Different

“LILY!”

“EVANS!”

“SHE’S HERE!”

“OI, POTTER! EVANS IS HERE!” Lily smiled at the chorus of shouts as she walked up the front stairs of Potter Manor. The front door swung open and Marlene came flying out.

“Lily! How are you?” she asked, hugging Lily so hard she was nearly lifted off her feet.

“M’good, M’good” Lily wheezed, laughing.

“Let her breathe, McKinnon!” an amused voice said from behind her. Marlene relinquished her, and she turned to see Remus, smiling slightly. He looked as he always did, slightly threadbare, with a new scar across his nose.

“Remus!” she smiled, flying into his arms. He patted her on the back, and let go.

“It's good to see you! We should probably get inside before the others go crazy.” he smiled. Marlene grabbed her arm, and they walked inside. Lily had only been to Potter Manor once before, to pick up Remus to go shopping, but then she had only waited outside. Inside was, well, surprising. From the outside, the manor looked like any other, sure to be nearly empty inside, with enough expensive decorations that you felt like you couldn’t breathe. On the inside, however, the house bore a striking resemblance to the Gryffindor common room. There were cheerful candles placed around, with walls covered in several portraits of various Potter relatives. Scattered around the room were several scarlet sofas. Draped over these sofas were the rest of their friends.

“Hey guys!” Lily beamed. She had to admit. She’d missed her friends. Even Potter. Maybe. A little bit. Sirius gave her a quick salute, and Peter waved, greeting her politely. Mary and Dorcas were entrenched in a thrilling game of exploding snap, but called hello to Lily all the same.

“Hey Evans!” Potter grinned, running his hands through his hair. She turned to look at him, and was taken aback. While she had to admit he’d always been good-looking, something had changed over the last month. He was just a bit taller, his jaw a bit sharper, and he seemed to have added some muscle to his lean quidditch build. She caught herself staring, and forced herself to look away.

“Hi Potter.” She held up her duffel bag “Is there somewhere I can put this?” he nodded, and grabbed the bag from her hand.

“Allow me, m’lady.” he gave her an exaggerated bow, and gestured for her to follow him. He led her to a small guest room in the middle of a hallway. There was a small bed, with a red rug and glowing candles. He placed her bag gently on the bed. “McDonald is across from you, McKinnon is to your left, and the rest of us are down the hall.” he ran a hand through his hair, seeming almost embarrassed. “Is there anything you need?” she looked up at him.

“No, I think I’m good. Thanks Potter.” she said, turning to take out her wand from where she had stashed it and placing it on the bedside table along with the book she had taken on the train. He nodded, and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

______________________________________________________________________

Lily finished unpacking her bag into the drawers, and went back downstairs to her friends. They played an exploding snap tournament, which Mary won handily, then very responsibly, went to bed. James and Sirius wanted to show them the lake the next day, and they had decided to hike, as opposed to just apparating there.

“Night Lily!” Marlene called as Lily found her room.

“Night Mar!” she said, sitting down on the bed. She stared at the blinds on her window for a moment, then rose to go peer out. The view was gorgeous. The Potter’s yard stretched to encompass a small pond, with a small section of woods at the edge. Lily smiled as she watched some garden gnomes scurrying around, no doubt plotting something to minorly inconvenience them in the morning. She drew the blinds, and rummaged around in the drawer for her pajamas. She pulled on the too-long Gryffindor shirt and tiny red shorts, placing her dirty laundry in her duffel bag. She crawled into bed, and tried to fall asleep, but her stomach had other ideas. She read her book for a while, before realizing that she usually had a snack before bed, but tonight had forgotten. She sat up, pursing her lips. Potter had said to make themselves at home, and that they could eat anything they found, but she still felt weird creeping into the kitchen at midnight. She sighed, and stood up, stretching, and grabbed her wand. She carefully opened the door, and crept down the grand staircase. She realized that she didn’t actually know where the kitchen was, but decided to take her best guess and head to the back of the house. She bumped into a table, swore softly and lit her wand.

