"I can't pretend anymore. You chose your way, I've chose mine."
Lily didn't wait for a reply. She didn't want one. There was nothing Severus could say to make anything better. The redhead turned on her heel and went back through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor Common room.
Thankfully, the room was mostly vacant. There were a few people that had stayed up late to play a game of exploding snaps. As soon as the portrait swung closed, she threw herself onto the couch, burying her face in one of those stupid throw pillows.
She didn't cry because she was upset. It was on very rare occasions that she actually cried because she was sad.
Lily Evans cried because she was angry.
Angry at herself, for not listening to her friends when they were right, for ignoring them and thinking he might not be so bad, that he would never do that to her. Angry because she was wrong. Angry because she knew it was going to happen, one way or another. Angry because she hoped it would never happen. Angry because she was stupid for hoping stupid things.
The game of exploding snaps came to a stop fairly quickly, but none of them dared to ask if she was alright. Most had endured the wrath of Lily Evans, and no one ever wanted to again (except for maybe James Potter).
To Lily, the worst part of it was that she figured her friends would be no comfort. All of them had warned her, wondered why the hell she would be friends with him. She knew it was going to happen, she knew. But god, it still hurt to hear it said aloud.
The redhead wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally lifted her head up from the (now soggy) ruby and gold throw pillow. Sleep was not likely to grace Lily its presence, so she figured she might as well find some book to read. Staring at the ceiling in the dark wouldn't be good for her current state of mind. Plus, she didn't want to deal with her friend's stares of either pity or "I-told-you-so" for the rest of the night. Better to stay in the common room and travel to a far off land with some other protagonist's adventures and problems and fears.
Unfortunately, all of Lily's books were in her dorm room.
She sat up on the couch and tried to tame her red hair into a ponytail, and braced herself for her friends.
She was so busy coaching herself on how to ignore her friends that she nearly tripped over the gift in front of her door.
The redhead bent down and nearly burst into tears again when she realized what it was. A book, chocolate, and a note from someone who cares. A silly, stupid grin spread across her face, in spite of everything.
Someone who cares.
She suspected Remus, but wasn't entirely certain. Honestly, it didn't really matter. Whoever it was, knew exactly what she needed and when she needed it. She didn't give a second thought to who that someone was as she gathered her gifts. That could be for later adventures.
Presently, she wanted to escape the Hogwarts walls. Grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch, she wrapped it around her shoulders and settled into the cushions. Before she knew it, somewhere amongst Gulliver's travels, she slipped into a dream-filled sleep.
The sun had only just begun to rise when James Potter made his way through the Common Room to get some breakfast. There was one final Quidditch game coming up in a week and that meant early morning practices. James didn't mind, of course, but the others kind of threw a fit. He would do anything it took to beat the Slytherins.
James nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Lily Evans lying asleep on the couch. He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but she looked beautiful. The little bit of drool falling from her lips, the way she snored just the tiniest bit, the way her red hair had fallen most of the way out of its constraint, the way she was able to fall asleep still reading a book.
A book!
James' heart did a backflip. He hadn't forgotten about the gift he'd left for Lily, but he didn't actually think that she would use it so soon and too see that she actually enjoyed his gift was another feeling entirely.
He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there, grinning like an idiot, staring at Lily, but a voice from behind him gave him a start.
"It's rude to stare." The voice came from Peter, but Sirius and Remus stood next to him, both grinning broadly. Remus and Peter often came to the practices, if not just to watch. Sometimes they would give comments, or shout things like "YOU MOVE THAT SLOW THE SLYTHERINS'LL BEAT US FOR SURE." Anyway, the three boys were on their way down to get some breakfast before practice started and encountered James gawking at Lily's sleeping form.
James glared, finally moving from the spot he stood in. "Well, don't wake her up, nitwit" he whispered. "Any of you got some parchment? A quill?"
Remus' forehead crinkled in confusion, but he moved to pull the desired items from his bag, and handed them over.
James ripped the parchment into a smaller piece, as quietly as he could, and scribbled something onto the smaller piece. He handed the quill and torn parchment back to Remus, and moved quietly over to the sleeping Lily.
It took an extreme amount of dexterity and gentleness to remove an open book from a sleeping person without disturbing them in the slightest. James Potter did it with ease. He almost made it look easy. He slipped the note between the pages to keep her spot and set it on the coffee table beside the couch.
He started to leave, but turned back and pulled the blanket up to her chin. This time Lily made a noise and turned on her side. James couldn't help the smile that was on his face and adjusted the blanket again so that it covered her better. Satisfied, he turned to leave and gestured for his friends to follow.
Sirius and Remus looked mildly impressed, but Peter's mouth was hanging open. Nevertheless, all three followed him out of the common room.
"Was that the book you gave her?" Peter asked eagerly once the portrait swung shut.
"Yup." James had to fight to keep the smugness out of his voice, but Remus noted that his friend stood a bit taller, walked a bit more confidently.
"What did you put in the book?" Peter asked again, now even more excited.
"A bookmark, what else would go in a book to hold her place?" James raised his eyebrow, and Sirius rolled his eyes. But even Sirius wanted to know what was in the book.
"But you wrote on it," Peter said again, his voice a bit defeated.
"It was just a note," he shrugged. Peter would've pressed more, but by then they had reached the Great Hall, and food was much, much more interesting than James' antics.
Lily awoke to the sound of third year girls screaming.
"LOOK THE TEAM IS PRACTICING!" one of them squealed.
She sat upright, rubbing her eyes. Welp, so much for sleeping in a bed, she thought to herself.
And then her heart nearly stopped, remembering why she had stayed in the common room in the first place.
The book.
Where was it?! Did someone steal it?
She looked around franticly, and was relieved to find it on the coffee table beside her. The redhead didn't think too much of it at first. She must've put it on the table before she fell asleep.
"Shit," she muttered, pulling her wild mess of hair into a ponytail once more. She forgot to mark her spot.
She yawned, trying to block out the girl's fawning over the practicing team. Leaning back against the couch, she pulled the blanket around her shoulders once more and picked up the book. But she had only just opened the book when a small, torn piece of parchment fell out.
Lily didn't know why, but her heart skipped a beat.
Lily,
Glad you enjoyed your adventure. Wouldn't want you to lose your place in it.
Love,
Someone who cares
Immediately, her mouth fell open. It was incredibly sweet that one of the first things someone would think upon finding her asleep in the common room was her place in a book. Her suspicions of Remus were now through the roof. She could not think of another person who would care about her in this way and not ask for anything in return. Her friends wouldn't have bothered to make a note and no one else would've dared come near a sleeping Lily Evans.
Yawning again, she decided she would thank him tonight duties. Perhaps even bring him some chocolate. Nodding to herself, she placed her newfound bookmark in its proper place and went to take a shower.