#forever drawing jily moments | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

morwap · 2 years

Text

𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔, 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔.

regulus black x fem!reader

light hurt/comfort angst? with cute moments

part 1 • part 2 • part 3 • part 4 (maybe)

nav / m.list / all work / r.a.b mlist / song i got the titles from / very very loosely based off this asks alt ending (basically sparked this idea)

artist!regulus, swearing, platonic!regulus x pandora, jily, regs fam, a tad bit of reg being obsessive and possessive, james potter x reader, platonic!regulus x evan roiser,

───────✧ 𓆩♡𓆪 ✧───────

regulus had a strong disliking for james, he knew he disliked him borderline hated him since third year, ever since he watched james intertwine his and your hands then only to drop it as soon as lily walked into the room. james’ eyes lighting up when he saw the red head, regulus could see the hurt and confusion on your face immediately and it made his blood run cold. he couldn’t help the thoughts of “if i held your hand id never let go” and “if i was james my attention would be on you at all times” but that’s the thing, regulus wasn’t james and would never be james and he knew that- knew it all too well.

envious, is what would describe regulus. most of the time envious of sirius but forever envious of james for different reasons.

regulus would kill for an ounce of james’ confidence, just to talk to you without stuttering or actually respond because most of time he’d smile and nod when you greeted him.

the way james constantly projected his rejected feelings for lily evans onto you, even if it was a simple lock of the pinky’s or whispers in the dark, which in response made you fall for james potter even if you knew it was wrong and any sort of romantic gesture was with lily in mind and not you.

but in some ways this comforted regulus; he hated that it did, hated seeing you upset over a guy regulus thought you were too good for but knowing that james didn’t have these feelings towards you made it bearable to be in the same room as him.

but in the end regulus knew your daydreams were of james and none of him, just as you knew james’ daydreams were filled with lily and none of you.

he knew it was silly it be in love with someone that was already completely infatuated with someone else and you knew it too. doomed from the start.

he didn’t know what started it— how he started to admire you in so many ways, you could do no wrong in his mind. maybe the small smiles you’d give him and the quick greetings in the halls when you’d pass each other.

something anyone would do to their friends sibling, he knew that’s all that you saw in him. sirius’ brother was his only title to you but to him you hung the stars in the sky and he’d worship the ground you walked on.

in fifth year regulus knew he was in deep shit once he realized that all his drawings in his sketchbook started to resemble you, in one way or another.

looking around the almost empty library, then turning the page. you. another page turned and it was you again. he’d been drawing you for hours, unknowingly at that, just letting his subconscious do the work. quickly shutting his sketchbook and grabbing his things. ‘fucking creep’ regulus thought to himself.

regulus could cringe at the memory, knowing that anyone in that library could’ve seen the drawings just by walking past him and he could already hear the rumors in his head.

and now regulus was sat next to pandora on the hogwarts express coming back from the holiday break thinking about if you were going to continue the little “heys” and “hi”s he thrived off of, since sirius was disowned over the summer he noticed the the now hesitant greetings but he still latched onto them, hanging on every thing that would come out of your mouth that was directed towards him.

“thinking about her?” pandora teasingly asked, as she straightened out her magazine. pandora knew of regulus’ crush, not by his choice of course. she had connected the dots when she had found his sketch book.

“hopelessly” evan added, still in a teasing manor making regulus roll his eyes. “speak of the devil” evan mumbled, as loud mumbles and laughter was heard outside their compartment. regulus perked up and his looked to the side.

you, sirius and james looking for a compartment. sirius pushed you playfully making you fall back and the back of your head hit on the glass. sirius bent over laughing while you rubbed your head and turned, looking into the compartment and getting embarrassed. you giggled and mouthed ‘sorry’ to regulus, pandora and evan. feeling a hand press against your head.

regulus tensed watching james grip your head, laughing, then pulling you to keep walking with them. seeing james put a sour taste in regulus’ mouth, let alone watching james put his hands on you. and he knew you probably loved it— loved that james laughed in your direction and touched you, eating up his attention no matter what, like how regulus ate up any crumb of attention he could from you.

“maybe…try talking to her this year?” evan suggested, crossing his legs and leaning forward a bit. regulus rolled his eyes again, silently going back to looking out the window. evan and pandora shared a look but kept quiet. pandora knew the topic was sensitive, and honestly didn’t have the patients for another fight between the two boys—like last time.

“how’s your head?” james asked, his hands had left your head when you all had found a compartment. you smiled, “fine, fine” you assured him and james gave a simple nod.

sirius stuck his head out the compartment, yelling for remus and peter to hurry up. the boys came rushing into the compartment.

you, james and peter sat next to each other. remus and sirius on the other seats sprawled out— kicking at each other playfully while laughing.

james moved closer to you, his hand moving to your thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. you smiled even though you shouldn’t have. “heard evans answered a letter of yours over the summer prongs” remus said, raising a brow to james as he placed his legs over sirius’.

james looked down at his hand, taking it off your thigh and crossing his arms. “you heard correct moony. ms evans has officially replied to my one of my letters” james said smugly. you kept a smile on, you hated when he does this— touching you in a certain way or saying something to you then talking about lily and now you hated it even more since in november she had talked to you about giving him a chance soon while you, dorcas and her were getting ready for bed.

you leaned your head on the window as the train started moving. the boys yelled and laughed—joking with each other none stop, eventually you tried to push the thoughts of james and lily out of your mind and join in on the fun.

hours later after remus and james bickered over which chocolate tasted better, you and peter had fallen asleep.

dinner had past and eveyone was in their common rooms or already in bed.

evan sat on regulus’ bed, barty already snoring loudly, keeping them awake. “quidditch, tomorrow we need to get there before gryffindor so we can get the first practice in” evan sighed, flipping through regulus’ sketch book.

regulus loved quidditch, the only time he could some what take his anger out on james.

“already talked to pandora about it, she has it covered but…” regulus trailed off, snatching his artworks back from the blonde.

“but?” evan huffed, rolling his eyes at the brunette. “but when the next hogsmeade trip comes up we have to pick up something for her” regulus said, “well for Xenophilius— some sort of gift. says he’s too nosy and she can’t get it while he’s around and they’ve already made a date for the three broomsticks” regulus added, resting his back on the headboard of his bed.

evan nodded, moving to lay on his side. evans fingers moved to the sketch book again. “she is pretty” the blonde said, flipping through regulus’ sketch book once again. “don’t” regulus snapped, ripping it away from evan once more, evan laughed and threw his hands up in defense. “you should take dora’s advice” evan said going back to slight seriousness.

regulus raised a brow, “what she said in november, the letter or something like that” evan said trying to remember everything pandora had said. the love letter, how could regulus forget—she kept going on about it for days. “m’not very good with words” regulus muttered, playing with his sleeve.

“paint her a picture! paint something symbolic or something like that, paint her!? she’d like that” evan rambled, pointing at the sketch book. “i-“ regulus was cut off by evan. “don’t think. just do it. it’s getting late” evan said.

getting up from regulus’ bed and making his way to his own. the two whispered good nights and evan flicked his wand and the candles went out.

remus and you walked down the hall, you yawned and waved as you two were already at your stop. parting ways after making plans to meet in the courtyard during your free period.

the lesson was boring, just as you remembered before break.

hours passed and now you, sirius and remus walked to the library. remus and sirius bickered about why you three were even going to the library and you just laughed while listening to your friends.

“no moony— i’m telling you she fucking hates me! doesn’t even want me to be in there for a second” sirius whined, moving his hands around dramatically.

“i don’t blame her! who sets off a firework in the library?!” remus argued, letting out a huff every time sirius would bring up that it was one tiny firework. “please don’t make me go in there” sirius begged, clasping his hands together and putting them to his chest.

“fine! fine! y/n and i will grab the books we need, but you are carrying them, WITHOUT a charm. consider this a punishment for the fireworks” remus scolded, making sirius roll his eyes and stopped outside the archway of the library. “deal” sirius muttered.

“he’s ridiculous” you giggled, walking with remus to shelves that had the books you wanted. turning the corner you spotted lily and james, in the secret spot you had showed james in 3rd year. lilys face tinted pink as james pressed her knuckles to his lips, a genuine smile on both of their faces.

you went back the way you came, hoping they didn’t see you. they looked happy, truly happy, you could remember when you first showed james and hung out there with him many times. he was happy then, just like when you two hung out, he was happy but not that kind of happy. he was never that kind of happy with you.

you hated how affected you were by seeing them together, he chose her from the start. it was never you and it was never going to be you but of course your emotions got in the way and got hung up on the idea of him liking you back in the slightest. you blinked back your tears, this was bound to happen. doomed from the start.

you couldn’t help but also be happy for james and lily, you loved seeing them happy even if you werent. you were planning on sucking it up till it didn’t hurt anymore.

taking a deep breath, and turning to a different book shelf. scanning the books but your mind still flashes of lily and james, not paying attention to what you were doing you bumped harshly into someone. you sniffled, and gasped. you apologized as you regained balance. “oh hi regulus” you said and smiled a bit, first time seeing him since the train.

regulus’ mouth went dry, his face started to feel hot. “hi y/n” he muttered, making eye contact for a split second then moved his gaze to something else. “sorry again, i didn’t mean to” you said, “it’s fine, it wasn’t on purpose” regulus said shrugging it off.

you reached for the book you needed, grazing over regulus’ hand as you did so. regulus watched your hand closely. noticing how soft they are, how perfect.

“i’ll see you around reg” you said with a smile, regulus nodded before you turned to find remus. blinking a couple of times to try to get rid of your watery eyes.

“okay rem i got my books” you said, walking to the tall boy. “alright, let’s go” remus said, moving the two books you were holding to his stack of three. “you think he’s really going to carry that?” you asked, trying to joke around.

