When Dreams Bloom

Lily POV

“James will you please shut up for a second, I’m clearly in the middle of something!” Lily exclaimed, staring intensely at her math exercises, which they all should, and are expected, to be doing. 

But obviously not James.

No, instead, he keeps trying to make up a conversation with Lily with his hypothetical questions that just leave her more concerned about him, and other dumb questions. But, especially what he and Sirius decided this morning was worth debating. And now, he was trying to pull her in, too.

“What do you put on first after bathing?” He asked enthusiastically like every question deserves to be asked. Little does he know, Lily is… not fucking answering that? Sometimes she thinks about how his sweet, smart, and loving parents made this. She looked daggers at him, and he loudly sighed, helplessly turning to Sirius, who to his disgrace, had a smirk plastered on his face.

“James, you shouldn’t ask a lady about her bathing routines, that’s not very gentlemanly of you.” He said, mockingly, but that didn’t stop him from looking curious. 

“What? Why not? It’s a harmless question!” he said, exasperated, and Lily could only roll her eyes at that, syncing with Remus, both shaking their head.

“Well, not every woman trusts all men’s intentions, but I will tell you, and only you, Potter, that I start with pants.” Marlene chimed in, turning around on her chair to eye him and everyone else.

“So no one agrees socks come first?” Which earns James a chorus of No’s, loud enough to get the point across. He groans, and the teacher hushes them once more.

As annoyed as she can get with James sometimes lacking common sense or his dumb sense of humor, she cares for him. She cares because he’s her friend, even after getting over his ‘chasing her over every hill hoping she’d finally notice he’s awesome’ phase. She should probably dislike him for that actually, it is one of the reasons she's no longer friends with Severus, but not really at the same time? Severus chose to say what he did, and James chose to pick Lily first and defend her, and then James also picked the choice to bully Severus for a few months afterward, which Lily was equally pissed at and shut it down quickly, which is why she’s neutral with Severus at the end of the day.

All in all, she doesn't understand what her criteria for who to be friends with is. As it turns out, she doesn’t know a lot of stuff at the moment, and it constantly feels like the wind is knocking the air out of her lungs when she actually stops working and relaxes, those are the times she struggles with the most because then she has time to think and she doesn’t want to think. And she failed to do just that because when she came back to, Mary was tugging gently on her sleeve, urging her that they had to go to PE.

“Are you alright Lils?” Worry vibrated in Mary’s voice, and Lily just smiled sweetly at her and nodded.

They both walked down to the school’s gym, the rest of the group told Mary they couldn’t wait because this year's professor, Alastor Moody, or they’d just call him Moody because he seemed to have issues with his damn personality, would absolutely scold them to death for being late. Especially James and Sirius, everyone swears he picks on them on purpose, like he chose to make fun of them at the start of the year. Lily just thinks he knows they are both idiots. She’s not the biggest fan of PE, never was, because she’s just not built for it, in the sense that she has really low stamina. So, she was always left behind and unable to keep up with everyone else, and when they did teams, she despised it twice more. 

So, today she decided she was not participating in the class and tried her luck with Moody, telling him she wasn’t feeling good and was getting sick, which he grumbled at and told her to go sit down in the benches next to Remus. Remus was the exact opposite, he would love to be doing physical education right now, but he can’t because of his traumatised knee and weak leg. She walked over and sat down, watching as Remus arched an eyebrow and stared deeply into her.

“Are you okay?” he interrogated her, worry flying a little in his voice.

“Yeah, just wanted to keep you company, obviously.” she scoffed, couldn’t help but be sarcastic, its something funny in her friendship with Remus. If one of them asks each other a question, the first answer needs to most of the time be sarcastic. It earned her a grand total of one eye roll.

“You know I've seen how you've been acting. I gave you time and space, but now you need to speak the hell up,” he demanded crossing his arms dramatically like a worried parent. Lily just breathed out, resting her head on her hands and zoning out, staring at the middle of the court. “Journaling club still has no one willing to join. Everyone is too fucking busy with The Quibbler, like, do people really think everything we put there is boring? I can’t put gossip there, it drives people apart at school, and that’s not the point!”  She starts rambling, her eyes still unfocused and she can feel Remus is tentatively at her. 

