gold rush

Lily had barely walked into the great hall for lunch before she was intercepted.

James got up from where he was sitting before, following Lily a little down the table. He sat down next to her, straddling the bench like he wasn’t planning on being there for very long. He was wearing a Gryffindor jumper in favor of the actual uniform today, and he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, revealing his forearms. 

“How much?”

“What?” Lily said, bringing her attention back up. She was still waiting for Mary and Marlene to arrive, and she prayed that they would get here soon. 

“How much?” he asked again.

“How much?” Lily repeated, feeling like she was trying to catch up. “What are you talking about?”

“The dance. How much?”

Lily turned to face him completely now. “What?” she said again, still incredibly confused. 

“How much money do you need?”

She shrugged. Over the weekend she had gone over some of the costs with Mary, but it was still just a rough estimate. “Oh, I don’t know. A couple thousand.”

“Galleons or dollars?”

“Galleons.” After seven years Lily knew better than to talk to any wizard about muggle money, they never seemed to be able to understand what she was talking about. Not that it was very complicated. The conversion rates were a bit more confusing, but they were still just conversion rates.

“How many is a couple thousand?”

“How do you even know about this?” Lily asked.

“I asked Remus why you seemed so stressed.”

“I seem stressed?”

“You’re taking seven NEWT level classes,” James said, as if that was enough explanation. “And you’re trying to plan a dance for half the school. It’s okay if you are stressed.”

“I’m not stressed.” She was lying, of course, but she didn’t need James worrying about it.

James shook his head, waving her off a little bit. “Just tell me how much you need.”

“We estimated around four thousand, but we won’t have an exact number for a while.”

James nodded. “Okay, and how much of that will come from tickets?”

“Well, again, we haven’t figured out how much tickets are going to cost. But if 200 kids go at five galleons a ticket, that’s a thousand right there.”

“Okay, so you just need three thousand?”

Lily tilted her head to the side, confused at this line of questioning. “Why do you care?”

James smiled. “What ever do you mean?”

“Why do you care about how much the dance is going to cost?”

“Why wouldn’t I care?”

“Why would you?”

“C’mon Evans, use that brain of yours,” he said, gently tapping the side of her head with two fingers.

“I am, and that’s why I’m giving you the opportunity to tell me it’s about something else,” Lily said. 

“I have the money.”

“No.”

“Let me help.”

“Potter-”

“Please? Between Sirius and me this is like… nothing.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Humble.”

“Well it’s true. Besides, then you won’t have to plan a fundraiser.”

“How do you even know about that?”

James smiled. “I told you already. Remus.”

“I suddenly hate him.”

“Look, a fundraiser would just end up being money from students and parents, right?”

“Right.”

“Right, okay. So, I’m a student. Sirius is a student. What’s the difference?”

“There’s a big difference between four thousand galleons from hundreds of people compared to just two.”

“Money is money.”

“No.”

Mary and Marlene joined them a moment later, sitting down on the opposite side of the table.

“Why the hell are we dining with Potter?” Marlene asked.

“Nice to see you too, McKinnon.”

“Bite me.”

“He was just leaving,” Lily said, giving him a look that obviously said not to bring up what they had just been talking about. 

James only smiled, ignoring her look and turning to Mary and Marlene. “She’s turning down three thousand galleons, no strings attached,” he told them, not explaining the situation at all.

Mary’s jaw dropped. “Three thousand galleons? Are you insane?” she asked Lily.

“He wants to fund the dance by himself.”

“Not by myself,” James interjected. “Sirius would also pitch in.”

“No,” Lily said again.

“Evans-”

“No.”

“I want to help.”

“Then volunteer to hang posters up or something.”

“Can’t I do both?”

“No.”

“Prongs, we gotta go,” Peter said, calling him from down the table a little bit.

James turned around, giving him a thumbs up. “At least think about it, yeah?” he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder as he stood up.

Lily looked up at him. “The answer is no, but thanks.”

“Think about it,” he said again, walking backwards. “Yeah? Yeah, okay. Great.”

Lily flipped him off, and he laughed before turning around to catch up with Peter and Sirius. They were likely going to go visit Remus, as last night was a full moon. Lily went and saw him earlier this morning, sneaking chocolate in so that Pomfrey wouldn’t take it away.

“Why did you say no?” Mary asked the second he left.

