A/N: This is my first. For now it is a oneshot but it might become a story once. :) Hope you like it.
The beginning of a friendship
There are always things in our lives we can't control. One of those things is our family. Lily Evans has learned that while she was still very young. While she and her older sister Petunia were kids, they were the best of friends too. They used to do everything together. That fell apart when Lily got accepted to Hogwarts and Petunia had to stay with their parents. It wasn't Lily's fault that she was a witch, but Petunia had a hard time understanding that. For some time, Lily was convinced that Petunia is going to come around.
Lily lost all hope last year when Petunia got together with Vernon Dursley, whom Lily didn't like at all. But this year brought Lily yet another disappointment. Today, she received a letter from her father that brought tears to her eyes. That's why, at this moment, Lily wasn't in her bed in the Gryffindor tower. She couldn't bear talking about this to her best friends and roommates, Alice and Mary. She wanted to be alone so she was up on the Astronomy tower even though it was almost midnight and it was not allowed, not even for prefects like Lily. That's why Lily was scared when she heard footsteps coming this way. She tried to wipe the tears and think of a way out, but whoever was coming was too close for her to run away so she just turned around and waited.
"What do we have here? Perfect miss prefect out of her bad way after bedtime. Waiting for Snivellus, are we, Evans?"
Lily knew that voice all too well. It was the second most annoying person in Hogwarts.
She didn't have the strength to play nice at this moment: "Can you please fuck off?"
It was his second mistake that night, but he didn't give up.
He was obviously in a mood to rile her up: "What? It is shameful when we do it, but it is perfectly okay if you and your slimy Slytherin boyfriend do it?"
At that point she lost it so she turned around and glared: "I wish you could just fuck off and leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for your bullshit and I do not have the strength to explain complicated words like solitude to you at this moment, Black.".
It was the combination of her tears and lack of her usual goody two-shoes aura that made him rethink his act. Suddenly he felt very protective: "What happened? Are you okay, Evans? Are you hurt?"
She scoffed: "Like you care."
He did not give up after that, if anything he was even more worried: "Look, Evans. I might be a jerk, but if someone hurt you... Is there anything I can do to help?"
She snorted, like there was a way he could understand what she was going through.
"I am not hurt Black. Not a scratch.", she snorted.
"That is not what I was talking about Evans and you know it. What is going on?", he was being persistent.
Lily just turned her head back to the wall. She couldn't talk about it, not yet. So she gave him the letter her father sent her earlier that day. She did not know why she did it, but it was easier to talk to him then her roommates. Sirius was very quiet for the next few minutes.
"I don't know the whole story. But does this mean that your sister doesn't like you very much because you are a witch? That is what caused all this?", he asked carefully.
"She hates me, yes", Lily spoke bitterly, "It is like that since I first left for Hogwarts."
Sirius didn't know what to ask or what to say at that moment, but he knew the feeling very well. It was after all, very much like his relationship with Regulus.
"You did nothing wrong Lily. I doubt that you wanted it to be this way. If your family can't accept that you shouldn't blame yourself. I know it is not easy. But don't blame yourself for this.", he whispered.
At that moment, Sirius wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself. But that wasn't important.
"How do you know that I blame myself Black?", Lily was stunned he could read her like an open book.
"Because I blame myself for Regulus.", his honest answer shocked both of them.
Sirius didn't know why it was that easy to talk to her, he was usually very closed about his brother. Lily was shocked, she didn't even know Black had a brother.
"You have a brother?", she asked.
"Yeah, Reg and I, we used to be best friends. But then I left him alone with Walburga and I got sorted into Gryffindor. When I came back home next summer, Reggie wouldn't talk to me. He hated me so much for something I couldn't change. I lost my best friend and a brother because of who I am. I am not proud to call myself Black, but I was always proud of my little brother. And I lost him to prejudice and my mother.", he told her.
By the way he was talking she could tell that this was not a topic he felt comfortable talking about. But she understood his feelings perfectly.
"I am sorry, Sirius.", her words were very quiet but he heard.
There was silence for a couple of minutes but then he laughed.
"On a scale from one to calling me Sirius, how bad do you feel for judging me?", he joked.
She smiled at him: "Now? Somewhere around zero, Black."
They stayed on the Astronomy tower for hours, talking about nothing and everything. They talked about their friends, teachers, plans and many other topics. Much to Lily's surprise he turned out to be quite a nice guy and she could talk to him easily. They could both see that this night was a beginning of a friendship, but there was one more thing bothering Sirius.
"Hey, Evans... So, do you still hate me?" , he asked.
She shook her head: "No, I think you might actually be a decent human being."
He stared at the wall in front of him: "What about him?" .
She knew he was talking about his best friend, his brother: "Don't test my limits. But I do not hate him, he just annoys me all the time. And I won't pretend I like him for you, I am sorry. Does that change things with us?".
He looked sad: "No. But can I just make a proposal?"
Lily was confused: "What kind of a proposal, Black. This doesn't sound like something that I will be comfortable with."
Sirius paused before speaking, he was still trying to think about the best solution for this situation.
"Well... James would be hurt if he found out that we're on speaking terms. I am not saying that I don't want him to know. I just want some time to figure out how to tell him. Or how to make him act like a person when you're around. If you agree with that, of course...", he didn't know how else to put his plan in words.
"So, you want me to be your secret best friend?", she laughed.
"You can't be my best friend, sorry. But yeah, something like that. Just until I figure out how to tell James.", Sirius was happy that she didn't overreact.
"Sure Black, but let's go to bed now, I am getting sleepy.", she smiled.
It was nice to know that he worries about other people's feelings, even though it was about Potter. They both went to bed that night calm, knowing that there was someone they could talk to about their families, knowing that the other person will understand their feelings and thoughts.