“already charmed them to be lighter than usual” remus answered with a lazy smirk. you shook your head in laughter as you both walked towards the exit.

a week had past since you and regulus shared that moment in the library.

regulus sat quietly in professor McGonagall’s class room, it was well past midnight and he was forever grateful for the professor to let him use her classroom during the night to paint with being interrupted.

giving regulus special access since he had painted her a very beautiful oil painting of her animagus form. mcgonagall genuinely loves regulus’ paintings and now looked forward for when he’d leave a sketch on her desk or left a canvas to dry in her classroom over night and she’d get to study it while she got her things ready for the lessons that day.

regulus’ teeth bit down on his lip lightly once again, staring at the canvas. thinking of what he was going to do, he wanted to make a painting for pandora and Xenophilius anniversary but couldn’t decide between charcoal or an abstract oil painting. regulus went back and forth between sketching in his book for a general idea then back to thinking about the materials but every time he’d think then go back to sketching he kept seeing your face in the sketch. every single time, no matter how hard he tried, causing him to get frustrated.

evans voice rang in the back of his mind, “paint her something”, turning back to his sketch book.

regulus remembered the way your hands looked, when they brushed against his own. he was hoping if he painted something, he’d get inspiration for pandoras gift— he most definitely couldn’t gift a painting with someone else’s hands. he decided watercolor for this one, nothing out of the ordinary as he normally picked watercolor when painting you.

#marauder era #marauders #james potter #remus lupin #sirius black #regulus black #regulus black x you #regulus black x reader #regulus black angst #regulus black hurt/comfort #platonic!regulus x pandora #pandora lestrange #jily #james potter x reader #marauders era x reader

590 notes · View notes

keepingupwithpotters · 3 years

Note

If you’re taking prompts

“You’re really warm.” and

“Come back to bed. Please” for jily pls??

I am laughing at for jily like I'm capable of writing for anything else. I promise you, even if it is about two unrelated characters, I'll find a way to make it about jily

Also finally put the drabbles on ao3 as promised so you can read this there as well

Fretting over Lily Evans was nothing new for James, but this time might’ve put him to his early grave after all.

He touches her forehead discreetly, trying not to disturb her sleep. She went in and out of her slumber all night, giving him a scare half the time with her nonsensical mumblings. He doesn’t recall when exactly he fell asleep too, not long ago according to the rising sun, but that’s how he finds himself next to her now.

Blinking his eyes woozily, he gives himself permission for a moment of bliss before jumping into action, pretending they are lying side by side not because she is burning like a furnace, but like he always wakes up next to Lily, this hair tickling his shoulder not unusual.

He can only guess what prompted her to call him last night. A bitter part of him thinks it’s because she knew he would come running, no questions asked. It’s hard to ignore that part when that was exactly what he did, probably before he even hung up the phone. There is, of course, always the chance that it was the side effect of her running fever. One should not underestimate it, he learned that firsthand all through the night.

The pretense falls apart when he feels Lily’s skin, panic rising inside him all over again. He has spent the whole night trying to make sure her temperature didn’t pass 40 degrees, hand ready over his phone for the minute it did. It feels like it has risen again, her cheeks flaming bright to prove his insight right.

“Aren’t you gonna kiss my forehead?”

She startles him, with the question or her half open eyes smiling dozily at him, he doesn’t know.

“Why would I take advantage of the ill, Evans?”

Her smile gets softer, fonder. “That’s how my mom used to take my temperature.”

He’s never been able to say no to that smile.

She closes her eyes with the kiss, looking content and peaceful, not at all like the bedridden patient she is supposed to be. He lingers one second longer than necessary.

He has forgotten the purpose of the act until she looks at him expectantly, waiting for his verdict.

“You’re really warm.”

She doesn’t care for his furrowed brows or less than satisfactory explanation when she snuggles into him, purring, “Thank you, so are you.”

“That was not a compliment, Evans.” He tries to hide the fact his breath hitches when she burrows her face in his neck. “That means I am doing something very, very wrong. Are you sure you don’t want me to call anybody else?”

Her hold on him tightens even further if possible. She sounds like a petulant child when she whines her refusal. He can imagine, and feel, her pout.

He tries to untangle himself from her, but she looks so offended by his actions that he feels the need to explain himself. “I need to wet these rags again, and you need to eat some breakfast so you can take your antipyretics.”

She opens her mouth to say something, another refusal going by her displeased expression, but he jumps from the bed before she can tempt her more.

He goes to the bathroom first, thinking maybe some cool water would do him good too. She is already asleep by the time he comes back, hand reaching out to where he once laid on the bed. He places the damp clothes on her forehead with a grin, letting it take over his face while she is not able to see it. The pills he found when he rummaged through her medicine cabinet are put on her nightstand, waiting for his arrival with some food.

Preparing some eggs and toast helps him gather himself a little more, the habitual routine putting his brain on autopilot. The morning feels like something out of James’ dreams with Lily cuddling him in the bed and him making her breakfast, he finds it necessary to remind himself the true nature of the situation as he fills a glass of water for her.

She is awake when he enters the room, following his motions silently as he puts the plate on her side too. He is just about to sit on the chair by her bedside when she stops him with a hand on his arm.

“I promise I’ll eat something in a minute. Can you just… come back to bed? Please?”

His will already weakened since he woke up, he finds that it crumbles completely when he hears her voice so weak, tone so pleading. He lays down on his previous place without saying anything, her head finding his shoulder immediately.

A small hand traces patterns on his chest, nails tickling the heart underneath with every swoop. They could probably live in that relaxed bubble forever if the question nagging inside him just hadn’t popped out unexpectedly.

“Why did you call me yesterday, Lily?”

The finger drawing flowers, stars, and initials never stops its movement. “Because I had a high fever, and I didn’t want to go to the ER.”

“No. I mean, why did you call me?”

He holds his breath in anticipation of her answer, and she stills momentarily too before shaking out of her stupor. “I wanted to be with you.” Her voice sounds so small. “I always want to be with you, you know that.”

There is relief ballooning inside him with her words, mixed with something he dares not name. He hums softly as a response, neither denying nor confirming her assumption.

“We can stay in bed for one more minute, then I’m gonna make you eat that breakfast, Evans.”

“Two, because you just took advantage of a sick person’s honesty and I deserve it.”

“Deal.”

He’ll let her pretend like he won’t do anything she asks for. They both know it’s a lie anyway.

#jily #jily fic #james potter #lily evans #james x lily #jily fanfiction #jily au #senem writes #a sick fic?? in the middle of july???#its more likely than you think

280 notes · View notes

booksarelife-stuff · 3 years

Text

Dancin’ is a Dangerous Thing

James Potter/Lily Evans Potter (jily)

The moments in which James Potter and Lily Evans danced with each other. Pure fluff.

Word Count: 2,556

Read on AO3

The first time Lily Evans danced with James Potter, it was a complete accident.

It was fifth year, Gryffindors had not only won the Quidditch Cup, but the House Cup as well. The music is loud and blaring some wizarding band that Lily thinks is trying way too hard to be Queen.

She’s tipsy, but not drunk. Her fingertips are tingling and she knows her face is flushed. She just finished her second firewhiskey of the night before Mary pulled her to the part of the common room where most of the other Gryffindors were dancing.

She’s passed from partner to partner. She remembers Sirius at one point, watching him trying to teach Peter how to swing his hips. She laughed hysterically before Marlene pulled her back in.

She was sweaty when she spun right into James’s chest, almost knocking him over. He grabbed on to her to save himself from falling, his hands on her back, Lily’s face in his chest.

“Oof,” Lily said.

“A bit drunk there, Evans?” James asked as Lily pulled away. She was so close he could hear him over the music.

“Nope,” she said, stumbling. He snorted just as a new song started. This time it was Killer Queen.

“I love this song!” she yelled. Lily would deny that she was the one to grab James’s hand and pull him in to dance, but all she could remember was the warmth of his hand in hers and how she laughed when he twirled her.

The second time started with a question.

“Do wizards even have their own dances?” Mary asked, scrunching her nose. All the sixth year Gryffindor’s had snagged a table in the common room and were quietly doing their work until Sirius asked a question about Muggle traditions for his Muggle studies class.

“Nah,” James said from beside Peter. His feet were kicked up on the table as he leaned back in his chair. Alice had been doodling on his shoes, which Lily was sure James knew, but didn’t tell her to stop.

“I mean, we have the same,” Sirius said with a shrug, “Just use them in different places.”

“These pureblood boys had to take dancing lessons,” Marlene said, smugly. Sirius scoffed.

“Yeah, so we could dance with whatever cousin Mummy and Daddy picked out for us,” he said.

Lily blanched at that.

“Mum made me do it to get out my energy,” James said. “Never worked. I would just waltz around until I broke something.”

The table laughed.

“Lily, don’t you know how to waltz?” Mary asked. Lily sighed and nodded.

“We learned in primary school for some reason,” Lily said. “Like anyone one of us in Cokesworth was going to need that knowledge.”

“Show me,” James said, his bright hazel eyes meeting hers. Lily raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?” she asked, feeling the heat of a challenge from him. He smirked at her, a hand reaching up to his hair to mess it up.

“You said no one from Cokesworth was going to need that knowledge,” he said. “So I’m asking you to show me.”

She knew what James was doing. It was plain as day. It was either a challenge or an excuse to dance with her, but frankly, she really didn’t care which it was, based on the way the butterflies erupted in her stomach.

“I need a partner,” she said, sticking her hand out towards him.

“You’re on,” he said, closing his book and dropping his feet to the ground.

The warmth of his hand made her whole body tingle and she hoped her face wasn’t bright red as she felt his other hand appear on the small of her back, the starting position. Lily wondered when he got so tall, as she would have to crane her neck up to look at him. She decided to stare at the knot of his tie that was peeking out from his gray jumper.

Marlene started humming, and they started off clumsily, but it was fine.

“So, um, bad time to tell you Evans,” James started, glancing down at their first. “I’m bloody rubbish at dancing.”