Lily sighed. “You know why.”

“Not really.”

“He can’t just pay for the whole thing.”

“Him and Sirius,” Marlene interjected.

“It’s not right.”

“Why not?”

“Mary.”

“Lily.”

“It’s not happening.”

Mary held her hands up in defense, hearing the tone of finality in Lily’s voice. She was already close to snapping with the way everything was piling on. She wrote a letter to Petunia last night, and she was starting to regret it. It was short, but the message was clear. It was one last chance for them to fix things, at least in Lily’s mind. She was too scared to send it because of that. If Petunia didn’t respond, or if she responded negatively, Lily didn’t think there was anything that she could do. She knows that it was jealousy that made Petunia hate her when they were younger, but she thinks it’s something different now.

“I’m gonna go to the library,” Lily said, deciding she probably needed to be alone. She didn’t want to snap at her friends when they definitely didn’t deserve it, so it was easier to self isolate.

“You’re not hungry?”

“Not really. See you guys at dinner?”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, bye.”

She really had intended on going to the library. She had a couple of hours before her next class, and it couldn’t hurt to get some stuff done. Particularly the next patrol schedule. McGonagall wanted it by Friday afternoon, and she kept putting it off again.

But she stopped in her tracks when she saw Regulus on his way somewhere. She didn’t know him very well at all, and maybe it was stupid to yell his name, but she did it anyway.

“Hey! Regulus!”

He stopped and turned, looking very confused. “You’re talking to me?”

Lily smiled. “Yeah. What’s up?”

Regulus frowned. “Did Sirius put you up to this?”

“What? No.”

“Oh. Okay. Did you need something?”

“Do you want to go get high with me?”

Regulus seemed to weigh his options, not answering for a couple of seconds. “Sure,” he said eventually, which Lily took as an enthusiastic yes.

Lily rambled a little the whole way there, sure that Regulus was already starting to regret his decision. Lily wasn’t a huge fan of prolonged silences, though, so she chatted about school mostly. Regulus only barely responded when she asked him questions, but she didn’t mind much. They went to the extra greenhouse that wasn’t used for classes, the place everyone went to smoke. 

Remus had given her a joint this morning, saying he didn’t want Pomfrey to find it and asked that she put it in his room. Lily had not done that, and now she was not planning on doing that at all. Remus would forgive her eventually.

They didn’t talk a whole lot at first, just more small talk about classes and things like that. Lily was honestly waiting for the weed to catch up with her so she could feel more relaxed.

It was a bit chilly outside, the middle of October already cooling down a lot. She couldn’t wait for winter, if she’s honest. It’s always been her favorite season, especially when it snows. She did enjoy fall though. There was something nostalgic about the season as a whole. It never stuck around very long, which was why she could never claim it as her favorite.

“Can I ask you a question?” Lily said eventually. She was pleasantly high now. She doesn’t smoke a whole lot, so it took barely anything to get her feeling lighter.

“I figured that was why we’re here, yeah.”

Lily frowned, looking over at Regulus. “I didn’t invite you to smoke because I had a question.”

“You didn’t?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

She shrugged, not really sure why herself. “I thought we would get along,” she said. Sirius had said that to her once, that Lily was similar to Regulus in a lot of ways. Maybe it was just a younger sibling thing though.

“Oh.”

“You don’t think so?”

“I don’t know. You’re at least not half as annoying as Sirius’ other friends.”

Lily smiled, mind turning to James, Peter, and Remus. She was glad that she wasn’t perceived as they were. “Thank God.”

“What’s your question?” Regulus asked, bringing them back around to the point. Lily could never stay very focused on one thing when she smoked, and she almost forgot she had a question at all. 

“Just… how did you do it?”

“It?”

“Reach out to Sirius.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t answer if you don’t want to, but…”

“Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you want to know? Why don’t you just ask Sirius?”

“Cause he’s the older one.”

“Do you have an older brother?”

“Sister,” Lily corrected. It was sad though. Lily’s sure that if someone were to ask Petunia if she had any siblings, she would just say she was an only child. It felt more and more like that every day, but she couldn’t just stop having a sister.

Regulus nodded, seeming to understand. “Older siblings fucking suck,” Regulus said.

Lily laughed, unable to control it. “Fucking honestly.”

