"Remus told me about Herbology," Sirius elbowed James hard enough that he winced. He shrugged and stuffed more roast beef into his mouth. "She's warming to you."
"She wants to set my hair on fire," James said after swallowing thickly. "Doesn't count."
"She didn't hex you at least."
"I think she wants to do it the Muggle way," James said. He looked up as owls flooded the room. His heart sank. An evening edition of the Daily Prophet. That meant nothing good. A letter from his own parents dropped into his lap before Sirius got his subscription.
We are both well.
Hasty, but enough. James let out a sigh of relief as Sirius unfurled the paper, and he realized why his parents had sent the letter.
They were on the front page.
"James?" Sirius's voice wavered. He slung his arm across his brother's shoulders.
"They're okay," James assured him, holding out the small slip of a letter. He said it again because it didn't quite feel real.
The house—their house—had been attacked. Repairs had been swift, but his parents were shaken. Two Death Eaters were in St. Mungo's, and his parents were at home. The Ministry was now in talks to provide more rigid security around the home.
They did their homework together in the library, all four of them, quiet enough that Madam Livre did not come by even once to silence them. James fidgeted with his snitch when he was done, waiting on Peter and Remus, the latter of which kept spacing out. For the first day back, there was a surprising amount of work to be done.
"I'm going back to my room," James said. Usually, he would've wandered around the grounds to be alone, but now he had his own space; he wanted to try his common room. He fished out the Map and handed it to Remus. He murmured a correction to Peter and pulled his school bag over his shoulder. He clapped Sirius's shoulder and meandered out.
He didn't know how tired he was until he'd kicked off his shoes and fell asleep, sprawled out on the largest couch in the Heads's dormitory.
When he woke up, Lily was curled up in an armchair facing him, reading a textbook and scribbling notes into the margins. His glasses were folded on the coffee table nearby, though he didn't recall taking them off. He made a wild grab for their vague shape, clearing his throat as he did. Lily looked up as he crammed his glasses on his face.
"Are you all right?" She asked gently. The paper was on the table too, neatly folded but face down. James nodded, sitting up against the arm of the couch. Lily continued reading, scratching out a note. She blew on the ink and closed her book carefully. "There's Floo powder if you want to talk to them."
"I don't know," James rubbed the back of his neck.
"What was the last thing you said to them?" Lily asked.
"I told them good-bye at King's Cross," James flushed under her intense gaze, "Said 'I love you' and all."
Lily nodded, looking away from him, her legs curling closer to her chest. James sat up, twisting and putting his feet on the coffee table to annoy her. She didn't notice.
"Why your parents?" she asked. James frowned. "I mean, they're Purebloods."
"They're lobbying the Ministry to extend the protections they're giving to everyday Muggles," James explained, tapping his feet against one another. Lily watched them, her lips tightening.
"What do they care?" Lily demanded.
"I told them you- well, I told them that your family was barely even aware of the war. They can be a little out of touch," James said sheepishly.
"And what business do you have talking about me or my family?" Lily asked coldly. James opened his mouth and closed it again. She was right. "I didn't mean it like that-"
"No, it's my fault, I shouldn't have talked about you without your permission," James said hastily. She reached out to kick his calf.
"If it's going to help people, I don't think I mind so much," Lily snorted quietly.
"What's funny?" James smiled. She was beautiful when she laughed. This wasn't that, but it was damn close. She looked comfortable, with him. James couldn't help but stare, especially when she noticed and her face flushed.
"You've never bent over backwards for me," Lily said. Her blush deepened with his widening smile, "I mean- to apologize to me. Or anyone, really."
"I'd bend all sorts of ways for you," James grinned. She kicked him again, standing up abruptly.
"Feet off the table, you filthy animal."
.o0O0o.
"And that's the schedule for this week," Lily said, passing out each personalized version. She and James both had a master copy. If ever they couldn't sleep, they'd leave a note on the common room door saying they'd gone out to check if people were doing what they were supposed to. James went out more than Lily, though she didn't sleep much more than him, and she knew he wasn't exactly doing what he was supposed to every time.
