Evans and Black.

Lily Evans was not the kind of girl who cried over some words on a piece of paper.

At least she told herself that.

No. She would never be that girl, she thought firmly.

Tuney's letter crumpled up in her first. And she had the urge to set the letter on fire, just for good measure.

At the same time, it was her only contact with her older sister in months.

She'd been worried at first when she'd taken off the letter from the bird. Then her worry had changed to surprise because it was Tuney writing, sober and practical Tuney instead of the raging drunken mess she'd been when Lily had last received word from her sister.

Lily sighed. Taking out her wand, she tapped the letter once.

The paper levitated for a moment then folded itself into a butterfly and flew out of the window.

Now was not to time to mop over Petunia's horrible words.

Lily was her own person. So what if her sister thought badly of her? It was Lily's views that counted not somebody else's!

Yeah, but she's your sister. She knows you better than anyone.

Once, she knew me better than anyone, Lily thought.

Still grasping her wand, she twirled it in practised motions, producing several large soap bubbles that floated in the empty classroom.

The soap bubbles reminded her of a better time.

There was a time when she and Tuney spent hours creating magical recipes to make large and long-lasting soap bubbles from their mother's favourite shampoo. At that time, Lily had been just a child, she had no clue that magic would soon turn out to be very real.

She waited until all the bubbles had popped before standing up from the chair. She meant to leave the room but somebody was leaning against the door.

"Can I join you in your mopping?" Sirius Black asked, his arms folded over his chest.

"I'm not-Sure," Lily resigned. She barely had the strength to go nit-picking with Sirius.

Sirius sat down in the chair opposite her.

"Why are you mopping?"

"Letter from my sister."

"ah," Sirius nodded grimly, "She asked you not to visit again?"

Lily bit her lip from trembling "yeah."

"You know she can't stop you, Evans. It's your home too," Sirius said softly. His habit of calling her by her last name had never really fallen away.

"Not anymore, Sirius. It isn't even home. It's just a building. Somebody else's building. Tuney needed the money for her wedding and she wanted to get rid of the house. I couldn't say no to her, especially not after Mum and Dad," her bottom lip trembled again, "She told me to keep my share and never see her again."

"Shit," Sirius murmured.

Lily's heart which was brimming with emotions for the past few days, now began to spill at once, "I've no home to go back to. My parents are dead. My sister is getting married next month to a man who despises anything 'abnormal'. I'll never get to see my only family ever again. And truly, it's not like I want to! I don't want to see her either. I hate her at the same time I-I,"

"You still care for her," Sirius finished.

With only the desk separating them, Lily put her head down against the hardwood, hiding her tears, "I do. And this past week, James has been such a prat. Why does he always, always find the need to constantly coddle me like I'm-I'm going to break down any second, that I'm this-this fragile girl who can't take it anymore."

Sirius reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, "No one thinks like that about you, Lily, especially not James. He knows that you are strong and brave and powerful. But he also knows that you are a human who needs love and affection. Being constantly around is his way of showing love," he shrugged, "When I first ran away from- from Grimmauld Place to my real home, he was just, oh, everywhere. It's his way of showing he cares. He can't bear to see the people he loves in pain. If it was up to him and he really wishes it was, he'd just take up what's wrong with the world and try to mend it all on his own."

Lily looked up and made a noise between a snort and a sob, "He really would."

Sirius' palms touched the tabletop with a soft thud. He straightened up. Now much closer to the red-haired girl, he determinedly looked at her.

"I don't ever want you to feel you don't have a home. This is your home. If one thing that I've learned after running away, it's this. A home isn't a house. It's a feeling, it's a sense of belonging, Lily. And fuck Petunia if she makes you feel like you don't belong. She can't make you feel something that you are not. You have a home, Lily, with James, with us."

A while later, they returned to the Gryffindor Common room, bidding each other goodnight before turning to their respective dormitories.

Lily was in her pyjamas, ready to fall asleep when her eyes fell on a folded parchment on her pillow.

Evans, it read.

With the rest of her roommates already asleep, she sat down on her bed, pulling the curtains tightly.

James's familiar handwriting stared right back at her.

My Lily,

I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. I was truly worried. I felt helpless seeing you like that and in my helplessness, I now see that I went overboard.

Lily, I didn't mean to drive you away. I only thought that by holding you closer, I might take away at least some bit of your pain. Padfoot says you are okay now, and he won't tell me what happened other than you agreed to go to a Muggle concert with him. He used to ask me, you know before he betrayed me. My best friend thinks I'm not good enough company for him anymore.

What I'm trying to say is that we are all here for you. I'm right beside you, not in literal terms, Mcgonagall would have a heart attack if she finds a boy in the girls' dormitory. I still want her to teach our three kids, I know, I know you said two. But, Lily, we can't divide even numbers between their odd-numbered godfathers.

Sorry, I'm steering off the point again.

I love you. I love you so much. I promise to be there until the very end and even after that.

Your James.

So yes, Lily Evans was the kind of girl who cried after reading some words on a piece of parchment.

Thank you for reading!

Sacraa