“The club is going to be forced to close, Rita doesn’t care anymore. She apparently has another big-shot project in a different school. Not only that but I feel like I don’t really understand my life right now, my relationship with my friends, and family, what I want to do when we all leave this school, what my goddamn priorities are.” She breathed out and fidgeted with her two rings before looking up at the ceiling. She knew she could ramble to Remus for hours and he could just nod and not try to tell her how to fix her own life, or what she was doing wrong unless she asked. “Fuck I just want to honestly be a cat.”

Remus snickered and stared at the ceiling as well, maybe answers would drop from the sky, they didn't know.

They should be more careful, though, because, at the end of the day, this is high school PE, so when a ball comes flashing at Lily as some people scream “Watch out!”, it was Remus with his quick reflexes that caught it while she could only jump back. They both glare around the court for the culprit, watching as Sirius points to his back with his thumb, there standing James and Marlene, who were acting like cartoon characters, scratching the back of their head and trying to avoid looking at them both – pretending it wasn’t them or that they didn’t see what happened.

“POTTER AND MCKINNON! 15 PUSH UPS!” Moody shouted, which proves the point that everyone fucking saw them.

Remus POV:

“James for fucks sake, we are not calling this ‘Operation Cupcakes’!” He whined.

Peter, Sirius, and himself were at James’ house after school, late in the noon, for the simple reason that he was worried for Lily and wanted to get her as much help as he could, not emotionally, though, he knows Lily is self-aware and knows how to fix her emotional problems. 

“Why are we having a Marauders meeting again?” James questioned earlier, so Remus explained in brief words his conversation with Lily before James and Marlene had thrown a projectile missile in their direction. Currently, their main objective was to attract as much attention to her club as possible.

Sirius was the first to offer a suggestion, which, regrettably, turned out to be as self-serving as anticipated. "How about I model for the newspaper in a fashion category?” It seemed harmless, yet as James cheered him on (as usual), Remus and Peter exchanged eye rolls and shook their heads.

Then, Remus suggested writing articles about studying methods and new literature alongside movie suggestions, which in his honest opinion, would really help the students, but James just booed him and called him a nerd and biased.

Finally, James urged them should make cupcakes and sell them in the club's room, which would surely help more people acknowledge the club even existed, to begin with, and that’s where they are all at now, Remus trying to convince them of this operation did not need a fucking name, much less ‘Operation Cupcakes.’ 

Which, thankfully, was shut down by Sirius, but Remus isn’t really happy about it either because of the reason behind it…

“So, a Slytherin prank.” Which Remus loudly groaned at. 

The way that phrase left Sirius's lips looked like a very specific shade of red only he and James were capable of making him see, currant, so be precise, which fits, considering it is mainly associated with mischief. The school year had just started, and he surely didn't think it was worth it to rush with the pranks this much, they had just finished one in Ravenclaw’s classroom,m for fucks sake! But part of him understands why Sirius is this eager, he’s finally testing his newfound freedom’s limits after leaving The Most Ancient House of Black, and Remus is supportive, of course he is, as long as they are not caught. Which, by the sheer amount and quickness of their pranks, it could not last long if they kept it up.

“Another one so soon? You know it's risky to do things often, Dumbledore–”

“Honestly, who cares, the Ravenclaw one wasn’t even big or anything of sorts, and we could definitely do better,” James said eagerly, giving Peter a smirk they all know. “Unless you’re scared, of course.”

Yup, there it is, that deep purple sentence full of dare and arrogance, James signature all over it. James is really predictable in that sense, and Peter is always the first one to fall for it. Not Remus, though, no, never him. He doesn't even like that taunting shade of purple, and he has common sense. So, he pushed onto his cane and stood up, carefully walking to the door. “Well, we’ve finished talking about the only reason I’m here, so as much as I love spending my time with you dumbasses, I actually have things to do, so that prank is going to have to stay between you three.” 