He stepped on her foot and punched him in the arm.

~~~

The third time they danced, Lily realized she was in bloody love with the bloke.

Seventh year had brought a lot of surprises to Lily, including James as the head boy. It seemed since he walked into the prefect compartment on the very first day on the train, he was all she could think about.

But they were just friends, she reminded herself every time he would playfully knock her shoulder during patrols, or stay up past midnight talking.

When Petunia’s wedding invitation arrived at breakfast, Lily didn’t want to go, but an accompanying letter from her mother confirmed that Lily had no choice in the matter, but she could bring a date.

When she asked James to go, her palms were sweating and her heart was jumping in her throat, but he had said yes, like it wasn’t a big deal.

Petunia's wedding was on New Year’s eve, going into the new year. Lily had been in a bad mood as a result of her family bossing her around to get the wedding all ready.

But when James arrived, everything seemed to change for Lily. He was dressed in nice muggle clothes and Lily could tell that he had tried to manage his hair. She hugged him tightly.

He charmed her whole family in minutes, besides Petunia. Whether because he was a freak like Lily or because he had brown skin, Petunia glared at him constantly, her mouth pinched in a sour expression.

Lily wanted to apologise for even bringing him into the situation but he wouldn’t hear of it. She instead, grabbing his hand, lacing her fingers with his, and didn’t let go of it once.

During the ceremony, Lily could only focus on James’s hand in hers. He had always been fidgety, normally bouncing his leg, up and down, but he instead used Lily’s hand. Either drawing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb or just playing with her fingers. Lily didn’t mind it one bit and she realized that she let him do it forever.

At the reception, Petunia and Vernon cut the cake before quickly going to their first dance. James leaned over from his spot next to her.

“I thought Muggles smashed the cake into each other’s faces,” he whispered. Lily nodded.

“Yeah, sometimes, but I highly doubt Petunia would go for that. Especially with how much her dress cost,” Lily replied. James pouted a little.

“I came to see cake smashing,” he said. “I was going to write a whole paper on it for Muggle Studies.”

Lily laughed, causing a few people to give her some nastly looks because Petunia and Vernon were still doing their dance.

“I’ll gladly smash some cake in your face,” she said. James squeezed her hand.

“Save it for the wedding, Lils,” he whispered.

If Lily’s heart could have leaped out of her chest, it would have in that moment.

When James pulled out to the dance floor, she knew that she was in trouble, especially when a slow dance came on. She couldn’t help herself as she got closer to him, their bodies touching.

“I don’t want to step on your feet,” he said, his hazel eyes sparkling as he looked down at her.

“I don’t care, James,” she replied. “I wore closed toe shoes for a reason.”

He chuckled, Lily feeling his chest move.

“Sorry I’m a horrid dancer,” he replied. “I practiced with Mum yesterday and I about broke her toes.”

“You practiced with your Mum?” Lily asked, feeling like the whole world stopped.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I didn’t want to make you look like a bloody fool out here.”

She loved him, every doubt leaving her body. She stopped their lazy swaying and pulled away to look up at him, smiling like a fool. James, who had no idea what Lily was thinking, smiled a little confused.

“Evans?” he asked. “Everything alright?”

“I bloody love you,” she replied. His eyes widened for a second, but they quickly closed as Lily pulled him into the best kiss of both of their lives.

~~~

James’s hands were sweating profusely the next time they danced.

Their small little cottage in the village of Godric’s Hollow was slowly becoming more like home to them, despite the random boxes that still linger two weeks after they moved in together.

It had been a learning experience for both of them, despite the fact that they practically stayed with each other every night since they graduated Hogwarts some six months ago.

Lily was a bit messy, rivaling James’s need for clear space. Lily walked through the house on light feet, but James seemed to make as much noise as possible, despite his efforts to be quieter. But all in all, they were happy and adjusting to each other.

James did a once over of their house again, making sure things were in place. He used his mirror to talk to Sirius and Remus, basically nervously rambling until Remus looked James in the eye and told him he needed to calm down.

But when the fireplace turned bright green, James quickly stuffed the mirror under the couch cushions and waited for Lily to emerge.

He smiled widely at her when she stepped through. Her robes were covered in stains and she had a smear of something on her face. She immediately sat her bag down and started taking off her robes.

“You would not believe what happened today!” she said, barely looking at James, who was smiling like a fool.

“Was it that Cormic fellow?” James asked. Lily gave him a look, expressing her exasperation.

“I have no idea how he even got this internship!” she said, her robes finding the ground. “He tried to put mercury in a pepper up potion. Literal poison James!”

Lily stepped forward, hugging James tightly. He squeezed her.

“And when I put a gram of extra valerian root to increase the time of a pain relief potion, I have to write a whole report to justify it so I don’t get fired. I’m sick of it!”

“It’s absolutely not fair love,” James replied as Lily buried her face into his chest. He ran a hand through her hair. “Why don’t you go unwind in a bath, and I’ll take care of dinner, yeah?”

Lily nodded against his chest. Once she was up the stairs, it was go time.

James quickly went to the kitchen, and lifted the spells that were keeping the smell contained. He knew if Lily smelled his Mum’s special curry when she first got home, she would be suspicious. The treacle tarts, Lily’s favorite, were kept warm in the oven.

James quietly transformed their living room, dimming the lighting and starting their fireplace instead. He turned their coffee table into a dining room table, and shrunk the couch, placing it on the mantle for it to return to its normal size later.

Lily was never long for baths, as she hated getting pruney, but he was adjusting the candles on the table when Lily descended down the stairs.

“James?” she asked, causing him to jump. Lily was standing on the bottom step, nothing but her dressing gown on, which was tied tightly around her waist.

James felt a lump in his throat as he took her in. She was so gorgeous and even though James had explored every part of her body, he still felt giddy.

“I thought a romantic evening would be nice,” he said, gesturing around. Lily smiled.

James went to the stairs and offered her his arm.

“What is on the menu tonight?” Lily asked, leaning her head on his shoulder for a moment.

“Euphemia’s special curry and rice, along with a treacle tart dessert,” James said.

Lily beamed at him as he pulled out her chair.

It wasn’t until the plates were empty and her dad’s old record player was playing an Elton John record.

Just as Your Song by Elton John started, James finally mustered up the courage to start speaking.

“It’s weird how we’ve been together for less than a year,” James said. Lily hummed in question.

“Why?” she asked, snuggling up to his chest as they swayed back and forth.

“It feels like we’ve been together forever,” he said. Lily thought quietly for a second.

“Yeah, I feel that way too,” she said. “It’s weird. How we went from barely standing each other to missing you every second we’re apart.”

“Still can’t believe we thought we could live apart,” he said. Lily laughed again.

“Won’t happen ever again, that I’m sure of,” she said. James' heart fluttered happily and the weight of the ring in his pocket seemed a thousand times lighter.

“Living together forever, then?” he asked softly.

“I plan on it,” she said, confidently.

James released her. She looked up with questions in her eyes, but they quickly got the answers as James got on one knee.

“I plan on forever too,” he said, looking at Lily who’s eyes were filled with tears. “We’re not even 19 yet, but Merlin Lily, I can’t wait. I can’t wait to start the rest of our lives together. I just know that you are the only person for me.”

He pulled the ring out of his pocket. It was a family one, but one that his mother had brought from her own family in India. Euphemia had insisted that this was the right for Lily. It was a simple opal ring, with an intricate band.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

