Disclaimer... These characters belong to JKR
"Why on earth" Madam Pomfrey tutted, "did you think it would be a good idea to fight a group of Slytherins two to one?"
She dripped Essence of Dittany into the slashes on James's chest and he winced, the wounds smoking slightly. The Hospital Wing was close to empty; none of the Slytherins had turned up for medical assistance.
Outside, James could see the harsh white light of stars, and it reminded him of the enchanted icicles shining at the Yule Ball and how white and perfect they had made Lily Evans look. He'd like to see Lily in the starlight, he thought, slightly wistful.
"Technically it was one and three quarters to one" Sirius pointed out from his perch on a window ledge. He was massaging a bruised arm and scowling.
Remus and Peter, sitting in a pair of chairs, were regarding their two friends with identically exasperated expressions.
"You're both bloody madmen" Peter said flatly.
He had a small cut above one eyebrow, and one arm was covered in painful red boils. Peter had been the least injured, the other boys protecting him.
"Yes but we're your bloody madmen"
Madam Pomfrey swatted James on the back of the head.
"I'm sick and tired of seeing you and the Slytherins in here after duels!" she held her wand under his nose menacingly. "Now, I haven't said anything to the Headmaster, but this has got to stop. I know you don't get along, but these-" Madam Pomfrey ran a finger along a gash on James's cheek; "these were made by Dark Magic. Avoid them. Or I will tell the Headmaster"
"Sorry Poppy" Sirius said meekly, and the dark-haired witch smiled suddenly, pulling him off the window ledge and patting him on the cheek.
"Rest" she said sternly, and bustled away.
Immediately, the other three boys converged on James's bed, crowding onto it.
Sirius directed the curtains closed. He was still holding the stunned Kappa on his lap, and patted its head absently as he tucked his legs under himself.
"Madam Pomfrey's right" Remus said. He sounded solemn, and gazed at the thin white fabric around them. He could see the shadowy shapes of the other beds through it.
"What, about avoiding the Slytherins?" Sirius demanded indignantly.
"No, no" his friend reassured him. Moony leant back on the pillows, and James wiggled over, tugging the blankets with him. "I mean about the Dark Magic. Those cuts wouldn't heal with just anything, James. You blacked out for a bit down there, after the Slytherins scarpered. They wouldn't close with any of the spells I know"
Peter sighed. It had been far too long a day for him, but he was content now. His friends were with him, even though they all barely fit on the bed together, the air smelled of spring, and soon OWLs would be over. Life was good.
James drifted off first, glasses half falling off his face. A few hours later, Madam Pomfrey returned to make sure they were alright, and smiled at the sight of them, curled up like puppies on a bed far too small.
The spotless white fabric of the canopy did absolutely nothing to shield the bed from the sun, and James woke up squinting in the brightness.
Moony was asleep on his shoulder, and James grumbled half-heartedly as he detangled himself gently. It was a beautiful day already. The sun was shining brilliantly, a jewel in a setting of fluffy white clouds and clear blue sky. From the window, James could see the lake. The Giant Squid lay on the surface, lifting a tentacle to the sun lazily from time to time. Birds wheeled in the sky, and a group of owls bore down on the school, robins and sparrows mixing with them fearlessly, knowing from experience that the owls were well fed.
It was extraordinarily easy on a day like this, to believe that all was right with the world, that anything wrong could be fixed with a hastily cast 'reparo' and a brilliant smile. One days like today, the world seemed new and soap-bubble shiny, fleeting rainbows hovering and disappearing, the earth floating effortlessly.
It was nice, James admitted, feeling the sun on his face and a light breeze. It was nice to feel safe.
He enjoyed the sun and the silence for a few more minutes, before going to wake his friends with pillows to the faces and an open mouthed laugh.
"Eargh" Moony complained, covering his eyes. Padfoot whined and tried to use the still-sleeping Peter as a shield from the pillow, but James pulled them up cheerfully.
"Breakfast" he coaxed, and they hastily rolled out of the over-crowded bed. Katherine the Kappa was awake, her shiny silver eyes following the boys crossly. Sirius slung her over his shoulder and patted her on the head. She attempted to throttle him.
"J-James" he choked out, gesturing frantically with the hand that wasn't trying to peel Katherine off his throat. "Help"
Remus, shaking his head, conjured a cucumber and tossed it to the irate water demon.
Releasing Sirius, she bounded after the cucumber.
"She's like a puppy" Sirius said fondly.
"A murderous puppy" Peter observed, taking a few steps back. His shoes squeaked loudly on the shiny floor.
Shaking his head at his friends, James set off for the door without looking back.
