. So she decided to pretend she wasn't, and so, she opened her book, pulled her feet up on the couch, and began reading.
But she had hardly fastened her eyes on the first page, before she heard the door getting slammed open, and none other than James Potter, stumbling inside, as she had, only a few moments ago.
He too, seemed to be struggling for breath, but he held a hand in the air, holding two fingers up.
"Two... Minutes..." he breathed, as he walked over to the couch she was currently sitting in, slumping down beside her. She raised her eyebrows at him questioningly.
"M'sorry? James?"
"Two... Minutes..!" he repeated, leaning back against the couch, turning his head to look at her. A huge grin was showed on his face, and he shoved a fist into the air, letting out a short laugh.
Lily could do nothing, but stare at him, confused.
"I made it! I bloody made it, Lily Evans! Two minutes 'till patrols starts! Ha!" he let out a short laugh, letting his fist fall back down, as he ran it through his hair instead. "I can tell you, I ran from all the way down on first floor! What do you say to that, eh?"
She couldn't help but laugh, as she shook her head at him. "First floor? Well it was bloody darn stupid being down there, when you knew you had patrols too," she said.
"I may have forgotten," James admitted and shrugged. "But I came in time. As I promised."
Lily nodded and smiled, closing her book, and putting it aside on the couch. She stood, and nodded her head towards the door, while she internally praised herself, for breathing normally again, and not being obvious about being late - although, she supposed, that wasn't all that hard, but Lily was only a decent liar, and a top-trained one like James, would easily see through her, if she said something wrong.
"Let's go, then?" she asked.
James groaned, and leaned forward, grabbing her wrist. "Just... Sit, just for a minute. Please?" he was still breathing heavily, as he pulled at her arm, succeeding in making her fall back on the couch.
"Alright, just a minute," she agreed, and James nodded gratefully.
"Did you wait for long?" he asked after a bit, where they had sat in silence.
Lily bit her lip, pondering on whether to lie, or tell the truth. How long had she waited? 10 minutes? 15? 20? Or should she tell the truth, that she had only just arrived herself?
She had finally decided, to just tell him the truth. It would do no good to lie, but apparently her traitor-mouth thought otherwise, as she heard herself blurt out, "Oh, just 10 minutes. Not that long. I came right from the library."
She closed her hands into a tight fist, her nails digging into her fingers. It was too late to take back the lie now, and either he would believe it, or he wouldn't.
Lily hoped for the latter.
And to her relief, the top-trained liar, didn't see through her decent one. Instead, James just nodded, and gave her an apologetically smile. "Sorry I was late, then."
Lily returned the smile, and shook her head. "Oh, but you weren't, though. Two minutes, right?"
James grinned and nodded, standing up. He stretched, looking down at her, as she was still sitting in the couch. "Let's get going, shall we?"
"We shall," Lily agreed and stood up, as the pair of them headed for the door.