Lily nodded, words failing her. She practically tackled him to the ground with kisses.

~~~

Lily’s eyes opened up. She couldn’t identify the source of what woke her up, but as she turned over on her other side, there was no James besides her. It took a second before she heard the creak in the floorboard, coming from Harry’s room.

She got up, knowing that Harry normally slept through the night with no problem at his age of a year and a half. The last time he woke up in the middle of the night, he was sick. Lily slipped on her slippers and walked down the hallway.

Standing in front of the window was James’s silhouette, swaying back and forth. She could see Harry on his hip.

“You just wanted someone to cuddle, did you Harry?” she heard James whisper. Lily smiled widely.

James started humming as he rocked Harry back and forth. He pressed kisses to the top of Harry’s head.

Lily stepped forward, the wood creaking beneath her. James turned around.

“Did we wake you?” James whispered to her as she crossed the room to him.

“Probably,” she whispered, a smile on her lips. “But it’s fine.”

She wrapped her arms around the side of James that wasn’t holding Harry. She rested her head against his chest, coming face to face with wide green eyes. She joined in on their swaying.

“Hi Harry,” she whispered, taking the hand that wasn’t wrapped around James to pat Harry’s back. His eyes started to flutter close.

“He really just wanted to snuggle, huh?” she asked.

She felt James chuckled.

“And dance with us,” he said.

#James Potter/Lily Evans #James Potter #Lily Evans Potter #Lily Evans #Harry Potter #Marauders #marauders era #dancing #fluff #no voldemort because I said so #inspired by taylor swift like always #jily

126 notes · View notes

sweeethinny · 3 years

Photo

open the image for better definition

[..]

Then she would go after Voldemort; she would not rest until he was dead, no matter the cost. The boy-who-lived would be replaced by the mother-who-killed.

But then - and that is the scariest part - there would be nothing. No reason to live for. Her days would be empty and pointless, forever missing the two people she had most loved and knowing no vengeance would ever fill that hole…

‘Mom?’, she hears a voice asking, and for a moment Lily can’t really match the voice to anyone, certain she had never heard it before, that he died when he was just a baby -

She turns slowly to find Harry - her living son - at the door, looking at the dead bodies on the floor, then at her.

Teenage behaviour - @startanewdream

Well, I really wanted to continue the series where I draw scenes from my favorite fic, and as much as I can't shrink which is the best fanfic to draw, I could only think about the relationship between Lily and Harry.

Mah is a great writer, and I think this is one of the one shot that touched me the most, especially when Harry and Lily talk about the event, and if Lily and James died.

Jily deserves to live, and thanks to Mah, they live ❤

I hope she likes it, I loved drawing Harry, Lily was a little complicated, but okay, let's just imagine it's November 1st, and while the war is going on outside, baby Harry still sees purity in the world.

#jily lives #jily art #harry #little harry #baby harry #jily #james x lily #jily au #Harry Potter #harry potter au #staranewdream deserves the best #i hope she like is <3 #my art

102 notes · View notes

rockinggirl06 · 3 years

Text

TRULY MADLY DEEPLY 💕

✨A Jily Songfic Oneshot✨

Wattpad + Tumblr Masterlist

Likes liked ! Reblogs adored ! Comments LOVED ! + Stealing is a crime !

Warnings: none ! Pure beautiful fluff !

Note: I highly recommend keeping the song on repeat on Spotify while reading the oneshot =)

- -

A one-shot inspired by and about Jily's wedding night and after. A James POV in verse. A Lily POV in chorus.

- -

Am I asleep, am I awake, or somewhere in between?

The boy woke up from his slumber. Shaking his head, he tried to recollect the memories of the night before. A cheeky grin enveloped his features as the thoughts of the day before flooded his mind.

I can't believe that you are here and lying next to me

His eyes fell upon the redheaded angel-like face, her chest heaving slightly up and down with every breath. He ran his fingers through his jet-black hair which seemed more untidy than ever due to last night's.. *ahem* activities.

Or did I dream that we were perfectly entwined?

Was this it? Was his mind playing tricks on him? Had it all been a dream? He already found it hard to believe that the girl had actually agreed to go out with him in seventh year..

Like branches on a tree, or twigs caught on a vine?

And now she was under his sheets. His sheets.

Like all those days and weeks and months I tried to steal a kiss

The uncountable times James Fleamont Potter had confessed his undying love for her to which she would just roll her eyes at the boy's childishness. All those times he tried to steal a kiss during their little studying sessions and how she simply would playfully stick out her tongue at him.

And all those sleepless nights and daydreams where I pictured this,

His three mates had grown tired of hearing the lovesick boy's mutterings about how he'd one day marry her. And his parchment and quills were also very aware of the boy's hopelessness as random doodles with her name entwined always found their way on the corners of essays.

I'm just the underdog who finally got the girl

And there she was. The girl he had chased for as long as he can remember. Bright fiery red hair with a fiery personality to match: Lily Evans.

Potter now, actually.

And I am not ashamed to tell it to the world

The way he spinned her around wih glee when she nodded a tearful yes, the way a certain professor had gotten a wedding invitation with a "PS. I told you she loved me, Minnie." And the way he had sang louder than anyone else in the shower that day possibly making the entire Gryffindor house aware of his joy. The boy was head over heels in love, and well, she was falling too.

---

Truly, madly, deeply, I am

And he was on his knee. A gasp escaped from her mouth. This was the moment. Their moment. All her subtle stolen glances at him and the way he made her heart flutter everytime a teasing 'Evans' drawed from his lips.. all of that had lead to this. Tears lined her eyes as she nodded a yes.

Foolishly, completely falling

As a friendship blossomed between the destined pair, they took on their head boy and head girl duties. Potter had stopped with his continual display of affections to the girl and yet now the girl had started falling. Hard. Maybe she always liked him along the way. And it definitely didn't help how much taller and handsome he had grown over the summer.

And somehow you kicked all my walls in

And one day she couldn't help herself. On a patrol as usual as ever, she pinned the boy against the wall and kissed him. All those walls set up came crashing down as their lips crashed.

So baby, say you'll always keep me

After breaking apart, a red hue similar to her hair took over her corsage as the boy simply grinned in amusement and euphoria, and teased, "Alright there, Evans?"

Did she really hate the messy haired boy with the glasses? Nah she didn't.

Truly, madly, crazy, deeply in love with you

With all the roses and candles the boy had set up at their first night together as husband and wife, she couldn't have asked for anything else. And here she was remembering the events of last night where she had pulled his body into hers and made love as he kissed each and every one of her freckles softly.

In love with you

She was truly in love. In crazy, stupid, cliché, cheesy but beautiful love.

---

Should I put coffee and granola on a tray in bed?

She lay beside him and for the first time, he was confused. What was he supposed to do?? Prepare her breakfast? That would please her, right? His father always cooked for his mother. And he definitely could make a mean omelette.

And wake you up with all the words that I still haven't said?

But would that be the newly wed "husband" thing to do? Maybe he should wake her up murmuring sweet things in her ear? But on the other hand, the last time he woke her up, he'd gotten himself punched square in the jaw. And Evans —Potter! He kept forgetting yet always corrected himself with a shy smile— was rather strong.

And tender touches, just to show you how I feel

His tense shoulders relaxed as he simply admired the sight before him. Caressing her face, he tucked some of her red locks behind her ear as he placed a soft kiss upon her cheek. He could simply count all the freckles on her face over and over again. He'd never get tired of looking at her.

Or should I act so cool like it was no big deal?

Maybe he should just get up and shower. Did girls like it when boys made fuss about this or not? Well, then again, it was their wedding night. All doubts from his head were washed away as she gave a small smile and leaned into the touch of his hand which lay caressing her cheek. Maybe he'd just stay here for a few more moments, he decided.

Wish I could freeze this moment in a frame and stay like this

And to think everyone in the wizarding work knew we were on the brink of war. No! He refused to think of that right now. 'Live in the moment,' his best friend had always told him. And that's what he did. He snuggled closer towards the girl, putting an arm over her gently, and pulled her flush against his bare chest.

I'll put this day back on replay and keep reliving it

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and her sweet flowery scent consumed his senses. Their bodies entangled together beautifully and he couldn't think of a better day to start a day. He could now. He would now wake up every day to the love of his life. Maybe until when they were 100. Yeah, yeah he definitely would, the boy declared in his thoughts.

'Cause here's the tragic truth if you don't feel the same

People might consider it rather childish: the way he would confess his love for her ever since their third year. But he truly meant every love confession to her growing up. Maybe it was the sweet tinkling sound of her laughter, or her adorable pout whenever Flitwick assigned extra homework or Merlin, it was probably that one time she flirted with him after a Quidditch Match which caused him to become infatuated with her forever.

My heart would fall apart if someone said your name

And he truly loved her so much, words were never enough to describe it. He really hoped she felt the same.

---

And truly, madly, deeply, I am

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid." She meant that actually. James Potter was definitely an arrogant toerag. But that's the thing. He was.

Somewhere along the way, the prideful egotistic boy had become a caring and proper man. Her green eyes couldn't help but linger on him more as his usual bullying time was replaced by maturity. That time turned into taking care of his werewolf friend, or even time for comforting his best friend who cried into his arms in the corner of the common room some nights.

And soon enough, a friendship blossomed between the unlikely pair of the redhead and the brunet.

Foolishly, completely falling

And sooner it turned into more..

"Ariel, Ariel uh- let down your window?" One night, a rather confused whisper came from Lily's bedroom window. With a startle the girl rushed to slide up the windowpane and was met with the lopsided grin and the familiar hazel eyes with a playful twinkle looking back at her. "Potter!" She shook her head with a chuckle as she allowed him in. "Evans.. I missed you, okay?" he drawed out sheepishly as he gently pulled her closer by her waist. Heat rose to her cheeks as she looked up at him.

And somehow you kicked all my walls in

