My name is Lily Evans and I am currently in my final year at the most prestigious school of magic, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I take my duties as Head Girl very seriously. Even if I wanted to take a well-earned break every once and awhile, that poor excuse for a Head Boy, James Potter, makes it impossible for me to do so. Someone has to clean up the mess he leaves behind and the responsibility always seems to fall on me. Eleanor Roosevelt once said that a woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.
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{ wear }
I laughed and started spinning with Lily in my arms. “Come oooon, Lils! James Charlus Potter. James. It’s not hard to say, easier even than ‘arrogant toe-rag’,” I pointed out with a grin, slowing down my spinning to a stop. “Right away, Minnie!” I assured her with a grin, and I saw McGonagall’s lips twitch as if she were trying to keep her laughter at bay. I was one of her best students, along with Sirius and Lily, and no matter how much I infuriated her, she loved me. I set Lily down gently on her feet and shouted, “She was perfectly safe in my arms!” at the Transfiguration professor. “I’d never hurt Lily! Ever! Merlin, after seven years of pining after her, you lot still haven’t figured that out?” I gave Minnie a smirk and turned back to Lily. “So? My name?”
The fact that Lily had always been impressed by James’ casual attitude when he spoke to the Hogwarts professors had become one of her most closely guarded secrets. She couldn’t have anyone know that she envied James for the unjustified display of favoritism he received. She glanced over her shoulder and was relieved to discover that McGonagall entered the Hospital Wing to join Poppy for their routine Saturday afternoon tea. Lily was not at her most graceful whenever James was acting like this and it was not something that she wanted their Head of House to witness. Silently noting that it could have been a lot worse, she turned to James and her pupils dilated when she noticed that they were now standing just a couple of inches apart.
“Yes, your name,” Lily reiterated. She wasn’t sure if she could even remember her own name while they were in such close proximity. Get a hold of yourself, Lily. You’re Head Girl for Pete’s sake! After marginally adjusting to feeling like she had a dozen doxies flying around in her stomach, she straightened up her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I um— Why does it matter what I call you?” She had intended to say that she had to go, but curiosity had gotten the better of her.
The sky took on an ominous green hue and a chill ran down her spine, stopping her in her tracks. She looked up and a feeling of dread buried itself in the pit of her stomach; the Dark Mark.
“LILY!”
She snapped out of her reverie upon the shout of her name and looked to the left, one glance at James told her everything she needed to know; they needed to get out of there. He ran towards her, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the street, her heart beating wildly in her chest as a swarm of Death Eaters descended onto the road behind them. She raised her wand and sent a curse at one of the hooded figures, the jet of red light sending him flying in the opposite direction.
A flash of green illuminated the path as a Death Eater appeared directly ahead, causing them both to come to an abrupt stop. James pulled Lily back behind him as he sent a curse towards the figure, which was casually deflected with a flick of the wrist. If they were expecting a fight, they didn’t get one as the enemy remained still, reaching up to take off his mask. Though they had never come face to face before they recognised him immediately; Lord Voldemort.
“What do you want?” Lily boldly demanded, casting a quick glance at James who had his wand out ready to defend himself, their minds searching desperately for a means to escape.
Voldemort merely smiled, “I want you to join me”
There was a brief silence between them before a sudden explosion caught the Dark Lord’s attention, James immediately took advantage of his lapse in concentration and sent a curse his way, turning to run and pulling Lily along with him back into the heart of the battle, her defiant reply ringing in their ears;
“We will never join you!”
Once defied
“Frankly, Miss Evans, our… relationship, if you will, was never smooth sailing,” I pointed out with a smirk. “Especially after that lovely welcome on the Hogwarts Express.” My head had hurt for a week after that - Lily had a good arm. “And I’m emotionally ready! Come on, you know I can take it. One syllable. Rhymes with Thames, like the river in London. James,” I said, trying to get it out of her. I ran up behind Lily and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her into the air and laughing. “Call me James just once and I’ll let you down!” I said through my laughter, holding her easily in my arms.
Lily wasn’t quick enough to dodge out of James’ grasp and she could do nothing but sequel, “let me down!” as he lifted her into the air. This is what she got for choosing books over sports - while James on the other hand, was all brawn and no brains. “Not a chance,” Lily retorted through a fit of giggles which she couldn’t suppress.