Breakfast that morning was a sombre affair. The Head of the Department of Mysteries, (at least, they thought she was the head. The Department of Mysteries was really rather secretive, hence the name) had been found dead in her home, the Dark Mark above. According to the Prophet, she was Muggleborn. The tone of the article was rather sulky, and James, who'd learned to read between the lines long ago, assumed that the Ministry was strictly controlling what information the paper released.
He read the obituary between bites of poached eggs and toast. Her surname was Blacknord and James recognized the name vaguely. He thought they might be third cousins. Not a Muggleborn then. He frowned. Despite their obedience to the Ministry, the Daily Prophet was usually better at fact checking.
The Minister had refused to comment on her death, James noticed, with a sudden bubble of anger. Minister Wanda Hartford had successfully distanced herself from any hint of Death Eater activity. When Jemma, the second year was found, she'd said that it was 'most regretful'. She refused to publically condemn Voldemort.
James couldn't understand it. You were put in a position of power; given the responsibility to protect those with magic, and those affected by it, and you just pretend that nothing's happening? That no one's being killed? He could understand fear but he couldn't understand being controlled by it.
He slashed his wand across the thin paper of the Daily Prophet and it curled quietly into ashes with a faint sigh.
The sickly green glow of the Dark Mark was printed onto the backs of his eyelids when James shut them.
Defence that morning was a pushover. They were learning how to cast a Patronus, and James had been casting them since last year. It was however, quite satisfying to see Jugson's face when his stag cantered around the classroom before dissolving into mist.
James snuck a quick look at Lily and fought back disappointment. She wasn't watching. She was clapping softly as a raven, quick winged and huge, burst from the delighted Mary's wand. Mary's silvery raven was the first corporeal Patronus apart from James's, and when Jugson hurried over with a 'well done, Miss MacDonald. I know your father, he'll be very proud', James couldn't find it in himself to resent Lily's diverted attention.
Lily seemed to be having trouble. She was in a corner, by herself, while Mary's raven chased Camilla's slim, slippery fish, which darted through the air as if it were a fast running stream.
"Having trouble, Evans?"
Lily whipped around, eyes flashing. Potter was standing in front of her, looking faintly amused as he took in her outstretched wand.
"Yes" she said shortly. He looked faintly surprised, and Lily wondered why. Maybe cause she was normally meaner.
Potter took a step closer, close enough that he was in Lily's space, but not so close that she was uncomfortable.
"A Patronus" he said quietly, not looking at her, "is that perfect Christmas morning when the snow's untouched and you feel like you're the only one awake in the world. A Patronus is Marlene's laugh and Mary's smile and Camilla's beam and Anna's cackle. A Patronus is the scent of Amortentia. A Patronus is the moon in the sky, so close you could skate your fingertips across it and they'd come away silver and glowing. A Patronus is a kitten's fur and a crackling fire. It's an O on a paper, the steam on the top of a perfectly brewed Potion, the way the Hogwarts's Express seems to gleam after you haven't seen it for months. A Patronus is-"
He seemed to want to say more, but he caught himself. Lily wished he hadn't.
Lily's mouth was half open and she closed it hastily.
"How-" she began, before closing her mouth again, somewhat shakily. She rested her hand on a desk, grateful to find it solid. "How could you possibly know that?" she finished in a whisper.
Potter shrugged, his assuredness gone.
"I'm not quite sure" he told her, looking at Lily, suddenly, "but I do know you. And that's what you are and it stands to reason that that's what your Patronus is as well"
Lily nodded and raised her wand again. She forgot to be angry at Potter for saying that 'knew her'. She pictured the classroom empty. Tables, pushed against the walls, chairs on top blocking the windows and slicing the light into equal pieces. It was empty, in her mind, except for one person. Well, two, really. Herself, and Potter, who in her mind was standing directly behind her, arms crossed, waiting silently. She had the fleeting sensation of someone holding her hand, a large hand folding around hers.
Lily closed her eyes and thought of magic. Not of one, specific, all encompassing, joyful memory, but a thousand small ones. Quidditch games, high in the air. Owls winging their way through an empty sky. A whispered charm on a quiet morning. The bewitching beauty of a perfect potion. Thousands of moments that made Lily Evans, Lily Evans, thousands of moments displaying what ran through her veins, raw, natural power expressed in tiny, casual ways.
"Expecto patronum"
Something slim and dainty stepped from the tip of her wand. Stepped, Lily thought, was really the right choice of words. It didn't bound or burst or gallop or surge like some of the others, but slipped through elegantly, head high.
Lily's breath caught slightly. The silvery shape that was walking in sedate circles around her was a beautiful doe. James's stag that he'd brought to life quietly trotted towards the deer and lowered his head.