They hadn't fought thrice in the past week, and Lily found herself less irritated in his presence. James saluted her and ducked out after the rest of the prefects, off to Quidditch practice. Lily collected the sheet of notes he'd been mostly doodling on and tidied the borrowed classroom as best she could. She found herself looking closer at his doodles, biting her lip.
He'd written her name in his messy scrawl, and a few of her quips from the evening that had made him smile were artistically rendered beside some of the other, more routine information. He'd made a scoreboard, and she'd been awarded seven points, 'everyone else' just three. He'd drawn two pairs of eyes, almond shaped and crinkled happily.
Her feet took her back to Gryffindor tower before she truly looked up from the paper. She shoved it in her bag carefully and gave the Fat Lady the password. She slipped inside.
"Lily!" Marlene crushed her into a hug, leaving Lily physically crushed and a little confused, considering she'd seen her friend just a few hours before. "Please tell me you're here to tell them off."
Lily looked around Marlene at Remus and Peter, who waved guiltily. Sirius stood halfway up the wall, frozen to avoid drawing her attention. Lily drew her wand, well aware of the small crowd. "Sirius Orion Black, I swear to Merlin, if you do not get down this instant, I will drag you down myself."
"Well, hullo Mum, I didn't see you come in," Sirius grinned shamelessly at her. Lily flicked her wand, letting him drop. Remus casted a quick Cushioning Charm under his breath, and Sirius bounced to his feet. Marlene moved aside as the dark haired man marched toward her. "Really, Evans, don't you have anything better to do?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Black," Lily scowled.
"I don't appreciate the way you're trying to steal James from me, Evans," Sirius said. Peter gasped behind him, muttering something to Remus. Lily ignored them both, narrowing her eyes at Sirius as color filled her face.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said coolly. Sirius smirked at her. It wasn't nearly as infuriating as James's. Lily only wanted to strangle him.
"Oh, come on," Sirius lowered his voice, well aware of their lingering audience. "Prefect meetings for an hour before Quidditch practice?"
"He's the one who schedules them like that."
"Head meetings for an hour before that?"
"McGonagall insists that he be a part of the decision making process. I didn't make him Head Boy!"
"Studying with him between classes?"
"We don't study between classes," Lily frowned. Usually, they found someplace where no one passed by and sat in blessed silence for half an hour to an hour. Occasionally, she would be tired enough to fall asleep on his shoulder. But usually they were just alone, together, quiet or talking nonsense.
She realized her mistake too late. James had probably lied to cover for her lack of unending energy and kindness. And she'd just botched it.
"Why, Lily Gardenia Evans-"
"That is not my middle name," Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she peered at him suspiciously.
"You haven't been snogging my mate between classes, have you?" Sirius asked. Lily turned a darker shade of red.
"No," she snapped. She sincerely doubted James would still bother now that he knew what a mess she was. Lily glared at him, "You're a true nuisance, you know that, don't you?"
"You're so embarrassed," Sirius said gleefully, poking her cheek. Lily grabbed his finger and twisted. "Oi! Evans!"
"You need to learn to keep your damn mouth shut, Sirius," she hissed. His jaw dropped.
"No way."
She pushed him off her and waved to Marlene, turning toward the portrait door. She should've figured that at least one of them would try to follow her. She had just hoped it would be Remus, not the ever persistent Sirius Black.
"For the record, Lily, I was joking," Sirius said, catching up with her easily. Did all of them have to be so damn tall? She huffed and pressed on.
"For the record, Black," she shot back, "I don't care."
He caught her arm and dragged her to a stop, "Lily, you care about everything." She ground her teeth and looked up at him. But his gaze had softened, "Even if you don't want to."
"He can be tolerable," Lily admitted. She pulled out of his grip but didn't move away. She let out a short breath, "He hasn't been sleeping very well lately. Can you back off on whatever planning you're doing? He's really worried about your guys's parents."
Sirius nodded, though his face did grow suspicious, "You two are friends now?"
"Something like that," Lily shrugged and started moving away.
