Lily and Joshua.
Hogwarts, 1976, Sixth Year
The common room was quiet, the fire burning low in the grate. Most of Gryffindor had long since gone to bed, leaving only the occasional rustle of parchment and the faint scratch of a quill as Lily Evans finished up her notes. Across from her, Joshua Sweet sat with his legs stretched out, arms crossed, staring absently into the flames.
It wasn't unusual for them to be the last ones awake. Lily liked the quiet, and Joshua—well, she wasn't sure why he was always here too, but she never questioned it.
She glanced up from her parchment. "You ever going to do that Transfiguration essay, or are you just hoping McGonagall forgets about it?"
Joshua huffed a quiet laugh. "That would require me thinking about Transfiguration outside of class, which I refuse to do."
Lily shook her head. "You could at least pretend to care."
"I do care," he said. "Just not enough to do the work."
She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. It was an old conversation at this point.
Silence settled again, not uncomfortable, just... there. Joshua was still staring into the fire, and Lily found herself watching him, the way the firelight cast shadows across his face. There was something about him—something steady, something she had come to rely on in ways she hadn't really thought about before.
"I can feel you thinking," Joshua said suddenly, not looking away from the flames.
Lily startled slightly, then scoffed. "That's a ridiculous thing to say."
"I'm serious," he said, smirking now. "You get this look when you're overanalyzing something. Like you're trying to solve a riddle no one else can see."
Lily made a face. "I do not."
Joshua just shrugged.
She huffed, shaking her head. "You're impossible."
"And yet, here you are."
She had nothing to say to that. Instead, she exhaled and leaned back in her chair, glancing out the window at the dark grounds beyond. "We won't be here forever, you know."
Joshua hummed. "Mm."
She turned her head toward him. "That doesn't bother you?"
He finally looked at her then, something unreadable in his expression. "I don't see the point in worrying about things that haven't happened yet."
Lily studied him for a moment. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting him to say, but somehow, it fit.
"Well," she said finally, pushing herself to her feet, "some of us actually have work to do tomorrow, so I'm going to bed."
Joshua smirked. "Have fun with that."
She rolled her eyes but smiled as she turned away. She was halfway up the stairs when he spoke again.
"Night, Evans."
She hesitated, just for a second. "Goodnight, Joshua."
And then she was gone, leaving Joshua alone with the fire and thoughts he wasn't ready to name.