Remus knew his friends even blind, so he knew it wouldn’t take them long, especially Sirius, enough to convince him to stay, so he had exactly less than a minute to leave the room and walk downstairs. He, of course, failed at that.

“Moony come on, it’ll be something light. Stay a few more minutes and hear me out, please? Tell me the color you’re seeing in my voice doesn't show I'm being genuine.”

Remus just wants to dig his brain out of his skull with a spoon. Of course Sirius Black would bring up his stupid synesthesia, and of couuurse, he’s fucking right, too. His voice is beaming with a beautiful Lapis Blue, but the previous red mixed gently in it, trying to hide itself. He’s weak for the way Sirius knows him, but instead of sitting back down, he just leans on the wall next to the door.

“You have 5 minutes, starting now.”

Evan POV:

It’s Friday, which in public school terms to Evan only meant one thing: fish fingers and fries in the lunch canteen. He doesn't fully understand– no, he doesn't understand at all the appeal and why people would pick that over anything, everything else. But Evan doesn't understand a lot of things school-related, considering he’s homeschooled, for example, how the hell his whole Slytherin class got locked inside their classroom during lunch break. Thankfully, that’s where Dorcas comes in, and she only replies with a scary, aggressive sigh and a single word that speaks louder than entire paragraphs.

“Griffyindors.”

Apparently, in the Griffyindor class, there’s a rather popular group of students that has an interesting tendency to prank people, or the whole school, whatever floats their boat apparently. And that would easily explain why his sister stayed late at school to clean a classroom and get lectured by their teacher, who thought it was their fault. So, you could say he’s not really their biggest fan from the start.

Fifteen minutes ago, the teacher approached to open the door, allowing the students to leave the classroom earlier than normal. However, as he did so, the door handle dropped to the floor from both sides, inadvertently locking them in the second-floor classroom. Many students reacted with loud groans and protests, lamenting that they would miss those coveted fish sticks. This drove Evan to feel like knocking on their heads to see if anyone was present in their minds. In his honest opinion, he could just… kick the door down, but life is never as simple as it could be, no, of course the principal wanted everyone and the door in pristine condition. It's a fucking door for god's sake, but he's not the best person at picking reasoning to other people's behavior.

The worst part isn't even not being able to eat, especially not that abomination of a meal, it's not being able to spend the break with Barty. 

Barty—who he didn’t share a classroom with because he was a year older. Barty—who crashed into his quiet little world and somehow made him feel like somebody, because in this classroom, in this entire school, he was just another nobody. Barty—who, aside from his sister, was the only person who made him feel like he actually existed.

So yeah, he figured he could let this situation slide… even if it annoyed everyone else in the room.

Twenty-five minutes later—twenty-five minutes—the useless excuse of a principal finally found someone who knew their way around basic fucking tools, and the door creaked open. Stepping into the hallway, he spotted his friends leaning against the wall. They must’ve been waiting for a while, which was… kind of sweet. They didn’t have to wait, but they did. Dorcas was the first to move, throwing herself into a group hug with Pandora—and then a less-welcome one with Regulus, who half-heartedly tried to shove her off.

“Starved to death!” she whined dramatically. “Those stupid Gryffindors tried to starve me to death! I swear, the day I get my hands on them—” She kept going, her complaints spiraling into something about having to eat a ‘stupid sandwich’ for lunch.

Evan wasn’t really listening, though.

Because right in front of him stood Barty, brown eyes bright beneath his usual mess of wavy hair, not really curls. Before he could say anything, Barty slung an arm around his shoulder and tugged him close, ruffling his hair with the other hand.

"Here, hide these from Dorcas. I got them for you."

Evan shouldn’t be surprised—really, he shouldn’t. They were friends, and the odds of him doing the exact same thing were pretty high. Still, his eyes widened in shock as he stared at the gift. He’d been homeschooled for most of his life. Not by his parents—they were as absent as parents could possibly be. It was just him and Pandora, left to figure things out on their own. Until one day, Pandora had finally had enough. She’d actually stood up to their parents, and argued until she got what she wanted. And Evan… Evan had never been prouder of her. Who wouldn’t be?