"Remus told me about your dad," Sirius said. Lily paused, clenching her fists around her schoolbag's strap. "Marlene didn't tell me before. I'm sorry."
"It's all right," Lily said. She hesitated a moment, wondering if she should ask him not to tell James. That would be harder though, to tell him herself. Easier to let Sirius or Marlene to.
"Lily?"
"What?" Lily sighed. This was typically the part where he made some joke. But there was only concern in his dark eyes.
"How do you know he's not sleeping well?" Sirius asked quietly. Lily bit the inside of her cheek and took a step back, hugging herself. Sirius took a step to gain back the distance. "If you were sleeping through the night, you wouldn't notice."
"I'm fine," Lily smiled. "I'd be more worried about Peter's Transfiguration grade than me."
"Lily-"
"Have a good night, Sirius," Lily said, turning on her heel.
"Have a good night," Sirius called as she started off. When Lily returned to the Head Common Room and sat down on one of the couches, she felt the grey nothing seep through her. Now James was going to be doubly annoying. Once Sirius talked to him, he would be insufferably sensitive and kind.
It was a Friday. She didn't have to do any work right then. She didn't want to read or write or anything. Sleep sounded good, but she knew that it would allude her for a few hours yet.
The portrait door opened, and she groaned. She peeked over the back of the couch at James. He was in the process of pulling his practice tee over his head.
"James!"
He jumped, flinging the shirt at her instinctively. Lily shrieked quietly, throwing the sweaty shirt away from herself. She scrambled to her feet, already scowling.
At her request, James was being very conservative about what he wore around the Common Room. She caught a glimpse of him yanking on or off his shirt as he entered or left his room from time to time. Too often those glimpses ended up occupying her thoughts. They did share a bathroom, but they were both very vigilant about locking the doors that connected to their respective rooms.
Lily really wasn't ready to face James without a shirt on.
"Holy shit! I thought you'd be in your room." He dropped his Quidditch bag by the door and pulled the portrait shut. His hair was wind ruffled, his glasses askew.
Lily was well aware that she was staring, and that he had said something, but she hadn't been prepared to think at all for the rest of the evening, and his arms were bare. And Merlin resurrected, he had abs.
"Evans?" James said, stepping closer. Lily blinked, trying to clear her head. She was in so much shit. She ducked behind the couch to grab his shirt, throwing it back to him hastily. He caught it and slung it over his shoulder. It was a good look. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Lily said, brushing her hair back behind her ear. He smiled and she smiled back. Lily knew she should call him out for staring. But she was staring just as much. She could feel the heat in her face, which only worsened when his smile became more lopsided. She was thoroughly enjoying her discovery of dorky James Potter. "Er, how was Quidditch?"
"Good," James cleared his throat. "I was gonna take a quick shower."
"Oh," Lily brushed a hand through her hair again. He didn't move. She could see every breath he took. He was still smiling at her. "What?"
"You called me 'James,'" he said simply.
"That's your name," she answered, laughing lightly.
"You always call me 'Potter,'" he shrugged. Lily rolled her eyes and sat back down on the couch.
"Clearly, not always," she said. James approached and a part of her sang, another wishing they had just stared at each other for a little bit longer. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows, "What now?"
"Does this mean I can call you 'Lily?'" James grinned down at her.
"Have I ever been able to stop you from doing whatever the fuck you please?" She asked. He gaped. "I swear, get over it."
"I'm not going to let this go," he flicked his shirt at her. Lily gasped and stretched up to push him away. His chest was solid and even more distracting. He laughed and retreated, grabbing his bag before running up the steps to the bathroom. Lily watched him carefully. "Unfortunately, you're going to have to live without my beautiful face for a few minutes."
"How ever will I survive, James?" Lily called back.
"You could always join me," she would've glared if she could have seen him. He flung the shirt down at her, and once more she had to bat it away. The door closed before she could reject his offer flatly.
Lily waved her wand to summon one of the books and bit her lip to control the smile raging out of control. She cast a quick Cleansing Charm on the shirt and stuffed it in her bag, extracting James's sheet of doodles. She pulled the paper over her book.