Tears AfterDark

James smirked as he saw Lily Evans sneaking out after curfew. She was in for at least a month's worth of detentions if she got caught. As he neared her, he noticed she was struggling to draw a breath, and froze as she heard him approach.

"Please leave me alone."

He blinked once. He was definitely not used to this quieter Lily. "Are you okay?"

"Not today, please just leave me alone."

James's face quickly became an expression of concern as Lily vigorously wiped away at her tears.

"What do you want, Potter?"

"I- nothing. Nothing. What happened, Evans?"

"Absolutely none of your bloody business. Now you go ahead and hex me, prank me, whatever you please, but I need you to leave me," she said, turning to look out the window overlooking the frozen lake, where snow was quickly falling down.

Normally, James would be inclined to leave her after a witty remark or two, but he had never seen Lily Evans look so...hopeless. He moved toward her, enveloping her in a hug. She startled like a deer in headlights, struggling to move away. However, that proved to be a bit of a challenge for her as she was currently facing a very large, open window, not to mention she was four floors high, and this hug was the closest thing to human contact she had had in about a year. She quickly lost resolve, relaxing into the embrace of her worst enemy.

That's all it took for Lily to begin sobbing. A small bit of common human decency. She turned into his chest, and James let his chin rest on the top of her head while she shook with quiet sobs. He rubbed her back in silence, holding her close to his chest. As her tears slowly subsided, he reluctantly pulled away from her, suddenly feeling very awkward.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

Lily figured she ought to tell him now and then tomorrow she could go on and pretend tonight didn't happen. So tell him she did.

"I...I feel so alone." She paused, furrowing her brow. "Why do you care? Are you planning something? Well it won't work, you can sod off, Potter."

"Lily. I may be a prat but contrary to your belief, I do care about you. You look like you need someone. I'm here. I promise I'm here."

"I just...I don't have anyone. Severus hates me. Marlene and Dorcas are home for Christmas. My own sister despises me. My parents are dead. I walk through the corridors in fear of my life because I'm a muggleborn. I have no future. There's a war going on. I've wanted to feel something that isn't despair or numbness for the longest time. And I have so much bloody work."

James took her in his arms again, holding her tight against him. "Lily. I had no idea," he murmured against her forehead, "I'm here. You are going to be okay, no matter how bad life is right now. You will be okay. I'll make sure of it."

"I don't need your pity, Potter. You are going to forget this happened at all tomorrow. For now...just hold me. Please."

And so they sank to the corridor floor, and James held her all night, whispering against her temple until she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

Tomorrow, Lily would deny this ever happened. She would deny how safe she felt in his embrace, how much better he made her feel, how she didn't feel alone. But for tonight, she slept.