Most of the good things in his life right now were because of Pandora. He’d started school, but conversations? Yeah, those were still a mystery. He’d spent his first weeks just existing, hoping someone—anyone—would notice him. No one did. Ghost boy, invisible to everyone.

Until Barty.

Barty, who’d stumbled into his life like a whirlwind. They bonded fast—over what, exactly, Evan wasn’t even sure. Maybe it was the fact that they both craved attention, though they went about it differently. Evan wanted it quietly, secretly. Barty? Barty had no shame about the lengths he’d go to get it. If he wanted eyes on him, he’d climb onto a table in the middle of class and scream until everyone looked his way. (Which, by the way, had happened—once. For a “joke,” apparently. He’d only made it halfway onto the table before slipping on a stray sheet of parchment and crashing to the floor. Evan had laughed so hard he cried.)

“Don't get emotional over some dumb fish fingers, mate.” Barty snorted at him and Evan could only blink and smile, rapidly grabbing the badly wrapped in tissue fish fingers, quickly eating them before turning his attention back to the rest of the group, watching as Regulus was finally able to push Dorcas off of him.

“I'm guessing this is that little group's fault?” He sarcastically questioned, to which an angry Dorcas was happy to show her frustration.

“Waddya think little genius? Door handles don't simply fall off on both sides!” Regulus rolled his eyes before she continued her rant. “If it wasn't for the stupid upcoming party I would have planted fruit flies all over their classroom and hidden rotten fruit so they'd keep reproducing for the rest of the year.” Okay, so, don't fucking mess with Dorcas after parties, got it.

“If you guys prank them, make sure my fairy isn't involved,” Pandora said which earned her a shocked glance from everyone in the group, Evan included because… huh? What does she mean by that?

Pandora clearly picks up on their confused and surprised stares and now she looks equally surprised before everyone but Regulus speaks in unison.

“Your fairy is an actual person? Like, a human?!”

And as if this wasn't over, Regulus finally looks up and stares deeply into Pandora with… a bit of worry in his eyes, which Evan also doesn't understand. “Lily Evans?” He questioned, although it sounded more like he was confirming something instead, which she finally broke and looked away, nodding her head. Oh, oh poor Dora. 

"Of all the people, you had to fall for the straight girl James Potter won’t shut up about?" Barty asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief. Evan shot him a look that teetered between exasperation and the urge to smack him upside the head, while Pandora's gaze dropped, searching for anything else to focus on.

"Barty, shut the fuck up," Dorcas snapped, her voice laced with frustration as she reached out to squeeze her sister's hand with reassurance, and he just raised both his hands in defeat.  And that’s when a hoard of students suddenly rushed past them down the hall, which would be normal if it was in between periods, but it was lunchtime, so, definitely not usual. They all stopped fussing over Pandora, giving her time to breathe, and to pay attention to what was happening. From the opposite end of where people came from, Evan saw the Potter boy and older Black brother making their way, and that was probably enough to get Evan to push the rest of the group to walk down the hall to avoid the two men, he really didn’t need to see or hear any rude remarks. 

When they reached the end of the hall, they found a crowd of students gathered around a classroom door. Evan’s first thought? Class fight. But that idea vanished the moment he spotted a balloon arch framing the entrance and caught a whiff of something overwhelmingly sweet drifting from inside. The sugary scent didn’t appeal to him in the slightest, he was never truly a fan of sweet things. Dorcas, being always the quickest with normal social interactions, tapped the shoulder of a nearby girl.

“Hey, Emmeline, right? What’s going on?” she asked.

“Journaling club,” Emmeline replied with a faint snicker. “Lily needed help attracting attention, so Remus and she decided to sell cupcakes to lure people in.”

Evan blinked. Cupcakes? Out of all possible desserts? Odd choice. But any confusion vanished the second he registered Lily’s name. His head whipped toward Pandora, who was already staring at the classroom with wide eyes and that all-too-familiar curiosity lighting up her face. And just like that, he knew.

She is not leaving this hallway without a damn cupcake.