“Mr. Potter!” The clipped tone of Professor McGonagall’s voice cut through the courtyard. Lily tilted her head to the side to rid herself of the mess of red hair which had fallen into her face and then she could clearly see that their Head of House had been observing them with the most disapproving expression on her face. “Put Miss. Evans down this instant. It would be most unfortunate if she had to spend another night in under Madam Pomfrey’s care.”
|
Mumm-Ra |
| She's Got You High | |
| These Things Move In Threes |
The sun’s in the sky, it makes the happy endings,
You can’t deny, you want the happy ending.
I couldn’t help but smirk as I watched Lily leave the Hospital Wing after telling Poppy that she was going. She was so beautiful, so witty, so perfect… and gone. I realized that she was probably halfway down the stairs by now and I ran down, catching up to her and shooting her a bright grin. “Let’s be honest, Lily, if my ego were as large as you think it is, which it thankfully isn’t, then it wouldn’t have room to even grow,” I pointed out. “So whether or not you call me James won’t change much. Besides, I haven’t called you Evans since fifth year, I deserve to be James, don’t I?” I remembered exactly the day I stopped calling Lily by her last name - the last day of OWLs, when Snivellus called Lily… I couldn’t even think the word. I had picked on him a lot before that, but afterwards, it truly became personal. And the way he watched Lily greedily was kind of creepy. He’s always loved her, it’s been obvious to everyone but Lily since first year, and apparently, losing her friendship with her hasn’t stopped his stalkerish staring.
Lily left the Hospital Wing feeling elated and she practically skipped down the staircase, offering a bright smile to a group of Hufflepuff girls who were lounging in the courtyard outside the Hospital Tower. It was a beautiful day which seemed even better thanks to Lily’s cheerful mood. The dazzling sunshine took the edge off the bitterly cold Scottish weather and had created a crisp and cool atmosphere. If there was a perfect sort of weather then surely, this would be it. Content to bask in the sunlight for a while, Lily slowly made her way across the courtyard, until her thoughts were interrupted by James Potter’s voice calling out to her and she turned on the spot. The Hufflepuffs had taken interest in the conversation between the two seventh year Gryffindors, and were all watching with slightly raised brows, waiting eagerly to see if this exchange of words between the Head Girl and Head Boy would be as news worthy as they had been in the past.
Lily began to take very small steps backwards while keeping her eyes locked on James’ gaze. Scrunching up her nose thoughtfully, she shook her head. “It’s not about getting your just deserts. It’s just that I don’t think that you’re emotionally ready for that sort of change,” Lily teased lightly. “The two of us are supposed to be an unbreakable duo this year and I feel that after a shaky start to the school year,” she smirked as she recalled the moment she’d found out that James was Head Boy and had hit him with a rather heavy Charms textbook, “we’ve finally gotten into a good rhythm and I wouldn’t want to do anything that could ruin that.”
it’s like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
but I’m holding you closer than most,
‘cause you are my heaven
I noticed Lily’s cheeks redden and grinned. It was nice to know that she was flattered by my compliments, it meant she knew they were genuine. “Ah, want me to walk you back? Not because you’re not capable! Ah…” I rubbed a hand over my face, praying that I hadn’t messed things up again. “Just because it’s a gentlemanly thing to do. My mum raised me well,” I told her, trying to save myself. I couldn’t help the huge grin forming on my face when Lily said I might ‘actually be decent’. That was probably the nicest thing she’d ever said to me willingly. Of course, Marlene once forced her to compliment my dress robes at the ball, but that wasn’t Lily’s choice. Lily decided to say that. “So if I’m decent, will you call me James?” I suggested shyly, trying to ignore the pale skin, looking even creamier in contrast with her fiery hair, at the nape of her neck and not quite succeeding.
Lily simply shook her head in response to James’ offer to walk her to the common room. Surely she had already taken up enough of his time for one day. Pressing her lips together, she took a moment to consider his request. Calling each other by their surnames only was something that they had always done and she wondered if perhaps changing that could open a whole new realm of possibilities for the two of them. Maybe that was over-thinking the entire thing, but when it came to James Potter related matters, Lily Evans had often spent hours analyzing the smallest details. Not willingly, of course. It usually happened during History of Magic classes where James had been assigned the seat directly in front of her.
“I’d really like to be able to start calling you by your first name,” Lily began softly, her green eyes twinkling while a rather mischievous smile played on her lips, “but I’m afraid that I can’t until I can be certain of the effect it will have on that ego of yours. Something like that could go straight to your head and if it gets any larger then I’d be forced to deflate you with a safety pin. I’m sorry, Potter. It’s not a risk that I’m willing to take.” She pushed herself up off the bed and slipped on her shoes while wrapping her school robes around her slim frame and trying not to look too pleased with herself.
