Summary: Lily receives some news from home and James goes to find her.
I'll Take Care of You
'Anyone seen Lily?' Marlene asked the busy Gryffindor common room.
James, currently scribbling absolute nonsense on his parchment about runes by the fireplace, looked up at the question.
'Not since Potions.' Sirius was lounging on the other chair by the fireplace, twirling a quill between his fingers. 'Realising how alone you are without Evans around?'
Marlene pulled at his ear, standing behind his chair. 'It's a good job you're pretty, Sirius. With charm like yours you'll be lucky to find anyone who'd want you if you weren't.' She skipped away with a laugh when he threw a cushion at her, sailing past her into a fourth-year.
'At least I am pretty, you don't even have that going for you,' Sirius replied, standing up to collect the cushion, barely apologising to the fourth-year.
Marlene held the back of her hand to her forehead. 'I give up. I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful.' She sniggered with a roll of her eyes.
James looked down at a piece of parchment Remus had dropped on his lap – the Marauder's Map. He gave him a questioning look as he knelt down by the arm of his chair. 'Lily got a letter off her sister this morning. She's not been … something's not right,' Remus explained with a pointed look.
Without anything else being said, James dumped his schoolwork into his bag, grabbing his robes off the back of the chair, and left as he heard Sirius say, 'You know you want me.'
Opening the map up in the corridor outside the Gryffindor common room, shielding it from the Fat Lady as she chatted away to another visiting portrait. It didn't take him long to find Lily's dot in one of the greenhouses. James looked out a nearby window, torrential rain hammering at it, and mildly grimaced.
With a deep breath, James shrugged on his robes, tucked the map into a pocket and made his way to the greenhouse. By the time he'd made it across the small distance between the castle and greenhouse, he was out of breath and soaked to the bone. There was a single light source in a jar, the dark rain clouds making it appear darker than it actually was, but no Lily.
Frowning, James checked the map again, to see if she'd left, but no, her dot was still here. Putting it away once more, James quietly moved around the long table in the centre, filled with various pots and plants. 'Lily?'
'Go away, Potter,' Lily croaked.
Turning on the spot, James scanned all corners of the glass room, before finally kneeling down and finding Lily tucked under the table, her knees pulled in tightly to her chest. She was leaning her chin on her knees, eyes red and cheeks damp. 'Go away,' she said again.
'Did Snape do—'
'Not everything is about Severus,' she snapped. She roughly wiped at her cheeks with one hand and returned to hugging her legs.
James crawled under the table, tucking himself in, matching Lily's position, facing her, and spotted a letter to her side on the soil-littered floor. 'Remus said you had a letter from home, off your sister?'
This seemed to bring on fresh tears. James reached out and put a hand on hers. He felt a jolt of unexpected joy when she gripped it back. They stayed like that for a while, listening to the rain thundering against the glass, never seeming to end, like the clouds had an endless supply of rain to unleash.
'My parents are dead,' she whispered. She met his gaze and he saw the grief – the pain – she was drowning in. 'Car crash.'
James didn't have any words for her. He slowly moved to sit by her side, putting a tight arm around her shoulders. He could say sorry, but who did that ever help. Instead, he leant his head against hers, which she leant into as well, and he let her cry on his shoulder.
'I'm all alone, James. When I leave here next summer, I've got no one.'
James had heard how little she got on with her sister since coming to the school. It was probably best not to bring her up at this point. 'That's not true. You've got Marlene and Alice and Remus and Sirius and Peter … and me. We're right here.'
Lily didn't say anything. He felt her move, brushing away more tears from her face. James shifted to look at her. 'I'm not very good at looking after people unless I can offer them food.' He started rummaging around in his robe pockets. 'Would you like' –he pulled out an apple triumphantly– 'a granny smith apple?' That got him a frown.
'Okay, not an apple.' He threw it to a nearby plant that caught it much like a dog would, crunching on it noisily. 'What about' –he rummaged about a bit more before pulling out a chocolate bar– 'some of Honeydukes' finest?'
'Remus will never forgive you for giving his chocolate away,' she said with a sniff and a small smile.
'Remus would want you to have the chocolate.' He gently placed it in her hand and smiled when she kept hold of it. He shifted forward and gently wiped her face with the edge of his jumper sleeve. It got a small laugh out of her. 'I'll take care of you,' he promised. 'I'll make sure you're never alone.'
'Will you come to the funerals with me?' she asked suddenly, surprise in her eyes, like she hadn't expected to ask the question.
'Just try and keep me away.'
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (challenges & assignments) Prompts
Spring Funfair
- Cocktail Bar - Margarita - Tequila - (Dialogue) 'You know you want me.'
- Leap Frog - (weather) Torrential Rain
- Paint a Rainbow - Orange 8. James Potter
- Teddy Bears Picnic - Pork Pies - (plot point) a death
- Birdhouse Building - Step 2 - (dialogue) 'It's a good job you're pretty, [Name]'
- Egg Hunt - Purple Egg - James/Lily
- Spring Parade - Howl's Moving Castle - Howl - (dialogue) 'I give up. I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful.'
April Writing Club
- Written in the Stars - 1. (character) James Potter
- Book Club - Luke - (character) James Potter, (dialogue) 'I'll take care of you.', (genre) Hurt/Comfort
- Elizabeth's Empire - 24. (object) Letter
Spring Quarterly
- 42. Tel Aviv - (pairing) James/Lily
Would You Rather...
- Write about the Marauders OR write about Fred, George and Lee?
Yearly
- Scavenger Hunt - 13. Write a story set in the Marauders Era
- 365 - 162. (character) James Potter I
- Fantastic Beats - 87. Harpy - (character) Lily Evans Potter
Spring Seasonal
- Days of the Year & Religious Events - 29th March - Write about doing something good for someone else.
- Crayon Day - 8. Granny smith apple
- Children's Book Day - 13. (object) Chocolate bar
- Locations - 2. Greenhouse
- Hufflepuff OTPs - Het 1. James/Lily
- Hufflepuff Challenge - 7. (item) Marauder's Map
Word Count: 934