“Sirius was waiting for me to reach out though,” Regulus said after a moment. The joint was basically down to nothing at this point, and Regulus put the last of it out, leaving it on the ground. “All I did was show up, he did the rest of the work.”

“Oh.”

Lily knew that she would have to do all of it if things were ever going to be mended. She would have to reach out, she would have to make sure they stay in communication. Petunia didn’t seem interested in any of it.

“Not the same for you?”

She shook her head. “My sister’s a muggle. She doesn’t really understand all of this,” Lily said, gesturing around them. “She doesn’t want anything to do with it either. She thinks it’s freaky.”

Regulus looked confused at that. “She thinks that magic is freaky? I thought muggles like… dreamed about it.”

“Most do. But Petunia… she used to, before we found out I was a witch. So yeah, either magic is freaky or she just thinks that I’m a freak.”

“That’s insane. Does she know how good you are?” Any other time, Lily would have commented on the fact that Regulus had complimented her magic, but that really wasn’t the point.

“I don’t talk about it at home anymore,” Lily said. She used to in first and second year. She had always been careful with it around Petunia after that first visit over winter break, but she used to tell her parents all about Hogwarts. After her dad died, even her mom seemed to not care as much, like Lily’s magic and her needs were just a nuisance. She couldn’t really resent her for it, and she knew her mom still cared about her. She just didn’t seem to care about the part of Lily’s identity that she was most proud of. Her dad was always much more into the whole magic thing anyway. “And even if they did know, they wouldn’t care.”

“So you’re not… I mean your grades aren’t for your parents?”

“No. Are yours?”

“Yeah, obviously.”

“Oh,” Lily said. Her parents were always supportive, they just wanted Lily to be happy, and she knew that. They never really paid close attention to grades or academic achievements. Her mom never went to uni or anything either. She couldn’t imagine if she was adding to the pressure she already felt on her own. “That fucking sucks.”

Regulus laughed, seeming like he was finally easing up. The tension in his shoulders wasn’t nearly as tight anymore, and he let himself smile a little bit. “Yeah, it does.” And then, “I know I said older siblings are the worst, but Sirius isn’t always the worst, I guess.”

“He’s not,” Lily agreed. “But I see you putting in effort too, you know?”

“What?”

“Sitting with him at the quidditch game? Betting on Gryffindor?”

Regulus frowned. “I only bet on Gryffindor because I knew that they were going to win.”

“Yeah, but you couldn’t have actually known that.”

“I did, though.”

“That’s literally impossible.”

“It’s possible.”

“How?”

“I’m a seer,” Regulus said casually.

Lily’s eyes widened, and she sat up. “Are you fucking joking?”

“Do I seem the type to tell jokes?”

Lily laughed again. “Oh my God. You… I- Tell me something about the future.”

“What? No.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not a toy.”

“So what do you use it for?”

“Quidditch bets.”

Lily frowned. “That’s less moral than telling me something inconsequential.”

“I don’t care about the moral implications. I use it for what I want.”

“That’s so fucking cool. I can’t believe you’re a seer.”

Regulus just shrugged, slouching a bit more against the wall. “It’s whatever. You’re not allowed to tell anybody though.”

“Why not?”

“Nobody’s supposed to know.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, they just aren’t.”

“Okay, but why?”

Regulus sighed. “I don’t know.”

“But you told me about it,” Lily pointed out. 

“Yeah, well, you supplied the drugs.”

“Oh, you actually have Remus to thank for that.”

“Sirius’ Remus?”

“Yup.”

“I won’t be thanking him.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“You don’t like him?”

“He’s fine.”

“He’s probably the best person I know,” Lily said. She was pretty sure there wasn’t a single person in this school who didn’t like Remus. He was quiet, but he wasn’t shy. And he had a strong set of morals that he was okay with bending if it meant helping his friends. And he was funny, although most wouldn’t know that about him right off the bat.

“He needs to work out his shit with Sirius,” Regulus said, rolling his eyes. “So fucking frustrating. ‘Oh, guess what Moony said’ or ‘Oh, guess what Moony did’ as if I fucking care about Moony.”

Lily smiled. “You have to be nice to Remus.”

“No, I don’t.”

“He’s definitely going to be your brother in law.”

“I know.”

Lily started laughing then, realizing that Regulus was sort of stuck with all of them forever. When she brought this up to him, he did not seem amused.