“Lumos” Lily murmured. She followed the hallway down to the back, where a door was ajar with light spilling out of it. She extinguished her wand, and carefully crept to the door and peered in. Potter. She supposed he’d had the same idea as her. She mentally cursed, and made to turn back, when her shoulder bumped the door, causing it to creak open slightly. He looked up, and she knew the moment he saw her. He blushed, She frowned. James Potter, blushing? That didn't seem right. She sighed, and pushed the door open all the way. In the couple seconds that took her, he seemed to have regained composure. He ruffled his hair and smirked at her.

“Hey Evans, midnight snack?”

“Yup.” she said, taking in his appearance. He wore a scarlet and gold plaid pair of pajama pants, with a tight Gryffindor t-shirt, similar to hers. Her eyes drifted over his chest, where the shirt was pulled tight from his broad shoulders. She mentally shook herself. He smirked.

“Enjoying the view?” She turned scarlet.

“Shut up Potter.” He raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Hey, I'm not blaming you! If i were in your shoes I’d totally be checking me out too.” She glared at him, and he shrugged. “May I get you a bite to eat, m’lady?” She sighed, glad of the subject change.

“Sure.” she said, hopping up to sit on a counter.

“Bagel?” he offered, opening a cupboard. She nodded.

“Sounds good.” he took the bagel, and walked towards her. He reached over her head to open the cupboard door behind her, and pulled out what must have been a wizard toaster. Lily tried to think about the odd-looking toaster, and how it could possibly work, rather than thinking about how close they had just been. How he’d fit right between her legs. How good he smelled up close. How his shirt had strained as he reached up. How he’d met her eyes briefly as he closed the door, not stepping away right away. She bit her tongue. She must be very hungry, because she was starting to lose her mind. She forced herself to look back at Potter, who had busied himself buttering her bagel. She hopped off the counter and pulled up a chair at the sturdy wooden table. He placed her bagel on a plate, and slid it over to her.

“Bon appetit!” he smiled, and began buttering his own bagel. Soon, they sat across from each other, food eaten, talking.

“How’re your parents?” he asked, leaning an elbow on the table. “Oh, and you have a sister too, right?” Lily sighed.

“My parents are fine, but my sister still won’t talk to me. She isn’t a fan of magic.” James frowned. “I think it’s because when I first got my letter, she was really jealous. Even wrote to Dumbledore to ask him to let her come. She couldn’t, obviously, so she just got bitter. Plus, she’s been going out with this guy, Vernon, and he’s the worst. No manners, nothing. He probably only goes out with her because she’s always willing to bend over backwards to make him happy. I really don’t see what she sees in him. He’s got a wispy little handlebar mustache, for Merlin’s sake!” she exclaimed. James grinned.

“Oh no! Not a handlebar mustache!” he teased gently. She blushed, not able to meet his eyes.

“Sorry for dumping all of this on you,” she said, realizing just how much she had just overshared. He’d asked a simple question, and she’d told him all of her problems at home. “I- I don't know why I told you this. Forget it, it was stupid.” she said, hating how she was tearing up. Her breath hitched as she tried to stop her tears from falling. There was something about late nights that made sad feelings even sadder. She turned away so he wouldn't see her crying.

“Lily.” he spoke her name gently, tenderly even. “It's okay. You can tell me anything, you know that.” She sniffled, hastily wiping her eyes.

“I just don't see why she can’t be civil to me! I love her so much, and she can’t stand to look at me anymore! I- I-” she choked up again as a fresh batch of tears began streaming down her cheeks. He gently touched her hand.

“Lily, it's okay. Someday she’ll realize how much she loves you, and the fact that you’re a witch won’t matter to her. She’ll realize how cool it is to have a badass witch as a sister. She just needs time.” She let out a choked sob, and the chair screeched as he stood up. He held her hands gently with one hand, and tilted her chin up to look at him with the other. He held out his arms, and she stood up, and fell into them, soaking his shirt as she sobbed into his shoulder. He held her as she cried, rubbing her back soothingly, and whispering soft reassurances into the top of her head. Lily didn’t know how long she stood there, encircled in his comforting arms, but eventually, with a final sniffle, she drew away, looking up at him.

“Thank you James. Goodnight.” she wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands, and, grabbing her wand.

“Night Lily.” he whispered, all of his usual bravado and swagger gone. Now, he was just a worried boy, quite unsure of what had just happened. His hand went to his hair, almost absent-mindedly, and mussed it up. She gave him a slightly watery grin, squeezed his hand and left the room.