Enjoy :)

James kept glancing at Lily throughout Charms class, his heart panging at her distressed look. She appeared as though she had been crying- her eyes puffy and red, her cheeks tear-streaked, her posture stiff and shifty... yet James still couldn't pinpoint what was antagonizing her.

"You didn't do anything, did ya mate?" Sirius asked quietly from the seat behind him.

"Of course not!" James cried, earning a few curious glances from the students around him. He huffed, annoyed by his friend's lack of faith in him, and heard Sirius sigh and mutter," If you say so..."

Each second ticked by- agonizingly slow- and James tapped his quill against his desk impatiently. Growing more and more frustrated with his unanswered questions, he finally yanked a sheet of parchment out of his bag and scribbled," Hey Evans, what's wrong?". Silently praying that Flitwick wouldn't notice him, he crumpled the paper into a ball and chucked it across the room to Lily, where it hit her square on the head.

"Bloody he-" she screeched before quickly stopping herself to make sure the professor hadn't heard her outburst. She turned around to see who the perpetrator was and met James's gaze with a fierce glare. Slowly uncrumpling the paper, Lily looked down to read James's message before scribbling something herself.

She hurriedly glanced at Flitwick before tossing the message back to James. He straightened the paper out and read," It's nothing. Stop bugging me, Potter, or I will turn you into a toad."

Relieved at her attempt at some humor (or at least, what he was hoping was humor), James decided to wait until class was over to approach her.

When the class was finally dismissed, James rushed over to Lily before she could leave.

"Lils, what's up?" he asked as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

She whirled around, startled, and her hair flared out behind her in a gorgeous fiery arc. She looked slightly less miserable now that her eyes no longer had that red tinge and her puffiness had gone away, but she still had that same sunken appearance.

"Potter," she sighed tiredly," I thought I told you to leave me alone."

"You were crying," James pointed out smartly. He cursed himself for his blatancy, but Lily surprised him when she let out a small laugh.

"Yes, my genius Potter, I was crying."

My genius Potter... James hummed to himself- that had a ring to it.

"Lily..." he started," What's wrong. I can't bear to see you like this." He contemplated brushing her tear streaks away, but then thought otherwise.

"It-it's complicated."

"Lily."

She looked up at him, nothing but pain and misery in her emerald eyes. Silent tears began streaming down her face, and she bit her lip.

James's heart panged as he wrapped his arms around her, murmuring words of consolation into her hair, but she only cried harder, burying herself into his chest and clutching his robe. He rubbed her back softly, his heart fluttering as she sagged into his arms.

After a minute or two, she had gone quiet in James's embrace and he gently pulled away, tilting her head up with a finger.

"Lily, I'm asking you again. What happened to you? And to your hand?" he cried, nodding to her bandaged fingers.

She ducked away from his gaze, cradling her injured arm against her chest. "Long story..." she muttered. Looking down at her feet, she shuffled towards the door, but James grabbed her good arm and softly laughed at her excuse.

"We have time," he smirked as he began leading Lily towards the Prefect's bathroom, and she inhaled sharply.

"Wait- skip class?" she yelped. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Probably," he chuckled, running his free hand through his hair as he tugged her towards a corridor.

"Absolutely not. Let go right now," she demanded. She struggled against his grip but was severely hindered by the fact that her left hand was utterly useless.

They jostled past the crowd, Lily whimpering slightly as the bell rang and signaled the start of class.

As the hallways cleared out, James found it easier to lead Lily- who was still thrashing about against his clutch- towards the bathrooms.

"Potter! You can't just- just force me to do your bidding- especially something as atrocious as skipping class!" she cried as they neared the Prefects bathroom.

James just laughed as he opened the door to the lavatory and led them both inside. He settled down inside the empty tub, which was about half the size of a classroom, and waved at Lily to come join him. She hesitantly sat down, smoothing her skirt and folding her hands delicately over her lap.

After a few seconds, James quipped," Well, go on."

She sighed, shaking her head, but she couldn't hide her smile as she peered at James enthusiastically waiting for her to begin. "So, it started like this..."