“Aren’t you stuck with them forever too?” he asked

Lily shrugged. “Only in friendship. I have an out if I ever need it.”

Regulus looked confused, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. “I thought you were dating Potter.”

Lily suddenly stopped laughing. “What?”

“You’re not dating?”

“We’re not.”

“Really? Hmm.”

“Why did you think that?”

“A lot of reasons.”

“For example?”

“Like the way you guys are at those stupid prefect meetings. He’s always making those eyes at you.”

“What eyes?”

Regulus shrugged. “Just the way he looks at you, I guess. And the way you look at him. And the things he said to Snape that day-”

“He would do that for anyone,” Lily interjected. She had always known that James was very protective over his friends, and even strangers. He would have done exactly the same for anybody in that position. It was actually an admirable quality about him. 

“And the way he talks about you.”

“He talks about me?”

Regulus groaned. “Non-fucking stop.”

Non-stop? “What does he say?”

Regulus looked back over to her. “You’re really not dating?”

“No. What things does he say?” she asked again.

Whether Regulus would have answered her or not, Lily would never know. Sirius popped up a moment later, scaring the both of them. He was alone, which was odd for him, especially because it meant he would have had to leave Remus.

“What do you want?” Regulus said.

Sirius sat down with the two of them. “Are you guys smoking together?” he asked with a laugh.

“We were,” Lily said.

“Told you you’d get along,” Sirius said.

“Who said anything about getting along?” Regulus mumbled, causing Lily to start laughing again.

“He’s funny,” she said, pointing at Regulus.

“No, I’m not.”

“No, he’s not,” Sirius said at the same time.

Lily stood up, using the side of the wall to balance herself for a moment. She assumed Sirius had been looking for Regulus, and Lily really liked the idea of taking a nap before class. “See you around,” she said, walking away with a little smile.

It was the first time in weeks where she didn’t feel a weight on her shoulders. She knew she was putting all of this pressure on herself. She knew that nobody would care if she didn’t finish her astronomy essay, but Lily would care. She’s always felt this need to do well, to succeed. She doesn’t feel like she would be anything without it; without the validation she gets when her professors applaud her good work. If she’s not doing everything, then what’s the point?

Gryffindor tower felt incredibly far, and she kept taking small breaks on her way, getting distracted by the paintings. In her first year she cataloged every single one, even organizing them by how much she liked them. She was very lonely that year though, scared that Mary and Marlene didn’t actually like her. It was easier if she spent time by herself, resulting in lots of pointless lists. The rankings have changed in the past seven years, but she hasn’t updated it since. 

The tapestries on the walls were also suddenly very interesting to her, and she never really noticed all of the patterns before.

“Lily?”

She barely registered the sound of her name, eyes tracking the swirls on the tapestry. She wanted to find out where they went, but her eyes were pulled away when James was suddenly standing in front of her.

“Are you okay?”

Lily started laughing. “I am so well,” she said honestly.

James’ eyes tracked all over her face for a moment before he seemed to figure it out. “You’re high?”

“Yeah. Smoked with Regulus.”

“Regulus Black?”

Lily snorted. “Do you know another Regulus?” she asked. She hadn’t been able to look away from James’ eyes, never really looking at them up close like this. They were sort of enchanting, swirls of brown. She gasped. “You look like the tapestry,” Lily said, making the connection.

James smiled a little. “What?”

“Your eyes. They swirl.”

“Do they?”

“Yeah, they’re pretty. They look like that,” she said, pointing behind him.

James glanced for only a second before he brought his attention back to her. “Okay, if you say so.”

“I do.”

“What’re you doing over here anyway? Don’t you have class?”

Lily groaned at the mention of class. “Stupid fucking history of magic. I don’t think I’m in the right state of mind to go.”

James laughed. “No, probably not.”

“I was trying to go lay down. Did you know how far Gryffindor is?”

“Yeah, I do,” James said, a grin seeming to be permanently on his face. He was always like that, always smiling. 

Lily laughed again. “Oh yeah, you live there too. I kept trying to go there, but there’s a lot of pretty things in the castle.”

“The Head Girl dorm is just down the hall, you know?” he said.

Lily had completely forgotten about that. She hadn’t ever even seen the dorm, not having any use for it. She liked sharing a room with Mary and Marlene. 

