Green Eyed Shadows

Coming in From the Cold

Lily sat in the Ravenclaw courtyard and stared at the fluffy snow slowly floating down. Her fingers were the bright red color of blood and her ears felt as though they had been pierced continuously and had no chance of healing, but she didn't want to go inside to retrieve a hat and gloves.

She had just received a letter from Narcissa. In two months the Dark Lord would come to Hogwarts and she was to meet with him so they could consummate their relationship. What relationship? Lily wanted to scream, but knew it would make no difference.

Two months. January. She had until January to do the impossible. For years Dumbledore had tried to find the heir to the Gryffindor line, but apparently they had gone into hiding at some point and no one was aware of what had become of them. Most people suspected that they had died off, but Lily and Dumbledore knew better.

Well, everyone's going to die off if we don't find him, Lily thought to herself miserably. Two months. She watched the white snow appear out of the black, night sky and felt defeat wash over her. It was hopeless. A tear escaped from her eye and she could feel as it fought to turn to ice before falling to the stone bench she sat on.

She was all set for indulging in self pity when the hairs on the back of her neck rose, and it wasn't because of the cold…yet it wasn't unpleasant either, just odd. Oddly…familiar, too. She turned around to see what had caused her discomfort and instead of seeing someone she felt them. Her mind was transported back to when she was a little ten year old playing in her backyard, back before anything had changed.

Flashback

Lily raced through the sprinkler and slid across the wet green grass. She was preparing to do a cartwheel when she one of her buzzies alerted her to a new presence.

"Hello, Mione. You haven't been around in a while."

"Yeah, sorry about that. We've been pretty busy where I come from."

"Are you ever going to tell me where that is?" Lily teased.

"I've told you!" said Mione exasperatedly. "I come from my bed! This is all a dream of mine!"

"Sure, well, you sure don't have very exciting dreams," laughed Lily. "Try to dream about castles or fairies or something."

"I don't need to dream about those," Mione revealed mysteriously. "Lils, I think I have to tell you something important."

Lily sobered quickly. Mione didn't usually act like this. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm not going to be dreaming about you for a very very long time."

"Why not?" Lily asked, worried. Mione was her best friend and usually they met at least three times a week. Lily didn't think she could handle not talking to her only friend.

"A few reasons," Mione said guiltily. "I have new friends now, and I don't think I'll be able to come anymore. Something let us find each other because we needed a friend, but now, it's telling me to say good bye," she said tearfully.

"NO! It's not fair! You're my only friend. I still need you!" Lily cried.

"You'll find new friends. Soon, you'll get a letter just like me, and people will like you for being just the way you are. You'll see."

"I'm afraid, Mione. What if I never see you again?"

Mione sighed and comforted her friend. "I think we'll see each other again one day," the dreamer confided. "Someday when you have no one else."

End Flashback

"Mione?" Lily whispered.

"Lils?"

"You're here! I don't believe it… why are you here?" Lily asked her childhood friend.

"I—I'm not quite sure. Why were you crying?"

Lily reached up and toughed her wet face. "I wasn't," she fibbed. "It was the cold and snow. I'm fine."

Mione studied her for a moment. "You never used to lie to me. What happened?"

Lily looked down at her feet. "I guess now I'm used to lying to a lot of people, so it's just become a habit."

"You don't need to lie to me."

Lily looked at her friend. Mione didn't appear as an actual physical form, more like a blurred outline of someone, but this was the one person who had known Lily before she had begun to change—known her before becoming the shell that she presented to everyone. "I know," she answered truthfully.

So she told Mione everything. About her dad being killed, coming to Hogwarts, the dreams, and all her fears about what lay in store for her. And Mione listened. She didn't interrupt or try to be helpful with advice; she just listened. And when Lily was done baring her heart she felt better than she had in months. She looked at her friend and smiled. "Thanks," she whispered sincerely.

Mione nodded, knowing she didn't have to respond to her friend's woes (AN what a word, right? Woes). She looked over the fallen snow then at her friend, slyly.

"So, what's going on with you?" Lily asked as she turned her head…only to be met in the face with a giant snowball.

Mione burst into laughter. "You little witch!" shrieked Lily gathering up her own snow.

And so they played as Lily had not played for years. When they tired of snowball fights they built a snowman, then made snow angels, then made extravagant fortresses with the help of their wands and then returned to their snowball fight.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Hermione had to wake, and Lily had to return inside. She entered the castle and felt a flood of warmth go through her, odd considering the corridors were usually freezing. She walked down the dark hall trying to silently return to the Heads rooms. She wouldn't get in trouble, but if someone saw her like this, it might bring up awkward questions. She sped up once she neared the rooms and didn't notice someone had been standing there until she bumped into them.

"Oof," she grunted as she fell.

"Well, Miss Evans, seems we always end up on the ground together." James stood up and held out his hand to help Lily to her feet. She placed her hand in his and he pulled back shocked. "Merlin, you're freezing! Have you been outside all night? It's below zero out there." He grabbed her hand again and pulled her up.

"I kind of got distracted," she admitted.

"Come with me. We have to get you warmed up before you catch hypothermia." He put his arm around her and led her to his quarters.

"You don't have to do this, you know," she shivered. "I'm perfectly capable of casting a heating charm."

He rolled his eyes. "A heating charm—or even a warming one—will shock your system. You have to take it slowly."

Lily tried to pull away. "Then how about just go to the hospital wing?" she complained pulling away.

James held tight. "I figured you'd want to return to your own bed as soon as possible, not kept for observation for another week," he explained.

Lily stopped struggling and instead focused on snuggling into his heat. He felt as though he were a seat belt buckle on one of the hottest summer days (AN: don't you hate that?), but Lily knew it must only be because her temperature had sunk so low warm now felt hot.

They stopped at a picture of a griffin and he softly spoke the password: "Gallivant Gryffindors." Lily rolled her eyes at the typicality of his choice.

When lily walked in she was expecting scarlet and gold to cover the whole room, but she was surprised to find warm browns and blues and creams. She found it surprisingly welcoming.

He sat her down on the plush couch and set about gathering potions and a few large bowls.

Lily felt as though she was watching the whole scene take place away from her body. It registered that James had knelt down and removed her socks and shoes, but it seemed so surreal that it felt as though it was happening to another person. He placed her hands and feet in different bowls and poured in a warm bubbling potion that seemed to seep into her bloodstream. After a while—she couldn't even begin to guess at how much time had passed—he took the bowls away and wrapped her in a blanket.

Her eyes began to itch and she fought a loosing battle to keep her eyelids open. She felt the weight shift on the couch as James began to get up and a strange fear shot through her: fear? cold? loneliness? She didn't know, but whatever it was it hadn't been there when James was on the couch.

"Please," she whispered, "stay with me."

He settled back down onto the couch and wrapped his arm around her. "Of course," he breathed into her hair. "I'd never leave you alone. I'll keep you warm."

A/N: Hey, I'm back! It's been over a year but the writer has finally returned. This chapter goes out to Annie and Jennifer, the only two friends of mine that know I have a story on the site. To Annie especially for bugging me this past year to update. Love you all and hope you liked it. REVIEW!!!