Evan sighed, shaking his head. He’d never expected to see his sister smitten with someone. It wasn’t that he thought she couldn’t, it just wasn’t something he’d ever imagined. Pandora rarely talked about her feelings, anyway. But as he watched her now, eyes wide with curiosity and something close to longing, he found that he didn’t really mind. At least one of them should get to be happy. Evan nudged Barty with his elbow and tilted his head toward Regulus and Pandora, a silent code for “Let’s leave them to it.” which Barty caught on instantly, a grin spreading across his face, and before Evan could react, Barty grabbed his arm, then Dorcas’s, and begun tugging them both down the hall.

“I’m getting them lunch! Good luck scoring that cupcake!” Barty hollered over his shoulder.

Regulus whipped his head around so fast, it was a miracle it didn’t fly off. He shot them a classic What the fuck? look with his brows furrowed, mouth slightly agape, and yet as his gaze drifted back toward Pandora, his shoulders sagged in defeat, he was truly weak for her, and it was always funny to use that to their advantage.

Pandora POV:

Pandora wasn’t entirely sure what happened between the moment her mind drifted off to another planet, really lost in the thought of her fairy selling cupcakes, which by the way, she loves cupcakes. Coincidence? She didn’t think so! That made her simply look up at the sky (ceiling in this case), and thank whichever deity was helping her. And yet, by the time she blinked herself back to the present, Evan, Barty, and Dorcas had vanished. Regulus, however, was still beside her, standing still as ever, eyeing the crowd with his signature look of silent judgment.

When she finally moves from her spot to try and take a peak inside the classroom full of students, Regulus finally quit being silent, but his eyes didn't move from where they were looking. 

“So, you’re finally back?” Regulus said, his voice was flat as ever, as her brief trip to daydream land had mildly inconvenienced him, which honestly considering he was the only one standing here, it probably did. Pandora blinked at him and nodded slowly, unsure where this was going.

“Don’t think I’ve so quickly forgotten our conversation,” he added after probably noticing her confusion, eyes flicking toward her with a look, his brows furrowed.Oh. Right. She’d completely forgotten. Pandora shifted her weight, fingers brushing against the fabric of her clothes as she glanced back toward the doorway. Regulus didn’t press her. He never did, not the way Evan or Dorcas might. But he had this way of grounding her without saying much at all. Maybe it was the way he looked at things–sharp, practical, and always a few steps ahead. Where she drifted, he anchored. And somehow, that kept her from floating too far off course.

That’s what made him her best friend. Well, one of her best friends, they all were, of course. But with Regulus, things were different. He understood her silences the way she understood his and helped keep her ‘weirdness’ at bay. And yet she had somehow totally forgotten to mention Lily Evans, and maybe that had hurt Regulus and she wasn’t sure of anything anymore. So, she finally decided to break the silence by herself.

“I’m sorry, Reg, I-” But she didn’t get the chance to finish. Regulus cut her off with a swift raise of his hand. His gray eyes, always so sharp, locked onto hers with an intensity that made her pulse quicken. Suddenly, the hallway noise seemed distant, muffled beneath the sound of her own heartbeat. And just like that, the devil on her shoulder whispered that she’d royally fucked up.

“Dora,” Regulus said, voice quieter now, but still edged with that careful control he always carried. “I trust your reasons for not telling me. Don’t start panicking inside that head of yours just yet.”

Her breath caught in her throat as his gaze flicked over her face, searching for something she wasn’t sure she could name. Then, with a soft inhale, like he needed to steady himself, his brows turned into a faint frown. “I’m just curious about…” He hesitated, a rare crack in his usually seamless composure. “…why Evans?” And yup, that’s it. Pandora felt her face get warmer and her head just a little heavier, needing to take in a big breath to calm herself down.

“Well… do you remember that fierce and charming fairy that I tell you about? The one who’s been in my dreams constantly for years?” and she doesn’t miss the way Regulus’ frown deepens. “No, wait, let me continue. The one that tells me I’m not actually a burden, that allows me to be scared and to not always open up?” Her words were coming out a little shaky and faster than she intended. She was so embarrassed that she could barely look at Regulus in the eyes and he looked twice more at her with questioning eyes and his lips parted, ready to speak, before Pandora cut him off this time.

