Lily Evans had always believed in second chances.
She had spent years convinced that James Potter would always be there, waiting for her, loving her. That no matter how many times she turned him down, no matter how many times she told him not now, he'd remain constant, unwavering in his love for her. Why wouldn't he?
And for a long time, he had. Total of two months.
Until one day, he wasn’t.
Two weeks after she last rejected him, James Potter stopped looking at her the way he used to.
It was subtle at first—no more lingering glances, no more hopeful smiles when she entered a room, no more effortless, easy devotion. He still spoke to her, still laughed with her, still treated her as a friend. But that was all she was now.
A friend.
Not the girl he wanted. Not the girl he loved.
And Lily had laughed. She didn't believe it.
She had brushed it off, convinced he was just pretending, playing hard to get, maybe even trying to make her jealous. As if he could ever stop loving her.
She should have cried then.
Because that was the moment she truly lost him if she ever had him in the first place. That's still debatable.
--
Because a few months later, James Potter was watching Regulus Black.
And not the way he used to watch her.
No, James had looked at her like she was something beautiful, something thrilling, something charming. But he watched Regulus like he had found something rare. Like Regulus was something he had spent a lifetime searching for without even knowing it.
There was an intensity there, something deeper than infatuation. Lily had been a crush, but Regulus was a soulmate, his forever.
She saw it in the way James' eyes softened and lit up when Regulus entered a room. In the way his entire body leaned toward him instinctively. In the way James watched him—memorized him—like he couldn’t believe he had been lucky enough to touch something so fragile, so fleeting, yet hold onto it anyway.
Lily had been walking toward the Gryffindor common room when she saw them.
James and Regulus, sitting together in a quiet corner of the library. It wasn’t like when James had watched her.
With her, he had looked like a boy with a crush—hopeful, eager, waiting for something to happen.
But when he looked at Regulus, it was different.
James' fingers traced absentmindedly along Regulus’ wrist as he read, as if he couldn’t bear to not be touching him. His gaze was warm, filled with something deep, something lasting.Lily stopped walking.
"You're staring," she said, her voice light, teasing, testing.
James glanced up at her, unbothered. "Yeah," he admitted.
Regulus, who normally would have bristled at attention, only smiled slightly, turning a page in his book. "He does that," he murmured, not even looking up.
James grinned. "Can you blame me, Reg? You're so handsome"
Lily forced a laugh, but it felt wrong in her throat.
She had thought she was the one James would always look at.
She had thought she still had time.
A year and a half after they started dating, James slid a ring onto Regulus’ finger, a promise in his eyes that Lily had once thought was meant for her.
--
The night was still, the stars scattered across the sky in a quiet glow. The Astronomy Tower was deserted, save for two figures standing close together, their breaths visible in the crisp air.
James shifted on his feet, fingers fidgeting with something in his pocket. He had faced McGonagall's detentions and Quidditch finals, but nothing had ever made him feel as nervous as this.
Regulus stood beside him, arms folded, gazing at the sky with a thoughtful expression. The moonlight cast a silver sheen over his sharp features, softening the usual guardedness in his face.
James took a deep breath. “Hey, Reg?”
Regulus hummed, still watching the sky. “Hmm?”
James swallowed hard, then reached into his pocket, pulling out a simple silver ring. His hands trembled slightly as he turned it over between his fingers.
“I know this is probably—actually, no, this is definitely impulsive, and you might hex me for it, but—” He took another deep breath, stepping in front of Regulus so he had no choice but to look at him. “I love you. And I don’t just mean in the way that makes my heart do ridiculous things when you so much as breathe in my direction. I mean in the way that makes me want to do everything with you. The boring stuff. The stupid stuff. The terrifying stuff.”
Regulus blinked, caught between disbelief and curiosity. “James—”
James held up a hand, cutting him off before he could object. “I know you have a complicated relationship with the idea of forever, but I need you to know that when I look at you, I see forever. And it’s not scary, not if it’s with you.”
He inhaled shakily, then slowly sank down onto one knee, holding up the ring.
Regulus' breath hitched.
“I don’t care about the your family, or anything else they say we can’t have. I want you, Regulus. I want this. So, if you’ll let me—if you’ll have me—I want to marry you.”
Silence stretched between them, the only sound the distant rustling of the wind.
Regulus looked at him—really looked at him—his sharp, unreadable grey eyes scanning James’ face like he was trying to memorize every detail. James didn’t fidget under the scrutiny, didn’t try to fill the silence with nervous chatter. He just waited.
Then, finally, Regulus let out a breath. “You’re such an idiot,” he murmured, but there was no real bite to it. His voice wavered slightly, his hands twitching at his sides.
James’ heart clenched.
Regulus exhaled slowly, then—tentatively, carefully—he reached out and took the ring from James’ hand.
He turned it over between his fingers, staring at it like he couldn’t believe it was real.
And then—softly, so softly James almost didn’t hear it—he whispered, “Yes.”
For a moment, James froze.
Then, with a choked laugh, he surged forward, wrapping Regulus in his arms, burying his face into his shoulder. “You—you said yes?”
Regulus huffed, arms winding around James in return. “Obviously.”
James pulled back just enough to see his face, eyes shining, an almost childlike wonder in his expression. “Reg, I—” His voice cracked.
Regulus lifted a hand, cupping James’ jaw, his thumb brushing over his cheek. His lips curled into something small, something soft. “Don’t cry, idiot.”
James let out a watery laugh, leaning into Regulus’ touch. “Too late.” Regulus kissed him slowly.
And under the stars, between whispered laughter and shaky hands James Potter found his soulmate.
--
Lily found out the next day from Marlene. She had laughed then, too. Scoffed at their engagement, dismissed it as James being impulsive. She had convinced herself it didn’t matter, that she still had time. That James would wake up and realize.
Even when he moved in with Regulus.
Even when Regulus softened in his presence, love melting the ice around him.
Even when James stopped looking at her altogether.
She still thought she had time.
Until she didn’t.
--
Until she saw the wedding announcement in the Daily Prophet.
James Potter and Regulus Black, married in a small but extravagant ceremony. A picture was printed alongside the headline—James was laughing, eyes bright with joy, arms wrapped securely around Regulus, who looked equally radiant, his usual cold demeanor melted into something soft. They were kissing, fingers intertwined, gold bands glinting in the light.
Lily felt sick.
It had been three years since she’d last turned James down. Two years since he and Regulus had started dating. Six months since she had laughed off their engagement.
She had thought she was better than Regulus. She had thought James was only passing time, waiting for her to come around.
But now, staring at the evidence before her—the wedding bands, the joy in James' face, the love in his eyes—Lily realized something with crushing finality.
She had been no one to him for a long time now.
And she had been too late.