“Is it really?”

James nodded. “Yeah, c’mon. I’ll make sure you get to a bed.”

Lily followed him. “Did you know that Regulus is funny?” Lily asked. 

“Yeah. He doesn’t think so though.”

“He thinks we’re dating,” Lily said.

James stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Oh, that’s probably my fault.”

“Your fault? Why?”

“I just… I’ve mentioned you from time to time.”

“Huh, Regulus said that too.”

James adjusted his glasses. “Yeah, right. Well we’re here,” he said, gesturing to a door Lily had yet to notice.

“Have you ever been in your dorm?” she asked, dropping her bag on the ground to find the key. It got sent to her with her letter in July, and she had put it in one of the tiny pockets.

“I saw it once. Never used it.”

She found the key in the last pocket she checked, standing back up to unlock the door. She struggled getting it in for a moment before she got it. 

“Okay, I’ll let you get some sleep,” James said once she had the door open. 

“Where are you going?” Lily asked, confused as to why he was leaving. 

“At least one of us needs to get the history of magic notes.”

“Oh. You’d do that?”

“I’ll even be sure to write them all organized for you.”

Lily smiled, leaning against the door a little bit. “Really?”

“Yes. Now go lay down.”

Lily saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

She barely made it to the bed before she collapsed on it, giggling to herself a little before falling asleep on top of the blankets.

———

The first thing that Lily registered when she woke up was that her throat felt very dry, the second that she was hungry, and the third that it was still bright outside. She was still processing all of these things before she realized why she had woken up. Somebody was knocking on the door. 

She sat up, looking around the room and being incredibly disoriented. The Head Girl dorm was a bit larger than the size of a standard room, although it only had one bed in the middle of the back wall, a desk, and a dresser. There were two doors, one of which she figured led to a bathroom. Other than that, there really wasn't much of anything in the room at all.

“Come in,” she said, not feeling like getting up. She was still trying to remember how she got here. The door opened and James poked his head in, all of the memories suddenly returning to her. “Oh, fuck me,” she said, shutting her eyes and rubbing at them a little bit.

“What an offer, Evans,” James said, pushing the rest of the way in when he saw that she was awake. “I brought you some stuff.”

She opened one eye, watching as he shut the door behind him. “Like what?”

“Water,” he said, throwing a closed water bottle at her. Her reflexes caught up just in time to catch it. “And I raided Peter’s stash and brought you some snacks,” he added, setting a bag on the bed. 

Lily blinked a couple of times, incredibly confused. “You didn’t have to do that.”

James laughed. “You don’t seem to be in any state to take care of yourself.”

Lily waved her hand before opening the water bottle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.”

Lily drank about half the water bottle before coming up for a breath. “What time is it?”

“Almost seven.”

“PM?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. So I was out for a while then?”

James nodded. “I honestly didn’t think you would still be asleep, but when you weren’t at dinner I figured this was where you still were.”

“Shit. Did I miss dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“Will Peter forgive me if I eat all of his snacks?” Lily asked, peeking in the bag.

“I’ll tell him it was me,” James said with a shrug. He looked a bit uncomfortable, just standing in the middle of the room with a hand in his pocket. 

Lily dumped the bag out, looking to see what she was working with. “Hungry?” she asked, not really wanting him to leave yet.

James’ smile seemed to grow. “I could eat.”

Lily made space for him on the bed, and he sat down without any prompting. Belatedly, Lily realized he was probably waiting for that invitation, but she was still catching things up in her mind. 

“Did I really get high with Regulus?” she asked, unsure if that was part of her dream.

James opened a bag of crisps while Lily went for the dried fruit first. “You did,” James confirmed. 

Lily hummed. “Well, can cross that off the bucket list.”

“The what?”

“Bucket list,” Lily said, thinking he hadn’t heard her.

“What’s that?”

Lily looked at him. It was easy to forget the amount of disconnect between the two communities sometimes, especially when Lily had a lot of knowledge in both. “Like a list of things to do before you die.”

“Oh. That’s a weird name.”

“No, it’s like… you know? When you kick the bucket?”

James laughed. “What?”

“It’s an idiom. When you kick the bucket it means you die.”

“See, you should be my muggle studies teacher,” he said, shaking his head a little bit. “Wright doesn’t explain things like you do.”