“Trust me on this, okay?” She finally got the courage to stare at him, a little more stubbornly than earlier. “They are both literally the same, eyes, voices, hair!” And she had never acted this strongly about anything else in her life, other than when she spoke to her parents of course, and it showed in her orotund voice. And just for a second, she saw Regulus' worries being washed away from his face, a small smile blooming on his before neutral face and disappearing in the same second with an eye roll.

“Give the word and I’ll kill her, I’m serious.” He said, and Pandora burst out into giggles.

7 minutes had gone through and finally, finally and they were already the next ones in line and Pandora was buzzing with so much unnecessary excitement that she started picking at her fingers, every time Regulus slapped her hand to stop. She could already see a few strands of Lily’s hair and that was enough to completely mesmerize her. Finally, the people in front of her moved, and she was stunned as the world paused around her. 

The sun blinded her with her beautiful dark auburn hair, she was sure it made every single flower jealous of its color, neatly brushed to perfection, although most of it was placed on her back, most likely to avoid any hair on the cupcakes. It’s fine because some strands still neatly escaped and lay around her face. Her forest green eyes, and oh how Pandora loved the forest. It was calming and yet had such a strong presence that couldn’t easily be defeated, just like her. The fairy had on a white blouse and on top of it a cardigan with brown and red stripes which effortlessly matched her hair. Pandora is not finished analyzing tho, though she noticed how the jewelry Lily carried was just as stunning, probably carefully picked in the morning, although she couldn’t help but notice how it looked somewhat cheap, and maybe that was selfish of her to think in the first place, but she promised to herself that she would buy her all the pretty jewels and gems she could ever want because it would be worth it. 

And finally, after being distracted for so long, a loud “ehem.” alongside a tug of her arm put her feet back on solid ground, and she shamefully watched as Regulus glared at her while paying for her cupcake, and then Lily held it out gently in its wrapper for Pandora with a smile so bright that anyone else would need sunglasses.

She held it carefully up to her chest like the gods gave it to her personally before sneaking a final glance at the other woman, who while still looking a little lost, couldn’t break her smile. 

Finally, she was dragged out by Regulus, hearing him huffing and puffing.

Lily POV:

“You know, I never expected Operation Cupcakes to go this well,” Remus spoke while cleaning the table they displayed all of them on. “You didn’t tell me you had someone smitten this much over you, and you looked pretty happy, too.” He finished with a snort, and honestly Lily had just been waiting for him to bring it up.

“You know, you might be helping me clean, but we’re still alone in this classroom, don’t make me stab you.” she joked, reorganizing some tables they had moved. “Plus, I also didn’t know. Her smile simply makes me want to smile too, nothing big honestly.” Lily admitted and watched as Remus shook his head.

That was partially true to be fair, from their first encounter, Lily somewhat assumed Pandora had seen something in her, but she only assumed it was because she liked to draw, nothing much. But there was nothing to question now after she had seen how the other girl's eyes had shone so brightly at the mere sight of her like she’d give Lily the world on a silver platter if she just asked. It was either pure admiration or love, really.

“We met in the chemistry club, she gave me a drawing she made of me and told me I looked like a fairy she saw in her dreams. Pretty poetic right?” She chuckled and watched as Remus scoffed once more, rolling his eyes. 

“So, what you’re telling me is she said and did all of that and you didn’t have as much thought of telling me?” He dramatically said, raising his voice pitch. “You hurt me, really. Having a…” Remus thought for a moment. “uh, not-so-secret admirer and leaving your best friend in the dark.” He finished with a sigh, and it was now Lily’s turn to roll her eyes while grabbing her bag. 

“Well before leaving, at least tell me what you think of her,” Remus questioned.

“I don’t know, I just met her. We talked once and she did all the talking for about 10 seconds.”

“Well, she looked like she’d kill for you, so I would advise you to take the chance while it’s still presented to you.”

And well, Lily always knew better than not to take her best friend’s advice, but she didn’t want to think about this situation too hard, not so soon. So, she simply left the room while flipping him off, heading to Slughorn's club room.