POV - Lily
They’d set up a few tables and benches at the gate and James had put four lists on the table, each containing the names of the children sorted in their cabins.
When she heard a car approaching Lily looked up, startled. She’d been a bit lost in thought, thinking about how she actually felt welcomed here, unlike she’d thought.
She saw two people stepping out of the car and realized that were probably Sirius and Regulus, noticing their similarities. The shorter one immediately ran towards them, while the other one continued to walk in their direction very slowly, almost as if they didn’t actually want to be here. The one who ran up to them turned to James, giving him an enormous hug.
‘Woah there, Padfoot,’ James exclaimed, stumbling back from the force of the sudden embrace. ‘Missed me, I see.’
‘Of course I did, Prongs. You left me! It’s been awful without you!’ they answered, dramatically putting their hand against their head.
‘You literally saw each other three days ago,’ Remus deadpanned.
‘Yes, which is three days too long.’
They let go of James and turned to Remus. ‘Hi Moony,’ they said, suddenly sounding a little shy.
‘Hi Sirius,’ Remus replied, an almost invisible smile appearing on his face. Sirius – whose name Lily just learned – hesitantly stepped forward, quickly also giving Remus a hug, though it was way shorter than the hug with James. She noticed their relationships were indeed different, just like Remus had said.
She turned to Mary, who didn’t notice her because she was grinning at Sirius. After a few seconds, when they turned away from Remus, they also gave Mary a hug.
‘Hi darling,’ she said. Sirius gave her a kiss on her cheek and Lily got a strange feeling in her stomach, like a knot tightening with every passing moment. When they finally broke apart Sirius stood right before Lily, giving her an awkward smile.
‘So… I guess it’s only fair if I give you a hug too!’ they grinned, tilting their head – which reminded Lily strangely of a dog looking at someone new and trying to figure out if they liked them – and looking at her, questioning. ‘Are you okay with hugs?’
She just nodded, opening her arms slightly to invite them in.
In the split second they were hugging, Regulus came to stand next to them. And Lily didn’t know if it only was because Sirius was looking away, but she saw James whisper a soft greeting towards the other boy, who replied by rolling his eyes and looking the other way. Though she could’ve sworn she also saw his gaze softening. She wondered how many pairs in this friend group secretly liked each other, and if there were others who she didn’t meet yet that did too. She also wondered if Mary liked someone. Then wondered why the hell she would wonder that, because she barely even knew the girl.
She startled from her thoughts when Sirius turned around again and started talking agitatedly with Mary, since apparently they hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks. She and Remus stood beside them, just listening to them rambling and occasionally giving each other looks.
‘You’ll never guess what I just heard from Reg. You know Crouch and Rosier right? And we all felt the sexual tension at that party, hm? Well apparently they kissed each other, but then Rosier laughed it off or something? And-’
Lily zoned out a bit, not quite understanding who they were talking about and not really caring either. She surprisingly noticed that James kept his distance, though she could probably guess why.
The taller boy was grinning at Regulus, who tried to seem bothered but couldn’t hide his small smile anymore after a few minutes. James caught her eye after a while, and rolled his eyes upon seeing her smirk.
When he finally clapped his hands, almost fifteen minutes had passed.
‘Okay guys, the kids are going to start arriving soon. Pads, you’re at the gate and table here, so you can look in what cabin the kids belong and send them to the right counselor. You too, Reg.’
‘Regulus,’ the boy corrected immediately, leaving James grinning sheepishly at him.
‘The rest of us will stand at our cabins and wait for the children. Then you can show them their bed and everything in the cabin. When they’re done you can send them outside to play, but tell them to stay close enough to the tables, so Sirius and Reg can keep an eye on them.’
‘It’s Regulus,’ he corrected once again, a frown on his face.
Everyone nodded, and went in the direction of their cabin, while Sirius and Regulus sat down at the tables. Lily opened the door of her cabin and stood in the doorway, looking inside. All the beds were still nicely made and everything was neat, though she suspected that wouldn’t last too long.
Suddenly she jumped, startled by a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Mary, a soft smile on her face.
‘Hi Lily, you okay? You seem a bit jumpy,’ she said. Her eyes glinted with amusement, and Lily felt herself turning red again.
‘Uhm, yeah, I’m fine,’ she spluttered, ‘Just, you know, nerves.’
Mary’s gaze softened, something like understanding in her eyes. ‘You’ll do great, I’m sure. Never worked with kids before?’
Lily shrugged her shoulders. ‘Not really. I’m actually not that good with kids.’
‘Oh, why’d you become a counselor then?’
Lily felt her blush intensify, not really knowing what to say. ‘I needed a summer job, I guess.’
Mary just nodded, though Lily saw in her eyes that she still had a lot of other questions. She decided to keep the conversation going, quickly asking a question in return. ‘Why did you become a counselor?’
‘Well, James told me about this camp his parents ran, and that they were searching for counselors. I love working with kids, which is why I immediately agreed. I’ve been doing this since I was sixteen. This is the first year we’re doing it without Effie and Monty though,’ Mary explained, oblivious to the small smile on her face. Lily found it quite endearing how obvious it was Mary loved this place. She really hoped that it would turn out to be the same for her.
‘That’s lovely,’ she said. Mary hummed, still seeming a bit lost in thought about her experiences here.
They were quiet for a few moments, but Lily found herself enjoying it with Mary. She wasn’t really used to just standing with someone without talking, and noticed it was actually
not that bad. Normally she would be ranting about now, scared that the silence would be awkward or that Mary would find her weird. In reality she felt at peace, just being quiet here with a girl she just met but suspected to be a great friend soon. Best even, if Lily dared to dream.
In the distance she heard a car pull up and she looked at Mary, finally noticing the fond look the girl was giving her.
‘Well, I better get to my cabin. Good luck! Though, I’m sure you don’t need it,’ Mary said. She reached her arm out, slightly touching Lily’s with her hand. Then she turned around, walking to her cabin without turning back.
Lily had to blink a few times before she could gather her thoughts, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sudden feeling of Mary’s touch. Her arm was burning in the place where Mary’s hand had just been a moment ago. She rubbed over the spot softly, quietly wondering if the girl was some kind of witch in another life. She could’ve sworn she just felt magic entering her veins.
Footsteps approached, making her concentrate on the reason she was here, though she still thought about Mary in the back of her mind. She was really grateful the girl made her feel so welcomed here, almost as if she belonged at this camp, was born to be a counselor. Even if she was quite sure she was anything but that.
She smiled, looking at the little blonde kid before her, with next to them a woman who seemed to be their mother. ‘Hello, welcome to the green cabin! I’m Lily, your counselor! What’s your name?’