Lily was dreading her detention. She was staring outside the window, as she finished scrubbing off the green dust that covered every inch of her. She could see James out there in the grass, reading. She couldn't recall a time she had ever seen him choose a book over his friends. It was an odd sight to add to the odd feeling of knowing she had to spend two whole hours that night alone with James in the trophy room.

At 11 pm, she headed down to the front corridor to meet with Filch who would take them to the trophy room. She had beat James down there, no surprise and was stuck standing in awkward silence with the schools most awkward employee.

After a few minutes, footsteps could be heard running towards them, and James flew around the corner and almost couldn't stop himself as he reached them.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I got caught up in my book!" James said, short breathed and panting. Filch gave him a smirk and shook his head, not believing him and started walking.

He opened the trophy room door and said, "You have two hours, the brushes are over there. I will be locking this door and everything better be polished when I am back in two hours." He gave them suspicious looks and walked out, locking the door behind him.

"So... Where do you want to start?" James asked, half smiling, and half smirking at the fact that they were stuck in detention together.

Lily was looking around the room, unsure of where to start. It looked like it would never end, the trophies were all over the place, not even in any significant order. She sighed, not sure how to answer the question. She was tired, and angry that she was thrown into this mess, and really just wanted to sit down and mellow in her thoughts. But that couldn't happen.

"Wherever you want to."

James walked over to a random corner, with his tiny little brush, and just started scrubbing away at one. Lily walked over and picked up the trophy that was beside it and started brushing it as well. Eventually they got into a rhythm and it started going by fast. After half an hour they were already 3/4 of the way done.

Lily couldn't help but notice how practised James looked doing this. It was as if he had been cleaning trophies his whole life. He was in detention so much, it came to no surprise. Though, Lily did recall that it was the first time that year, that he had gotten detention, which in itself was an oddity.

"Maybe we should really start taking our time, seeing as we are stuck in here for another hour and a half. Even if we finish early." Lily mentioned, realizing that they were almost done.

"Or, we could hurry up and finish. Then we can just sit back and look at the stars out the window." James suggested, not looking up, but still smiling. Lily couldn't help but smile too. All she wanted to do was sit down. To sit and think. She didn't even mind the idea of "bonding" with James. She wanted to know what was up with his personality change. Why he seemed like a different guy that year. Kind, thoughtful, smarter... yet still had his humour.

"Yeah, okay." She said, smiling back at him for the first time in almost 5 years.

So they kept working hard, and finished within the next 15 minutes. After tidying up the cleaning supplies, and their brushes, they sat down in front of the wide window that looked over the lake. The stars were remarkably bright out that night. The lake perfectly still. It was a beautiful night, in fact a rarely beautiful night for the fall.

Lily could see James turn his head towards her, out of the corner of her eye but suddenly felt too nervous to look back. She didn't understand why, in the 6 years she had known him, she had never felt nervous around him. But she had butterflies in her stomach, and her heart beat quickened.

"I'm sorry I got you in detention Lily. I really didn't mean for my potion to explode." James said quietly. An apology? Lily had never heard him sincerely apologize for anything he did. She looked over at him, surprised but happy about what she had heard.

"Thank you, but it's okay. An accident is an accident." She smiled at him, but then quickly turned away, scared of the feelings she was feeling inside her. He was being so sweet, and she was starting to feel comfortable with him. But, with her luck, if she started letting herself get closer to him, he would turn back to his old self, and she would get hurt.

James must have noticed the change of mood on her face because he touched her shoulder, pulling her to look at him.

"Whats wrong? You've looked sad for a few weeks now, whats bugging you?"

He noticed that she had been consumed by her thoughts lately. He wasn't the only one that was on her mind and making her feel scared. She didn't realize that anyone had noticed, and immediately felt even more embarrassed. Everything. Everything feels wrong, she wanted to tell him.

"Nothing..." She said, still trying to avoid eye contact, terrified he would read right through her. But apparently, she didn't need to be looking at him for him to do so.

"Lily, I still mean what I said on the train. You can talk to me. Is it still your sister that's on your mind?"

He was relentless, but she gave in. She wanted to get it off her chest.

"Yes, sort of.. I feel like I don't belong, at home, or here. I feel like a stranger when I'm home. My sister got engaged. But he doesn't know she has a sister," she paused to look up at James, to see that he was staring very intently, listening to every word she said. "She's getting married. My sister, who was my best friend, my everything, is getting married and she won't even let me go. She wants nothing to do with me and wants to move on and forget I exist."

Lily stopped talking again, to take a couple deep breaths so that she wouldn't start crying.

"And then I come here, and realize I still don't belong. The only friend I had is done school and gone. I am invisible. Just that girl who's too smart for her own good, annoyingly quiet, and weird. "She didn't look up, she was too scared to. Lily almost immediately regretting telling James how she felt. He probably thought that she was being a cry baby about everything and that he would see how weak she was.

But instead he stayed quiet. He put his had on hers, and almost instantly, she burst into tears.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I must sound pathetic..." She said. Taking her hand and trying to wipe away the tears, James grabbed it again, taking it away from her tears and held it in his lap.

"You don't sound pathetic. It sounds like there's a lot going on in your life that is making everything else also look bad. You may not belong at home anymore, which is more your sisters loss than yours. But you do belong here. There are always going to be people who will find something wrong with you, for no real reason, but there are also always going to be those people who would do anything for you." With his other hand, he wiped away a silently falling tear rolling down Lily's cheek.

"You are brilliant, uncommonly kind, have a way of seeing the good in someone, when others can't, and you are unmistakably beautiful beyond words. If others are too stuck up in their own little worlds to see that, then screw them. But I can't stand seeing such an amazing girl doubt her worth."

Lily felt something that moment, that she couldn't explain. She couldn't take her eyes off of James, who was also looking at her. They sat like this for minutes without saying more. She felt comfort in what he said to her, in the warmth of his hand around hers. She told him everything except about how she was afraid of getting closer to him. But her fears about him seemed to disappear.

After a few minutes of trying to get the words to thank him, she smiled a small but full smile. "Thank you. I didn't think there would ever come a time that your words would be so comforting and calming."

"Any time." He smiled, much bigger than hers. His eyes reflecting the stars, were fixed on her. She suddenly felt like she could just sit there and look into those wondrous and curious eyes all night. But instead, Filtch opened the doors, startling both Lily and James.

It was 1:00 am and their detention was over. They quietly walked back to the common room together and said their good nights.

"Sweet dreams Lily." James called after her as she climbed the stairs to her bed. At the top of the stairs, she looked down to see if he was still there. She saw him sit down in a chair, smiling the brightest smile she ever saw. She opened her door and climbed into her bed, smiling herself, the butterflies returning to her stomach.