(A/N: As much as I would love to own ANY of the HP characters, I am not as brilliant as JKR, and therefore don't deserve it... But read and review my story anyway!)
Lily pulled her cloak tighter around her skinny limbs and glanced down the corridor. No one was around. Perfect. She climbed up the stairs, and pushed the door to the balcony at the top of the Astronomy Tower open.
On the roof of the tallest tower at Hogwarts, there was a small classroom, used for Astronomy lessons, and a large, telescoped-lined balcony. That was where she had always been able to think, or get away from her classmates. Tonight she needed both. She pulled her hood up and ventured out into the rain.
She wanted to sit there, in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain. She just needed to be outside, listen to the thunder, hear the torrents of rain, and hopefully it would clear her head. Her parents were dead... Wasn't a desire to be alone justified?
Earlier that evening, just as dinner had been ending, Professor Dumbledore had called her into the room behind the teacher's table in the Great Hall. Without saying a word, he led her into the room, closed the door and took a seat in one of the many squishy armchairs. As he motioned for Lily to take a seat, the only thing that crossed her mind was that she was getting a 'T' in all of her classes. But no, she couldn't be that lucky.
"Lily, this isn't easy to say..." he began apprehensively.
Lily's eyebrows rose. Maybe Potter had done something stupid and blamed it on her. Maybe she was being sent home. Maybe she was being expelled! She glanced at Dumbledore, who was staring into the flames, roaring in the fireplace. If Dumbledore couldn't even look at her, her life was most certainly over.
He took a deep breath and said, "Your parents..."
And that was when she realized she wasn't fortunate enough to be being sent home due to her atrocious grades. There was no home now.
"It was a group which I'm not sure if you've heard of... the Death Eaters. I'm sorry."
Lily knew exactly what a Death Eater was. She didn't just glance over the Daily Prophet like most kids did. "What! But they're muggles! How would the Death Eaters even know- What about Petunia? Is she okay?" Lily demanded, fighting back tears.
"If I am not mistaken, your father works for the Prime Minister, correct?"
Lily nodded.
"And as a Christmas present one year, you gave him a lifetime subscription to the Daily Prophet, seeing as he was so intrigued by our way of life..."
Lily nodded again.
"Well, I am under the impression that your father began to notice similarities between the mysterious deaths in the Wizarding World, and those of the Muggles. Well, of course he was right, and if it's one thing Lord Voldemort can't stand, it's a Muggle who knows too much." Dumbledore explained.
Lily was crying freely now. "And Petunia?"
"Your sister had already moved out. She's fine. Definitely shaken by the news, but who isn't?" Dumbledore said.
Lily sighed. Her parents were dead... Her parents were dead because they could put two and two together. Her parents were killed by a man who people couldn't even call by name. Why them?
Lily snapped out of her memory. Her long red hair was soaking wet, and she was freezing. But she wasn't going inside. She would rather cry alone than have everyone in the common room bug her.
She didn't realize anyone had joined her until she heard the door slowly click closed. She didn't care if it was rude to ignore them, but they would have to forgive her for feeling mildly antisocial at the moment.
The guest pulled the hood of their cloak up and took a seat next to her on the cold cobblestones. "Hey Evans." A familiar voice said.
"What do you want, Potter?" she retorted rudely, refusing to take her eyes off the Forbidden Forrest.
"I erm... I heard about your parents." He said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay..."
Lily almost had a coronary. Since she had learned about her parents murder, all anyone could manage to say to her was 'Oh, how terrible!', or 'I'm so sorry!'. She was tired of the constant apologies, especially those of her friends. But now, the first person to come and check on her, to be sure she hadn't dived off the Astronomy Tower, or chugged an entire bottle of Skele-Grow, was the one person all of her friends had labeled an insensitive, egotistical jerk. Who was the insensitive one now?
"Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want the whole school to leave you alone?" James asked, breaking the silence. "I can pass the word along, if you'd like- I mean... I'm sorry. I'm rambling."
"Lily nearly passed out. She wanted to run down to the common room, get a piece of parchment and a quill and compose a formal document proving that a really hot guy- complete with a fully functioning heart was not the myth many girls believed it to be.
But once Lily thought it over, she knew James was there because he wanted something. Something she sure as hell wasn't going to give him. If that was what he was after, he would have to track down one of the hundreds of girls who were more impressed by Quiddich skills and silly pranks than she was.
Although, Lily wasn't one to complain. Misery loved company, and she wasn't about to tell hers to go the hell away just because it was barking up the wrong tree.
Finally, she sighed. If he wanted to talk, she would talk. "Do you know how my parents died?" she asked.
"No... Do you want me to?"
It was a good question. It was one Lily had not expected. If she said 'yes', she was sure to cry more, and she really wasn't up for that, especially in front of the super-gorgeous Mr. Potter. But if she said 'no', she would look like an idiot for asking the question, and Lily Evans was most certainly not an idiot.
"My parents are muggles. So is my older sister, Petunia. My dad works for the Prime Minister, and he started noticing similarities between the catastrophes in the Wizarding community, and those of the Muggles. To make a long story short, he knew too much and You-Know-Who went..."
"Voldemort." James corrected firmly.
"...went after my family." Lily finished. "Why did you do that?" she demanded. She wouldn't stand for being corrected by a stupid jock like him.
"Dumbledore calls him by his real name, and the rest of us should too." James said.
"Whatever."
"And your sister?" James asked, after another uncomfortable silence.
"She's fine..." Lily said. "She moved out over a year ago."
James felt even worse than a million dementors could make him feel. There was nothing like knowing the girl you had loved since you were twelve was miserable, and you couldn't do anything about it. "I don't know what to say."
"Well, that's a first." Lily snapped. "You could always tell me why you're really here." She added, when James didn't fight back.
"I'm here... I'm here because I hate seeing you like this." He said.
"HA! James Potter doesn't care about anyone but himself and his broomstick!" Lily shot back.
"Are you James Potter?" he replied.
"No, but I've read books on Occlumency, and I can tell you're lying!" Lily argued, looking into his eyes for the first time all night. His gorgeous hazel eyes...
'You are NOT giving into him now! He's chased you five years, let him chase some more!' her mind squealed.
"I'm here because you mean the world to me, and I've been too much of a prat to admit it to you until now!" he exclaimed. "Happy!"
And that was when Lily knew he was being 100 honest. Only a boy as ignorant to love as James Potter would use the word 'prat' when declaring his love to a girl like Lily Evans.