The boy leaned down towards her lips unable to resist the girl any longer but Lily turned away at the last moment (resulting a rather sad pout on the boy's lips) as she heard her name being called downstairs. "Lily! Next time your boyfriend wants to visit at 12 am, tell him to use the door, okay? My rose bushes are ruined!!"

So baby, say you'll always keep me

And now she was waking up beside him.

She meekly opened her right eye to see if her husband —yes, husband she reminded herself proudly—was still asleep. A lazy smile on his lips, she was greeted with a drawl in his low morning voice, "Good morning, Evans."

Truly, madly, crazy, deeply in love with you

His infuriating smirks had now grown into breathtaking smiles. And he gave her one right now earning a blush upon the girl's cheeks. In his arms and close was exactly where Lily wanted to be. She smiled back endearing and simply looked at him with awe, treasuring the moment, before closing the distance between them. As she pecked his soft lips, she murmured into them, 'Potter, actually."

She was his and him, hers.

All was well.

Anyone catch the ending words reference? The first time I heard this song some months ago (maybe even a year oop—) , I just knew it SCREAMED #Jily. And so here I am finally writing and publishing this !

Thanks for reading and love you all you beautiful people !

Riri <3

43 notes · View notes

awanderingdeal · 3 years

Text

The best kind of spa day - Chapter 2

Here we go! Back at the spa with Lily and Natalie. Chapter two! There will be one more chapter after this. Also, I lied and somehow this chapter is smuttier than the last. Again, some background Jily/O’Darwin.

Rating: Explicit

CW: Food talk, explicit sex, semi-public sex (aka, there is no one around but they are outside and there is a slim chance they could be caught)

Chapter 1 can be found on my masterlist

And finally…but very importantly…thank you to @lumosinlove for the creation of the most wonderful Natalie Darcy and the sweater weather universe.

The massage therapist was excellent at their job, and neither Lily nor Nat wanted to do anything that afternoon except eat, drink, watch awful movies and cover their faces in the mud masks they had received in their complimentary spa basket. Natalie fell into a champagne induced sleep at some point during ‘Mama Mia!’ and it wasn’t long after that Lily curled into weight resting on her chest and closed her eyes too.

The next morning Natalie woke first and carefully untangled her limbs from Lily’s. Lily was one of those people that looked pretty when they slept, all soft snores and a gentle smile. Somehow her hair settled around her face in a way that looked effortlessly styled. Natalie took a moment to appreciate the beauty before hauling herself out of the bed with a small groan. Thankfully, her headache was nothing that a glass of water wouldn’t cure.

It was only 7am, but Natalie had a body clock and a need for routine that had no respect for days off, so she woke up just as her alarm would usually sound, no matter what. She sent good morning texts to Alex and Kasey, before deciding to take advantage of the time she had whilst Lily slept to do her normal yoga practise. Lily wasn’t a fan, preferring the kickboxing classes that allowed her to exercise both her body and her pent up disdain for humanity that her career in social work often caused.

Natalie was just transitioning out of her cobra pose when she heard a small giggle from the bed.

“Is something funny?” Natalie smirked, leaving her back arched but turning her head towards the source of the sound.

“No,” Lily laughed again. “That is just a wonderful sight to wake up to. Those leggings are very flattering.”

Natalie gave up trying to move into her next pose and flipped over to lie on her back. “You know if you would join in, there’s a lot of couple poses we could do?” she said, turning her head to watch Lily lazily stretch out. Her t-shirt rode up revealing an expanse of pale skin that was very tempting. “So, what’s the plan for the day then Lilypad?”

Lily sat up excitedly, clapping her hands together. “Well first I need to check in with James and Harry, but then I thought we could do a picnic breakfast? Maybe play some tennis? And we’re booked in for mani-pedis this afternoon,” she said.

“Sounds perfect,” Natalie approved, her smile turning slightly sheepish. “I need about an hour to film, I found the perfect spot yesterday.”

“Natttttt,” Lily groaned, throwing the duvet off of herself and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “You promised no work.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. The gardens here are just too beautiful not to film this new song in. I’ll be an hour tops, I promise,” Natalie apologised, getting to her feet.

“Kasey’s right you know? You’re a work-a-holic,” Lily huffed, pushing her lip into an over exaggerated pout.

“Hey, you two can’t gang up on me when you’re not even together,” Natalie protested, stepping into Lily’s space and bracketing her knees in between her legs. “I’ll make it up to you later,” she added, leaning her head down so their forehead’s rested against one another.

“If you’re lucky,” Lily scoffed, but pressed their lips together in a quick kiss before pushing Natalie away lightly and grabbing her phone. “Put the dress on,” she called over her shoulder as she made her way to the bathroom.

“What dress?” Natalie asked with a laugh.

“You know what dress!” Lily said, sticking her head back out the bathroom door raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Natalie rolled her eyes, but went to grab the dress that she knew Lily was talking about. She sniffed her armpits quickly, decided a shower could wait until after they played tennis and set about switching out her clothes. The dress had made the luggage cut as a dinnertime option; it had a plunging neckline and a deep side slit, however the fabric was casual enough that it wouldn't be too out of place on the lawn. Natalie was brushing out her long waves when she heard Lily saying her goodbyes to James and Harry. Minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom, in just her underwear and smelling faintly of mint.

“Mmm, yeah, that’s the dress,” Lily hummed, her lips curling at the sides.

“Why do you want me to wear this one so much?” Natalie asked, feeling like there was something she wasn’t being told. She was intuitive like that.

“I just like it,” Lily replied with a smile that wasn’t reassuring Natalie that she had been wrong.

Natalie held Lily’s eye contact for a moment but the other woman wasn’t giving anything away. “Sure, sure,” she finally conceded the silent battle. “I’m going to call down and request our breakfast to go.”

“Thanks, beautiful,” Lily said, a more genuine smile on her lips now. She had pulled a floral romper from one of the drawers and nodded to herself before slipping into it whilst Natalie made the phone call.

They made it downstairs quickly, Lily batting off the advances that usually delayed their departure with a laugh and a comment about not getting a good spot on the lawn. Their breakfast had been carefully packed in a basket and a jolly employee handed them a blanket as he greeted them good morning.

“Oh, this is a nice view. Let’s sit here,” Natalie said once they had been walking through the grounds for a couple of minutes. Lily declined, offering up an excuse about it not being the perfect location. This happened another two times before Natalie tugged at Lily’s hand, “Lilypad, what’s going on?”

Lily tried to hide her excitement but her eyes were practically shining. “I know the perfect place!” she said, bouncing on her heels. “Trust me, it’s not much longer.”

“Lead the way then,” Natalie shook her head with a fond smile, before letting herself be taken down the path. It felt like they were walking forever, but it was probably only 5 minutes until they came to some trees forming a border along the neatly cut grass.

“Here?” Natalie questioned, looking around. It was as nice a place as any, but they had passed a thousand places like it.

“Nope,” Lily said, drawing the word out. “We have to go through there,” she added, gesturing to the line of trees. She must have noticed Natalie’s doubting expression because she was quick to reassure her, “I know it seems strange but you're going to love it.”

Natalie hesitated for just a moment but she was always up for an adventure. “Come on then,” she squeezed Lily’s hand and took the lead through the trees.

“Keep going straight ahead. It’s only a couple of minutes from here,” Lily directed.

Just as Natalie was about to voice her concerns, the trees thinned out into a clearing. It was obviously still part of the grounds of the spa; the grass whilst not as manicured as the lawn they had just stepped off was still well maintained. The area was surrounded by trees, albeit thinner than the ones they had just passed through and Natalie could see a walking path on the other side of them.

“I thought we might like a bit of privacy,” Lily whispered, her breath warm against Natalie’s neck.

“Privacy is always good,” Natalie nodded, leaning into the lips pressed on her throat, but they didn’t stay there long.

Lily shook the blanket out ceremoniously before placing it on the ground. “Let’s see what’s for breakfast then!” she said cheerily.

“You’re a tease, Mrs. Potter,” Natalie groaned, settling on the blanket next to Lily.

“Ooo! Pastries,” Lily commented, pulling an array of croissants, chocolate croissants and cinnamon rolls from the basket. She peered inside it again. There was some kind of egg muffin, fruit, and yoghurt, as well as a bottle of orange juice. The sexual tension faded out as Lily spoke casually about a possible upcoming promotion and how Harry was finally looking like he might be ready for potty training. Natalie had all but forgotten the coy comments made earlier as she listened, adding in her stories of the new farmer’s market she had found and the weird new subscriber she had on YouTube.

Lily was fastidious about tidying each item away after it had been consumed, not that it registered as unusual on Natalie’s radar. Lily had always been a organised person, even more so now that she was used to keeping things out of the hands of a curious toddler. Even when Lily moved the basket to the side, swept a few crumbs away and lay down, Natalie figured she was just getting comfortable. Lily propped herself up on her elbow and patted the space in between them, “Come on.”

Lily scooted forward a bit so their bodies were close together. From here, Natalie could see the specks of copper in her green eyes. They were beautiful, much like the rest of her.

“Nat!” Lily laughed, “Are you listening to me?”

Natalie shook her head, not bothering to attempt a lie, “No. Sorry Lilypad, I was getting lost in those eyes of yours.”

Lily laughed again, harder this time. “That is the cheesiest thing I have ever heard,” she said, shoving Natalie’s shoulder. It wasn’t hard but Natalie gave an oof as she fell onto her back. And then Lily was there, so so close, their faces inches apart.

“Hey beautiful,” Lily breathed, brushing a strand of hair from Natalie’s face. "I knew there was a reason I liked this dress," she hummed, snaking her hand up through the gap in the fabric of Natalie's dress.

"Lily Potter," Natalie said, giving a fake gasp. "I thought I was the naughty one," she grinned, leaning up to catch Lily's mouth with her own.

"Well, I can't let you have all the fun now, can I?" Lily smirked, pulling Natalie's lip between her teeth and nipping at it lightly. "There's a present in my pocket for you."

"Oh really? Are you happy to see me?" Natalie teased, huffing out a laugh. She squealed when Lily pinched her thigh, scowling her disapproval. "Hey! You walked right into that,” Natalie defended.

“Fine, no present for you,” Lily joked, sticking her tongue out playfully.