“He knows what he’s talking about,” Lily said. She had never taken muggle studies for obvious reasons, but she had spoken with the professor before.

“He’s about as bad to listen to as Binns.”

“There’s no way.”

“I’m being serious. I can’t pay attention in that class.”

“You can’t pay attention in any class.”

James shook his head, shaking his finger a little bit. “I pay very good attention during practicals.”

“Wasn’t it you that transfigured one of my quills into a frog during a practical?” Lily asked. They had been doing a transfiguration lesson in fifth year where they were supposed to turn their quills into pens, and Lily had let James borrow one.

“That was an accident!”

“You still did it.”

“You know I named the frog and everything? And McGonagall wouldn’t let me keep it.”

“Good, I liked that quill.”

“I named him Paco, and she just turned him into a quill.”

“Paco?” Lily asked. She leaned back against the bed frame, getting more comfortable. 

“Sirius’ idea. I don’t know where it came from.”

She looked over, making eye contact with him and suddenly remembered all of the stupid things she said. “Oh my God.”

“What?” James asked, confused about the change in tone.

“I- I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry? What for?”

“For being an idiot. I was just blabbing, you didn’t have to walk me here.”

James’ eyes lit up a little bit in recognition, and he just smiled easily. “Well, I did, actually.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I called your name four times, you know? You didn’t answer at all.”

“I only heard it once.”

“You were quite enamored with that tapestry,” James said teasingly. 

“Well I’d never looked at it closely before!” Lily defended. 

“You told me it looked like me.”

Lily groaned. “I remember.”

“You said I have pretty eyes,” he said, batting his eyelashes a couple of times.

Lily pushed his face away a little bit so he would stop looking at her. “I was under the influence. I had no control over what I said.”

“So you don’t think I have pretty eyes?” James asked with a fake pout.

Lily’s cheeks heated up a little bit. “Fuck off. Of course you have pretty eyes,” she said, trying to play it off casually. James never would have let her get away with that though. 

“Really?” James asked, grin wide again.

“Don’t you have enough people stroking your ego?”

He shook his head. “They don’t matter. They don’t even begin to compare.”

“Shut up.”

“No, seriously. Praise from you is like praise from a God.”

She looked down, trying to hide her smile. “You’re insane.”

“I’m going to write about this in my diary so I can remember it for years to come.”

“You’re not.”

“I absolutely am.”

“Do you really have a diary?” Lily asked.

“Course I do. But if Remus asks, it's a journal.”

“Why only Remus?”

“He’s the cool one, I can’t embarrass myself in front of him.”

Lily laughed. “Are you joking?”

“I’m dead serious.”

“Oh my God. He wears sweater vests,” Lily said. She loves Remus, but in her mind he was not the pinnacle of coolness.

“And he wears them very well,” James said with a little head nod. 

They chatted for a little while about nothing, whatever came to their minds really. They ate a lot of Peter’s snacks, which Lily only felt slightly bad about. She would pay him back somehow, plus it was for a good cause. Lily wasn’t sure she had ever laughed so much, and her cheeks hurt a bit from how much she was smiling. 

“Thank you,” Lily said at a slight lull in conversation. They had changed positions to where they were both lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Lily was aware of just how close they were to touching, but she was not about to be the one to cross that distance. She liked being James’ friend, she didn’t want to make it weird.

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For this.”

“Oh, the stuff? It was no problem.”

Lily reached her hand out, hitting his arm a little. “Not for the stuff, although that too. I meant for the company, the conversation.”

“Evans, you don’t have to thank me for my company. I already told you that I like hanging out with you.”

“I know. Still, it was nice.”

“Yeah,” James said, his voice a bit quieter. “It was.”

“I liked being able to escape like this,” Lily said. 

James snorted a little. “I knew you were stressed.”

“Everyone’s stressed.”

“True.”

Lily sighed. “We should probably head back, right?” Mary and Marlene would probably be looking for her after she didn’t show up to dinner, and she didn’t want to worry them more than she already had.

“Yeah, probably.”

They laid there another moment, neither of them making a move to leave. She really did like this place as a little hideaway. She hadn’t thought about school or her sister or any impending deadlines since she first came in here.

She sat up, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. “I’m never getting high in the middle of the day again.”

