‘For Merlin’s sake, Remus, move your obnoxiously massive head out of my way!’
‘Bloody hell, Sirius. I’m not even that tall.’
‘Hello, I’m still here, and I’m the shortest of everyone. I think I should get front view.’
Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were piled behind their dormitory window, each fighting to be the closest to the glass so they could see the quidditch pitch below. Peter, however short he may be, had the advantage as a pair of Muggle binoculars were clamped tightly in his grip.
‘Move, Pads!’ he exclaimed, pushing the taller boy aside. He pressed his binoculars against the glass, spinning the small wheel in the centre. The quidditch pitch grew clearer, and James Potter could be seen swirling above the stands on his broom, obviously anxious. ‘Lily hasn’t come yet!’
‘Well, of course she hasn’t,’ Remus started, pulling a small watch out of his pocket. ‘It’s only half one.’
‘You mean we’re staying here for another half hour of nothingness?’ Peter squeaked.
‘Not unless someone, oh, I don’t know, comes early,’ Sirius smirked.
‘Sirius, you didn’t,’ Remus scolded. ‘James needs this extra time to make a complete fool of himself before his little flower makes it onto the pitch--’
‘Exactly.’
‘You’re an arse, you know that?’
‘At least I’ve got one.’ Sirius’ eyes flicked to Remus, his eyebrows raised. Remus looked back out the window.
‘Stop flirting, lovebirds.’
‘Shove off, Pete,’ said Remus. He pushed away from the other boys before collapsing on his four-poster. ‘Wake me up when Lily comes out.’
Peter and Sirius returned their gazes to the window, and Peter’s eyes began to widen as he started at the pitch through his binoculars. ‘Quick, Moons! She’s just strolled out, and James is on his way down!’ he squealed excitedly.
‘Really?’ Remus jumped up, racing back over to the window. But there was no other outline on the pitch than the one still speeding over the stands. ‘Oh, fuck you.’
‘Hey, in Pete’s defense, this was supposed to be a group activity. Not another one where you go falling asleep. You’ve got night time for that.’
‘Actually, most of my night is spent fighting off nightmares. It’s quite difficult to sleep when a face framed by a mess of long black hair is everywhere you look.’
This comment got quite a laugh out of Peter, who tumbled backwards. Sirius was quick to steal his binoculars.
‘Hold on, she’s come into view!’
This time, though, the wielder of the binoculars was telling the truth. Lily Evans strolled onto the quidditch pitch, a Cleansweep Five tucked between her arm and side. James came into her vicinity only a few moments later, and the two performed what looked to be an incredibly awkward hello.
Sirius snickered. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing Jimmy that red.’
‘’You’re such a tit, Sirius.’
‘At least I’ve-- you know what, never mind.’
It was Remus’ turn to snicker.
‘Seriously, you two-- stop the flirting. Everyone knows you’re shag-mates.’
‘You see, Petey, You really don’t have the right to speak seeing as you’ve never had a shag-mate.’
A blush crept up Peter’s cheeks as he snatched his binoculars back from a laughing Sirius. James was now helping Lily onto her broom, and every time she nearly fell over he was there to catch her. Soon enough, she was able to fly without help. James hopped on his own Cleansweep and followed the girl as she flew the circumference of the pitch. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Peter had never seem James act like such a gentleman; usually, he was bent on acting like, in Lily’s words, an ‘arrogant toerag’. To see James act so sweet and even helpful was something Peter was so unused to seeing, and he truly admired it.
James was laughing, and it was a surprise to see that Lily was, too. They were now lying in the centre of the pitch, Lily with her hands clutching her stomach as James messed around, transfiguring pebbles into a variety of different objects. He was muttering to her but, of course, due to the distance Peter had no way of establishing the exchange. It must have been sickeningly sweet, however, because upon a deep blush in Lily’s cheeks, James clasped a necklace around her neck (which was no doubt a result of a pebble and a little magic).
A shove in the shoulder was what shook Peter back to reality.
‘Petey-kins, anything good?’ Sirius whined. ‘Oh, let me have those.’
Sirius pressed the binoculars against the glass, but the scene Peter had viewed not ten seconds previous seemed to have dispersed. Now, all to be seen was a sort of race between the two students. They were running, Lily in the lead, brooms in hand, toward the changing rooms. Sirius soon came to realise this was all due to the sudden change in weather.
~~~~
Rain pounded on the castle walls and windows, cracks of thunder and snaps of lightning occurring on occasion. It was dark in the Gryffindor Common Room, the only source of light being the crackling flames in the fireplace.
Lily was the only person left awake. She was lying on the couch before the fire, her feet slung across James’ thighs as he slept at the other end. He was calm whilst he slept; his glasses were folded and placed neatly on the end-table, and his head was resting on a propped hand. He was nothing like the sweet, funny boy from quidditch pitch, and certainly nothing like the rude, conceited boy she had thought she’d known before today. He seemed a different person altogether as he slept, and Lily adored it. She held tightly to the small pendant that hung just beneath her collarbone as she nodded off to sleep herself.