“No, no, no,” Natalie objected, tickling Lily just under her ribs where she knew she was particularly sensitive. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Lily with her head thrown back in laughter, “It’s mine, gimme,” Natalie added with a pout.

“Go on then, left pocket,” Lily allowed.

Natalie reached into the pocket, her eyes widening as her fingers curled around a familiar object. “Is that?” she gasped, although she already knew the answer. The bullet was an old friend.

“I thought we could have some fun. You did say you’d make it up to me, after all,” Lily purred, stroking her fingers up Natalie’s leg until she reached the lace of her underwear.

“May I?” Lily said, her words a whisper against Natalie’s ear. At Natalie’s nod, Lily easily brushed aside the thin fabric, dragging her fingers through the wetness beginning to pool there. She brought her fingers to her mouth and licked at the slick coating them. “You taste so good, Nat. Do you want to taste?”

Natalie groaned and opened her mouth to accept Lily’s fingers, sucking them eagerly. Lily took her fingers away, replacing the digits with her lips. She kissed softly at first and then more insistently, her tongue pressing into Natalie’s mouth eagerly. Natalie could kiss Lily forever, her lips somehow both yielding and eager against her own.

Lily’s hands were everywhere. First tangled in Natalie’s hair, then dipping under the neckline of her dress, sweeping over her pale skin tantalizing close to her hard nipples, but not close enough.

“Lilllly,” Natalie whined faintly, arching her back in the hope that it would be enough to get the touch she wanted.

Lily obliged, caressing her fingers over Natalie’s nipples just so. Before she could savour it, the sensation was gone and Lily was prying the bullet from Natalie’s palm into her own. “Let me take care of you for once,” Lily breathed.

“You’re always taking care of everybody, Lilypad,” Natalie said, reaching up to caress Lily’s cheek.

“Not you,” Lily replied, leaning into the touch. “You’re the one I lean on when everything else feels like it’s going to fall down.”

Natalie traced her fingers over the light scattering of freckles on Lily’s face, “I like taking care of the ones I love,” she hummed.

“I know you do,” Lily said, pressing her lips against Natalie’s jaw, once, twice, three times. “But for now I need you to relax.”

“I am relaxed,” Natalie protested.

Lily licked a stripe down Natalie’s skin until her tongue was pressing against the hollow of her neck. “Not yet you’re not, but you will be,” Lily said, squeezing Natalie’s knee. She shivered as Lily’s hand slid higher, stroking down her hip crease, until at last Lily was pushing aside her underwear once more. “God, you’re soaked,” Lily murmured.

“Let me take these off, bee,” Lily said, tugging at Natalie’s underwear. The nickname was an old one, a shortened version of the ‘Natabee’ that Lily had taken to calling her one night after a few too many cocktails. “I’m going to make you feel so good.”

Natalie lifted her hips, letting Lily slide the underwear down her legs.

“Hold these for me,” Lily said, her voice far too innocent for the request.

“Jesus, Lilypad. You’re killing me,” Natalie whined, but she let Lily push the sodden panties into her hand. She must have looked debauched, lying there with her dress bunched around her waist and clasping her underwear, but she was too far gone to care about any semblance of decency at this point.

"I'm just getting started," Lily teased, drawing Natalie into another kiss. Their tongues were still working against one another when Natalie heard the hum of the vibrator, and seconds later she felt it against her arm. It wasn’t where she was expecting it, but somehow that just made it more erotic.

Lily broke the kiss, sitting upright so that she could press the vibrator against Natalie’s chest, dragging the toy over her exposed skin, finding each sensitive spot.

"Please," Natalie groaned low in her throat as Lily pushed the toy against her nipple, making them grow impossibly harder.

“Patience, ” Lily smirked, tracing the pigmented skin of Natalie's areola. Natalie jerked, unsure of whether she wanted to push into the vibrations or escape them. Just as she thought she was going to go crazy, Lily gave her a few seconds of relief and then the bullet was being dragged along her leg, torturously slow.

Natalie cried out when finally, Lily brought the tip of the vibrator to Natalie's clit.

“Ssh," Lily giggled, pressing her finger to Natalie’s mouth, "you're going to have to be quiet if you don’t want to get caught.” Not a soul had passed in the 45 minutes they had been here already, and even if they had, with Lily's body shielding Natalie's like it was, it would just look like a heated make-out session. Still, there was an extra thrill in the fact that they were outside.

Lily traced the toy around Natalie's folds, letting it linger at her entrance, before bringing the bullet back to her clit again. She was gentle, just barely stroking over the skin in a lazy pattern. Natalie rocked her hips upward, chasing the vibrations.

"Christ. Lily, please," Natalie begged, trying to keep her voice measured.

"Tell me what you want," Lily encouraged, holding the vibrator in place just above Natalie's clit. The sensation was dizzying, making it difficult for Natalie to form a coherent sentence.

"Your fingers," Natalie gasped. "Your fingers please."

"I'm going to need more than that, Bee," Lily said, dragging the bullet lower and pushing gently at Natalie's entrance for just a few seconds, then returning to her clit.

"I need you to fuck me," Natalie whimpered, her normal unflappable self no where to be seen.

"That's better. Remember to stay quiet for me now," Lily cooed, keeping the vibrator steady against her and slipping a finger inside her. Natalie grasped her lip between her teeth to stop her from crying out.

“Good girl,” Lily praised as she added another finger. It wasn’t often that Natalie was on the receiving end of praise and the burst of pride caught her off guard. She hoped she would remember to bring it up later. Lily curled her fingers, finding the spot she was looking for with ease and the thought was ripped from Natalie’s mind.

“I need more,” Natalie groaned and rocked her hips upwards, fucking herself onto the digits. She was gasping; the world felt like it had slowed and the only thing that mattered was the heat spreading at her core.

“So greedy,” Lily teased, but she pushed a third finger in alongside the other two, simultaneously turning up the speed on the vibrator.

“Oh my fuck!” Natalie clamped her hand over her mouth to dull her shouts. She threw her head back, her breathing heavy and Lily’s name a litany on her tongue as Lily doubled down in her efforts. She felt herself begin to clench around the fingers inside her.

“Are you going to come for me, sweet girl?” Lily said, slowly her fingers just enough that Natalie wanted to scream with frustration.

“I didn’t know you were a sadist, Lilypad,” Natalie gasped out, arching her back in an attempt to get more.

“You’re right, I’d be awful. I’m far too nice,” Lily laughed, sliding her fingers from inside Natalie, turning the vibrator off and dropping it to the side. Natalie was about to give a retort about begging to differ, when suddenly Lily’s mouth was sucking her clit enthusiastically, surrounding it in a wet heat.

Natalie writhed under Lily’s ministrations, being held in place by firm hands on her thighs. It didn’t take long before her muscles tightened again, recoiling with an electric heat. She thrashed through her orgasm, her jaw dropping open with a silent scream.

Lily pressed her tongue between Natalie’s soaked folds, lazily licking at the wetness she found there until Natalie keened and pushed at her head. Lily took a moment to right Natalie’s clothing before crawling to lay beside her, flicking aside the long forgotten underwear.

“That was incredible,” Natalie said, pulling Lily closer to her. “I think I might need a nap though.”

Lily swatted at Natalie’s arm playfully, “no, no, no. I was promised a tennis game before we get our mani-pedi done.”

“I promised nothing,” Natalie protested, grabbing Lily’s hand and intertwining their fingers. “Besides, I wasn’t the one that wore me out.”

“How about we rest here for fifteen minutes, then go back to the room to shower and change. We’ll still be able to fit in a game before our appointment and after that, we can film your video and I won’t complain once?” Lily suggested, bringing their joined hands to her mouth to press a kiss to them.

Natalie laughed, “You drive a hard bargain, Potter. We’ll see.”

“And then this evening, I do believe you said you would introduce me to our double - ended friend,” Lily added with a nonchalance betrayed by a slight blush on her cheeks. She was by no means a prude, but the forwardness was a new experiment, that Natalie happened to be enjoying very much.

“Fuck, Lilypad,” Natalie grinned, “what has gotten into you?

#Natalie Darcy #Lily Potter #Sweater Weather #Lumosinlove #18+#Rating: E #food talk

27 notes · View notes

artbyflor · 3 years

Text

Frequently Asked Questions

Hi! I’ve noticed a pattern of repeated questions in my asks, so i decided to put a small FAQ. (just to prevent spam!)

i will probably expand this list in the future!

What do you use for drawing?

I use a Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet, and Paint Tool Sai

Do you use procreate?

No, I do not own an ipad

What brushes do you use?

Check this post!

Any tips for drawing?

Check my tips tag :)

How long have you been drawing?

For quite some time! Here’s a better explanation

In regards to ships / characters:

Will you draw X ship?

I only draw ships i like and ship (lol). I am also not a multishiper, so if you’ve seen me drawing a certain ship, i will most likely not draw that character with another one. Example: I ship Hinny, therefore i won’t draw Harry or Ginny with other characters in a romantic scenario

Do you ship Dramione?

Not my cup of tea. Sorry.

Do you ship Drarry?

Also not my cup of tea.

Do you ship Jeddy?

Nope. I see Teddy as part of the Potter family, and I view him and the rest of the kids (James, Albus and Lily) with a sibling like dinamic.

Do you ship Scorose/Scorlily?

Nope. I ship Scorbus.

Do you ship Snily?

Also no. I ship Jily

Will you draw X character?

Most likely, yes. I am planning on drawing most of the charcaters in the Harry Potter canon.

However, this blog is mainly my hobby, so i draw what makes me happy and i’m inspired to draw at the moment. I will probably get stuck drawing some character repeatedly, just because i’m enjoying them at the moment. This doesn’t mean i will only draw them forever, i’m just using the inspiration i have at the moment

I should also mention: i am not a big fan of Death Eater characters. Maybe I’ll draw one of them if i’m in the mood, but don’t expect much from them

Why is Harry/James/Albus Potter dark skinned?

I headcanon the Potters as part Desi/Indian. Here’s a longer answer!

(For commission info, check this link)

(For reposts, check this link)

#faq

24 notes · View notes

neeliepsrecs · 4 years

Text

The HP Fanfic Fan Poll Awards Round 5: Fall-Winter 2013

Awards hosted here

DRARRY (Draco Malfoy x Harry Potter)

Best Drabble: First Place: "Tots and Toys" by dracogotgame Second Place: "Diana" by bleedingangel84 Third Place: "The Golden Snitch" by rzzmg

Best Drama-Angst: First Place: "When the Songbird Stopped Singing" by nherizu Second Place: "Les Enfants Terribles" by thusspakekate Third Place: "A Piercing Comfort" by talithan

Best Dark Fic: First Place: "I Love You" by curlee_cue Second Place: "Whose Was That Gentle Voice?" by writcraft Third Place: "The Deepest Pits of Despair" by cadkitten