James laughed, sitting up after her. “You’re interesting when you’re high.”

She slipped her shoes on. She must have kicked them off at some point in her sleep because she couldn’t remember ever taking them off. “I’m embarrassing.”

“You’re cute.”

Lily felt her stomach flip a little bit before deciding that could absolutely not happen. “That whole situation stays between us,” she said, pointing between the two of them.

James mimed zipping his lips shut. “I’m a vault.”

Lily sighed. “You’ve already told somebody, haven’t you?”

“Remus got a nice laugh out of it, yeah. He was upset about his joint though.”

Lily stood up, walking over to the mirror to fix her hair. It was in a ponytail for most of the day, but after laying in bed most of the afternoon it had gotten messed up. “He’ll get over it,” she said, glancing at him through the mirror.

“He’s already over it.”

“Good.”

James got up too, picking Lily’s backpack up off the floor and slinging it around one shoulder. 

She turned around. “I can carry my own bag.”

“I’ve got it.”

“James.”

“I’ve got it,” he said again. He opened the door, holding it for Lily. “Ready?”

She decided that this was not a battle worth fighting, and she walked out the door. Her bag was heavy too, she didn’t mind not having to carry it all the way to Gryffindor.

“So…” James said, trailing off slightly. They weren’t walking very quickly, neither of them in much of a hurry. “Why were you getting high with Regulus?”

Lily kept her eyes focused on the ground. “We have a lot in common.”

“Yeah?” He was both opening up the possibility for Lily to explain, or letting her get away with the half answer. She appreciated it actually, that he wasn’t going to try to push her to talk.

“We’re both younger siblings,” she said. “with complicated older sibling relations.”

“You have a sister, right?”

Lily was surprised he remembered. She didn’t like to talk about Petunia a lot, not when it only ever made her sad. Mary and Marlene didn’t even know she existed until second year. “Yeah, Petunia is her name. We don’t get along.”

“Why not?”

“She… she doesn’t really like who I am, I guess.”

“Well she’s stupid, then,” James said. “I think you’re great.”

Lily smiled. “Your judgment’s just clouded because I said you have pretty eyes.”

James laughed. “That’s true, but it doesn’t change the fact that I think you’re great.”

Lily didn’t know how to respond to that, so she didn’t. Sometimes, when her friends said things like that, Lily felt like a fraud. She felt like she was putting on a show a lot of the time, just pretending to be the version of herself that she knew everyone wanted her to be. It was easier that way. James never really let her be like that though; he always just pushed through until Lily was actually honest with him.

They stopped just outside the portrait, and Lily realized she was going to have to find a way to explain all of this to Mary and Marlene.

“Oh, wait,” James said, pulling something out of his back pocket. “I have something for you.”

He handed Lily a folded up piece of paper, and she gave him a confused look before unfolding it. She could not have been more surprised when she saw that it was the patrol schedule. “What? When did you do this?”

James shrugged. “After class,” he said, acting like it wasn’t a big deal.

Maybe it wasn’t a big deal, after all it was only a couple of hours of work in the grand scheme of things. But they needed it done within the next two days, and Lily had already spent most of today in bed.

“Don’t look so surprised, Evans. It is my job too,” James said, obviously joking with her. 

“I just can’t believe you took the initiative,” she said, joking right back. She was quickly coming to the conclusion that James was intent to keep surprising her. He isn’t quite what she thought he was.

“Yeah, well, it was the least I could do.” She looked a bit closer at the schedule, unable to stop herself from checking it over for mistakes or inconsistencies. “It’s literally flawless, what are you looking at?”

“Trying to decipher your handwriting. We’re patrolling together next week?”

“We were the only two who could do it, yeah.”

Normally it worked out the opposite way, so she was just a little bit surprised. “Remus and Regulus?” Lily asked, looking up at him.

James grinned. “I think they’ll really get along.”

Lily shrugged, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me for doing what I’m supposed to do, you know?”

“Technically, we’re supposed to do it together.”

“Well you did it by yourself last time, so fair is fair.”

“Okay, fine,” Lily said, letting him win. “I do appreciate it though.”

“I know.”

Once inside, they went their separate ways, and Lily was trying to sort through what she wanted to tell Mary and Marlene before deciding on just telling them everything. Maybe they could help her figure out why she liked spending so much time with James Potter.