The doe lay her cheek along the stag's for a second, before winking out of sight. The stag quickly followed.
"Thank you" she whispered, not sure if Potter could hear her.
Lily looked up and realized the class was watching her. Aliah Simpsons, a Hufflepuff girl that Lily knew for a fact fancied Potter, looked almost comically enraged.
"Well" Jugson said, briskly, clapping her hands, "keep going, no reason to stop"
Most of the room complied, but Mary stepped over to Lily and tugged her away, casting a look back at Potter.
Potter was staring at his feet with great interest so she couldn't see his face, and she let herself be pulled away with only the slightest wave of regret.
"What was that?" Mary demanded, once they were tucked into a corner.
"Er" Lily said lamely, "that was my Patronus?"
Mary regarded her disappointedly.
"Lily. Patronus's are the way they are for a few reasons. They either reflect your own personality or they change to match the person you love"
Lily's mouth hung open again. She closed it.
"Well" she protested, "that's absurd. It's a coincidence. Obviously"
Mary was grinning and shaking her head merrily. The other girl leaned close and Lily leaned back. The look on Mary's face did not bode well for her.
"Either you're extraordinarily similar to Potter, or, you're in lurrrvee"
She half sang the last word, drawing it out childishly.
Lily shook her head stubbornly, frowning.
"Oh don't be stupid"
A contrite expression crossed Mary's face. She was more solemn these days, since her aunt's disappearance, and Lily regretted making her stop laughing. She didn't see it nearly often enough.
Marlene drifted over, looking gleeful, and Mary immediately cheered up, trading heavy winks with the other girl.
"Summer or winter?" Marlene asked briskly, leaning against a desk.
Her horse Patronus galloped towards them before shimmering away.
"Pardon?" Lily said, trying the spell again. The doe appeared, just as before, high stepping her way around the classroom like a show pony.
"Oh" Mary sighed, "Lily would look just lovely in the sun, her hair, you know, but she's so pale, winter would almost be better. Her green eyes would be just perfect"
"Sorry?" Lily was thoroughly confused now.
"For your wedding" Marlene clarified, smiling fondly as Remus managed to conjure a silver wolf and the other Marauders raised a cheer.
Lily coughed loudly, sure she'd misheard.
"My wedding?"
"You know" Mary said, "to Potter"
Lily sat down. Her friends, of course, did not detest Potter to the same degree as she did, but they weren't friendly with him. How did they go from that to planning their wedding?
"There's this old superstition" Marlene told her wisely and perched on Lily's desk. "When two magical people's Patronuses match, they'll fall in love. 'And it will be love of the very deepest and truest kind'. It's not talking about if like, they mimic each other, like if Mary and I both had dolphins or whatever, it means if they complement one another. Like your doe and Potter's stag. My mum told me, she said that her gran and grandad had a vixen and a fox as theirs, and they were the closest couple she ever saw. She said they were soul mates"
"That's so lovely" Mary breathed, beaming.
Lily held up her hands, palms out.
"You're mental. Or joking. I hope you're joking, because else you're just deluded"
"We are not" Marlene protested indignantly, "Patronus matching is a very credible science. My aunt and uncle met through a Patronus Program"
Lily wrinkled her nose.
"A what?"
"A Patronus Program- it's like arranged dating. You give an organizer your Patronus type, and they match you up with someone whose Patronus suits yours. Like- er, a tiger and a dolphin"
Mary shook her head. Tapping her wand absently on the desk, she conjured a cup of tea, and raised it to her lips to take a sip, her feet swinging.
"How on earth do those match?" she asked Marlene.
"I think it's something about how the majesty of the tiger is matched by the playfulness of the dolphin, the tiger brings loyalty and logic, and the dolphin brings- er, the reminder to laugh"
Lily laughed at that. Outside, it was sunny and bright, and she beamed at it, before turning back to Marlene.
"You've been listening to WWN again" Mary accused fondly, setting her tea cup down.
"Maybe"
Lily shook her head.
"It's a load of rubbish, Lena. You can't tell who you're supposed to be with on account of a protective charm"
Mary and Marlene traded significant looks, but seemed to silently agree to drop the subject, for which Lily was grateful.
James frowned as he watched Lily's doe, and thought about the rest of his sentence.
"A Patronus" he would tell Lily, "is the sound of your voice. It's the colour of your hair when the sun shines down on it. It's the way you're bright and brilliant and burning. A Patronus is your smile and your eyes looking at someone you love. A Patronus, Lily, is you"
He didn't say that though. He would never say that, because she would never want to hear it.
A.N. Thank you for reading! That was a fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoyed the Jily scene. If you did, please, please review and give me your opinion! Have a wonderful day.