Best Comedy: First Place: "The Twelve Days of Draco" by birdsofshore Second Place: "Draco Malfoy and the Accidental Armchair" by pervyunitwins Third Place: "Tick Tock" by fireflavored

Best Romance: First Place: "When the Songbird Stopped Singing" by nherizu Second Place - TIE: "By The Numbers" by mindabbles & "A Song, Incomplete" by rurounihime Third Place: "Sharing Different Heartbeats" by talithan

Best Slash Smut: First Place: "Unhook the Stars" by jad Second Place: "Burning the Ground" by traintracks Third Place: "Something I Don't Want to Stop" by traintracks

Best Threesome+ Smut: First Place: "At the Edge of the Crossroads and Leaning" by traintracks Second Place: "Stakes" by yeaka Third Place - TIE: "Got It So Good" by blissed_bess & "Without a Piece of Your Heart" by snarkyscorp

Best Alternate Universe: First Place: "Give Me A Quiet Mind" by wellhalesbells Second Place: "To Be Back Again in the Rest of the Room" by lamerezouille Third Place: "Here's the Pencil, Make It Work" by ignatiustrout

Best Legacy Story: First Place: "Turn" by saras_girl Second Place: "Redeem Me" by samayel Third Place: "Gold Tinted Spectacles" by beren

***

HARRON (Harry Potter x Ron Weasley)

Best Drabble: "The Best Man" by The Dauntless Ravenclaw

Best Drama-Angst: "Something Old" by The Enigmatic Crow

Best Romance: "Right Here Where You Need Me" by Hogwartsowl

Best Legacy Story: "The Morning After" by Matroushka

***

HINNY (Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley)

Best Drabble: "Bruises" by mihnn

Best Drama-Angst: "Invisible" by phoenixstrike1

Best Dark Fic: "The Darkness Takes Me" by xonceinadream

Best Het Smut: "Bruises" by mihnn

Best Threesome+ Smut: "Invisible" by phoenixstrike1

***

JILY (James Potter x Lily Evans)

Best Drama-Angst: "The Reverse Method" by mihnn

Best Comedy: "The Reverse Method" by mihnn

Best Romance: "The Reverse Method" by mihnn

Best Het Smut: "Little Moments" by leontinebowie

Best Alternate Universe: "Bloody ShangriLa" by jamesthestagwhore

Best Legacy Story: First Place: "Wind and Waves" by HeroOfTheCastleOfMarble Second Place: "Snow" by corny cloth Third Place: "Tired" by Instant of Insanity

***

ROMIONE (Ron Weasley x Hermione Granger)

Best Drabble: "Casual Sex" by mihnn

Best Drama-Angst: "For Better or Worse" by ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor

Best Comedy: "Over and Under" by mihnn

Best Het Smut: "You've Got the Right Stuff, Baby" by tamlane

Best Alternate Universe: "Catch My Fall" by lire_casander

Best Legacy Story: First Place: "Leaning Slightly to the Left" by The Steppy One Second Place: "Today" by tmblue Third Place: "Making Memories" by ermynee322

***

SNARRY (Harry Potter x Severus Snape)

Best Drabble: First Place: "Private Party" by torino10154 Second Place: "All Natural" by alisanne Third Place: "The Charming Prince" by pekeleke

Best Drama-Angst: First Place: "Standing on the Shoreline" by citiesandsigns Second Place: "Three Firsts and One Forever" by suitesamba Third Place: "The Importance of a Day" by emynn

Best Dark Fic: "Fifty Shades of Truth" by starcrossedgirl

Best Comedy: "The Hole Truth" by bk7brokemybrain

Best Romance: First Place: "Standing on the Shoreline" by citiesandsigns Second Place: "The Beginning Of A Journey" by roozetter Third Place: "Spanking Interrupted" by blissed_bess

Best Slash Smut: "Fly By Night" by twisting_vine_x

Best Alternate Universe: First Place: "Disinherited" by emilywaters76 Second Place: "Something Good Will Come" by deirdre_aithne Third Place: "A Snowball's Chance" by sheankelor

Best Legacy Story: "Rapture" by mia_ugly

***

SNERMIONE (Severus Snape x Hermione Granger)

Best Drabble: First Place: "Eight Months in Stockholm" by tychesong Second Place: "Fifty Shades of Turkey" by toblass Third Place: "It's Elemental, My Dear Granger" by savine_snape

Best Drama-Angst: First Place: "Pet Project" by caeria Second Place: "Resonare Mortis" by laralee88 Third Place: "Anima Mea" by proulxes

Best Dark Fic: First Place: "No Dominion Greater" by rivertempest Second Place: "Fair Weather From The North" by dickgloucester Third Place: "The Toil of the Just" by sarablade

Best Comedy: First Place: "Appetizers" by aurette Second Place: "Ye Gentlewizard's Guide to Courtshippe & Metrimonie" by gingertart50 Third Place: "The One Where Snape's Bits Smell Like Cheese" by scumblackentropy

Best Romance: First Place: "The Awakening" by crmediagal Second Place: "With Careful Magic Caught Inside" by of_anoesis Third Place: "Within the Wilderness, an Orchid Blooms" by georgesgurl117

Best Het Smut: First Place: "Lay Me Low" by teddyradiator Second Place: "Shrinking Potions, Silk Scarves, and A Dollhouse" by onecelestialbeing Third Place: "Fairy GodHermione" by cybrokat

Best Threesome+ Smut: First Place: "Getting Past Broken" by tychesong Second Place: "Out of the Shadows Came a Rose" by gingertart Third Place: "Triple Viktory" by pern_dragon

Best Alternate Universe: First Place: "Prisoner 5273" by snapefan520 Second Place: "Divide of Time" by Anubis Ankh Third Place: "Arithmantic Equations as a Second Language" by absolute_tash

Best Legacy Story: First Place: "Post Tenebras, Lux" by loten Second Place: "Chasing the Sun" by loten Third Place: "A Walking Shadow" by Ariadne AWS

***

LUCIUS MALFOY x anyone

Best Drabble:

"Revenge: A Bittersweet Reward" by madam_minnie

Best Drama-Angst: First Place: "Delightful Blackmail" by Duco Lacuna Second Place: "Proxy" by deslea Third Place: "Wither" by xThe Painted Lady

Best Dark Fic: First Place: "The Road Unplanned" by caitriona_3 Second Place: "There Is Nothing More Satisfying" by scarletladyy Third Place: "Revenge: A Bittersweet Reward" by madam_minnie

Best Comedy: "Of Rippling Muscles and Taut Buttocks" by savva

Best Romance: "Persuasion" by linlawless

Best Het Smut: "Competing Business" by laurielove

Best Slash Smut: First Place: "English Delight" by torino10154 Second Place: "The Training of a Weasley" by Lilith Connor Third Place: "Plastic" by yeaka

Best Threesome+ Smut: "Four Things Lucius Should Not Have Said (And One Thing He Should Have Said But Didn't)" by WhatWldMrsWeasleyDo

Best Alternate Universe: "Danse Macabre, or: Learning to Light a Fire" by

karelia

Best Legacy Story: First Place: "By the Book" by scrace Second Place: "Penfriends" by mizsphinx Third Place: "Sharps, Sharks and Sheds" by Nathaniel Cardeu

***

SIRIUS BLACK x anyone

Best Drabble: "Christmas: Sirius' Christmas" by keria1123

Best Drama-Angst: First Place: "Le Songe" by carmentakoshi Second Place: "The Coldest Time" by mustntgetmy Third Place: "Little White Lie" by themessrs

Best Dark Fic: "Snow in April" by faieance

Best Comedy: "Days of Cats and Cabbages" by smallbrownfrog

Best Romance: First Place: "The Night Is A Bridge Between Yesterday And Tomorrow" by huldrejenta Second Place: "Adagio" by sable_tyger Third Place - TIE: "Adam's Rib" by rhye & "Of Cinema and Sticky Notes" by bluepeony

Best Het Smut: "The Secret Incantation" by pauraque

Best Slash Smut: First Place: "Size Matters" by rewrites24 Second Place: "Then and Now" by writcraft Third Place: "Sunday" by yeaka

Best Threesome+ Smut: "Insatiable" by rewrites24

Best Alternate Universe: First Place - TIE: "An Occlument Heart" by beautifulyes & "Paying the Ferryman" by queenkerosene Second Place: "Time Is A Fine Invention" by bluepeony Third Place: "Highland Fling" by picascribit

Best Legacy Story: First Place: "Without Fear" by remuslives23 Second Place: "Drawing the Line" by chokolattejedi Third Place: "All Narrow Jealousies" by marseverlasting

***

NEXT-GEN CROSS-GEN

Best Drabble: "Nice Shoes, Sweetheart" by tamlane

Best Drama-Angst: First Place: "Sugar Wanna Kill Me Yet" by traintracks Second Place: "Marked in Indelible Ink" by the_minx_17 Third Place: "The Art of Insinuation" by dexstarr

Best Dark Fic: "Fixation" by lunarblair

Best Romance: "Possibly, Maybe" by curlee_cue

Best Het Smut: First Place: "Quibbler Exclusive" by torino10154 Second Place: "When It Alteration Finds" by traintracks Third Place: "A Man of Worldly Knowledge and Impeccable Taste" by tamlane

Best Femmeslash Smut: "The Intricacies of Ownership" by dexstarr

Best Slash Smut: First Place: "Sugar Wanna Kill Me Yet" by traintracks Second Place: "Possibly, Maybe" by curlee_cue Third Place: "When It Alteration Finds" by traintracks

***

RARE PAIRS

Best Drabble: First Place: "left a ringing in my ears" by openended Second Place: "Alone in Company" by pretty_panther Third Place: "Making A Memory" by mmadfan

Best Drama-Angst: First Place: "Hearts Obsession" by imera Second Place: "Knock, Breathe, Shine, and Seek to Mend" by traintracks Third Place - TIE: "Dull as Dirt, Brilliant as the Stars" by anguis_1 & "Secret at the Grave" by leigh_adams

Best Dark Fic: First Place: "The Experiment" by sabethea Second Place: "A Well Bred Warlock: A Guide to Wooing, Courting and Every Day Behavior for the Pureblood Wizard" by selmak Third Place: "Of Death And Rebirth" by bluemermaid

Best Comedy: "The Muggles Have a Word for Them" by kellychambliss

Best Romance: First Place: "Heart Full of Black" by m3535 Second Place: "Leaf by Leaf" by atdelphi Third Place: "Written in the Stars" by torino10154

Best Het Smut: First Place: "What We Thought We Knew" by thusspakekate Second Place: "The Waiting Game" by scarletladyy Third Place - TIE: "Change of Heart" by ragdoll & "Something Promising" by rzzmg

Best Femmeslash Smut: First Place: "A Child That Knows Poems By Heart" by pauraque Second Place: "They Searched for Blue" by traintracks Third Place: "A Cliff in July" by miss_morland

Best Slash Smut: First Place: "On the other side of the mirror" by leashy_bebes Second Place: "You Hold Him in the Palm of Your Hand" by tryslora Third Place: "Colour to a Sunset Sky" by writcraft

Best Threesome+ Smut: First Place: "A Girl Can Dream" by geneva2010 Second Place: "Center of Attention" by thusspakekate Third Place: "Masquerade" by pauraque

Best Alternate Universe: "Romance of the Age" by o_mayari

Best Legacy Story: First Place: "This Time Around" by Disneydoll0424 Second Place: "The End of Love" by with_rhyme Third Place: "A Story of Warnings and the Ignoring Thereof" by therealsnape

#x #sshg #awards #fanfic fan poll awards #round 6

16 notes · View notes

writingwitchly · 5 years

Text

Fate knows how to be cruel

JILY CHALLENGE | October 2018 | angst | @wizardingworldwaitforme vs. @lovesickjily

@jilychallenge prompt: “I didn’t expect you to wait forever. I just hoped…” au where lily breaks up with james because he is being attacked for dating a muggleborn, they later meet at an order meeting during the war and he is engaged to someone else

Word count: 9.4k (yeah, i’m proud)

Warnings: A LOT OF SERIOUS SH*T, PLEASE BE READY. death, blood, angst, language, etc.

A/N: I. DON’T. KNOW.

***

Her diminished pupils, flooded in the last half-hour, were now dryly scanning the broken reflection that defied her.

Her intense green eyes, usually praised as very attractive, had become two dark pits, surrounded by red, tense skin. From her mouth, reduced to a pale split line, the rests of her anguish were escaping under the form of convulsive sighing, of air that her lungs did not manage to catch. The red maine she had inherited from her mother was plastered on her wet forehead, rebelling itself on some places by sticking out in messy knots. Her grayish cheeks were the vision of sickness itself, a sickness that comes from deep down in the chest, that roots itself cruelly in the flesh of the heart.

The cracked mirror, result of a very violent waving of her wand, was hanging loosely on the wall, throwing disdainfully at her tired body this vision of herself she had never adopted before.

Some months ago, nobody would have believed it possible for one of Hogwarts’ most promising students, exemplar Gryffindor prefect and thrice alumnus of the year, to find herself in such a situation.

Still, there she was, choking on her pain, raging at herself and the world, back at her desk, and writing her name at the end of the letter. She was signing her death sentence with her favorite quill.

The paper was heavy in her hands. The inked words weighted like lead on her lungs. She whistled a faint sound, and felt the air moving in her back.

Sealing the envelope and tying it to the frail leg was too hard. She had to start over twice, and scratched her wrist in the process, opened a new wound on herself. One more she’d have to cure, but would have no force to.

Her walk to the window, with the owl perched on her shoulder, seemed longer than one’s walk through life. Her fingers mechanically thrust the window open, scaring the bird.

The world was cold, freezing. Her soul too.

The owl’s piercing look searched its owner’s, but she pointedly avoided it, gazing at the clouds. If she allowed herself a moment of doubt, she’d never do it. The burning flame of courage in her stomach was faltering every day more, since this bloody war had started.

Sometimes she wondered, how could she not, why she had been sorted in the house of the braves. She had nothing of a Gryffindor, after all. She was demonstrating to be a coward. She wasn’t even doing this in person.

The bird let out an irked hoot, and turned toward the outside. It waited a few more seconds, implying that this was the only moment for her to step back on her decision. She almost did.

When the pair of sandy wings became a barely visible point on the dark roof of the night, the moon alone heard the shattering of the girl’s soul, the signal that her pure existence, already filled with too many sharp despair, had been attacked one time too much.

As she felt that her life was over, as her knees buckled under the weight of her past and future, the wind and stars united to mourn her innocence, screaming her name

***

What a coward.

The headquarters were full.

There had been another Muggle attack recently.

The Order’s meeting were a drag. Most of all, if Slughorn had to add a motivational speech at the end. His voice, in the best of the cases, was a muffled buzz that invited to fall asleep on the spot. The rest of the times, it just made you want to drink death potion.

The dark corner at the far end of the room seemed to be a very good place for rummaging dusty thoughts from two years ago, oblivious of what happened in the world around.

Maybe this was where Mad Eye stored his negative energy, in case he ran out of it.

What a fucking coward.

But, to be honest, it was not the place’s fault if Lily was feeling downhearted. It had become a habit of hers, to constantly be in the doldrums. She had erased the words happy, fun, joy -- and any synonym -- from her daily life.

All that mattered was to fight.

Nothing else.

Still. What a coward had she been.

It had happened ages away, back when she still could manage to worry about what was going on in her chest, in that place that she could not bring herself to name now.

Not even the flickering light bulb on the decrepit roof distracted her from remembering everything clearly.

The facts, the tears, the pain.

The reason.

She felt the urge to fracture a couple of Death Eater’s bones, but all she could do was to keep ruminating.

After sending him the letter, she had tried to hate him. For who breaks up successfully with the person they love? This type of separation never lasts long, and she didn’t want that.

Fate is strong, but Lily’s character too.

She had slowly managed to erase him from her life, half by shutting herself to the world, half because of why she had shattered their link.

It had been the right decision to take. She needed protect their friends, their security, their future.

She’d thought that, yeah. That it was the best to do, for her and for

...him.

He crossed the entrance with that characteristic nonchalance of his, talking loudly, not giving a blatant damn that Slughorn was still halfway through his speech. Sirius and Peter were behind him, laughing without hiding it, their clothes and hair and faces as Lily remembered them from the last time she had seen them, on King’s Cross platform: messy, but communicating mischievousness and a great will to live.

Exactly what she lacked.

She was not the only one staring at the young men. Two or three attendees had swung round, wandering who was arming hell behind there, and were now nudging their neighbors, appalled looks on their faces.

Whispers of wonder and astonishment rapidly covered the boring speaker’s words.

“What, they’re back!”

“Look at their smiles! The mission was a success, it’s sure!”

“Finally! Dumbledore must have found a way.”

“May Merlin hear your words, Agatha.”

“Almost two years out of the country, poor lads.”

“Looks like Albania didn’t educate Black and Pettigrew better than England had.”

“But it surely did a great job with Potter.”

James’ hair, surprisingly, was not storm-like; his glasses were not dangerously hanging from its point of his nose, but had somehow settled up on its bridge. His shirt was carefully inserted in his pants, which had been ironed, so could impossibly be his. His face was scarred in some places, but it was easy to notice the presence of proper baths and skin care on his regular traits.

This could not be James Potter.

The most shocking part of his appearance, to Lily, were his shoelaces. Leather strings, tied properly.

Reluctantly, she was reminded of that chilly pre-Christmas exams time of her sixth year.

This was already a period of doubt in the wizarding world, and the Gryffindors had decided to strengthen the solidarity bond with Yule gift. It had been Mary’s idea to write the names on a piece of paper, introduce it in a bag, and make everyone secretly draw one out. To Lily’s despair, she had caught that one paper she dreaded, the only one she’d have died to avoid. At that time, Potter still was the biggest pain in the neck ever for Lily. At least, that’s what every student got to hear daily.

The day to leave Hogwarts for the end-of-year holidays arrived, bringing along the deadline for the present giving.

As Remus told Lily later, James had found a tiny pack on his bedroom table, which wore no name, no mark that could tell him who had been his secret Santa. But by gradually removing everyone else from his list -- “Oi Pads! Next time you give me socks, at least watch out for matching sizes!” “Marlene! Who’s the fucking idiot who told you I like ice tea?” --, the boy had reduced his possible suspects to only one person.

He had looked for her morning long, but had resigned himself to open the gift alone on the train Platform, after his fruitless searching.

Still, lily had never been very far, just hiding well. From the corner where she was watching him, ashamed of what she had done, Lily had seen the pair of formless, ragged pieces of thin rope being taken out from the wrapping paper. She had gulped down hard, wishing he would just throw them under the locomotive, consider it a prank. She had wanted to scream at him that “See Potter, that’s how important you are to me,” even if she was not sure she really felt this way.

But something incredible had happened. James had called the other Marauders, had gestured something to them, pointing to his feet, his face flushed with excitement. Sirius had rolled his eyes, but Peter had patted him on the back gently, and had helped him to fix the strings on his shoes. The four of them had laughed, James more drunkenly than heartily, and he had then cried out to the crowd, “Look at this, Evans! Best gift I’ve ever received!”

Lily’s stomach had done a 360 degrees flip, and she had bit her lip, trying to force herself into believing that he was just joking.

“Never gonna see me without ‘em!”

And she had never.

Until now.

Her eyes unconsciously trailed up his figure, until they came to rest on his shining smile. Her look met his, and the smile disappeared.

An unpleasant heaviness tied her throat.

For the first time since she was 18, she realized that her strong will had failed. The last two years’ efforts had been completely useless.

And for the first time since she was 18, she felt a ray of hope warming her face

But Fate knows how to be cruel.

The world seemed to spin in slow motion when a blonde girl, whom Lily had never seen before, stepped in the room. Sirius greeted her, and James’ eyes abandoned Lily’s to settle on the newcomer.

His grin came back. He opened his arms to welcome her.

The redhead felt a pang between her ribs, in that place she hadn’t considered for months.

It had taken her only one second to feel her heart come alive for the first time in two years.

And one more to murder it all over again.

Leaving behind a crowd in growing agitation, Lily sped off down the hallway.

He didn’t follow her.

***

She had seen the message earlier in the afternoon.

Which, to be frank, had been a real luck: she wasn’t opening her post anymore. She barely even ate.

But receiving an envelope with the red Hogwarts’ crest at the age of twenty meant that something serious was going to happen.

So she had read, understood, and followed the instructions.

And now she found herself gazing at the dark walls of the Ministry of Magic, armed, and ready to fight.

Ready to- give everything.

Go big or go to the grave.

The call came from some hundred meters behind her. “Evans!”

Kingsley had always been a good speaker, with that loud voice of his. In the times when they still called each other by their first name, she imagined him to become a radio presenter. Instead, he wore the Auror’s colors now. And had been promoted as a secondary leader of the Order.

Still, maybe, after this fucking war…

“Are you going to daydream for long? You’re the last one.”

Lily shook her head to get out of her drowsiness, and sprinted toward her group leader. He looked at her with a critical frown. “You should gulp something down more often, Evans.”

And they were off toward the other end of the somber corridor.

“How many of them?”

“Our sentry counted twenty to the meeting this morning. Cobra confirmed the hour of the attack.” Cobra, their double agent. They only disposed of one, and hoped they were not infiltrated as well. “We secretly evacuated the employees and officers in the early afternoon.”

“How many of us?” She knew the answer. It was the same every time the whole squad was convocated. She just liked to have all the information confirmed.

“Eighteen.”

A mechanical nod of approval, but then- “Eighteen?”

“Eighteen,” repeated Kinsley’s strong voice. “Eighteen.”

Deep below his still tone, there was some embarrassment.

For fuck’s sake no. Not tonight.

But Fate knows how to be cruel.

She first saw Peter, a grimace of utter worry stamped on his face. He looked ready to die. Not by fighting, but of fright. He did not grin at her when their glances bumped, but lowered his head.

Sirius saw her, but acted as if not. Of the Marauders, he had always been the one who liked her less. He was still angry at her for deserting them, causing another anguish to their group of friends.

From the bottom of her heart resurfaced the desire that Remus had come back from his mission too. She was selfish, but she would have given anything to have him as the third add to the squad.

As she thought this, James’ face came into focus, ten steps away. Right where Kingsley was pointing.

“But-”

He glared at her. “The orders don’t come from me, Evans.”

She reluctantly wished him good luck, and headed towards her fight partner.

Standing next to him gave her goosebumps.

“Evans.”

Cold, indifferent greeting.

“Potter.”

Erased, bitter answer.

Lily felt James shifting his weight from foot to foot. Their breathing was distressed.

“Listen to me everyone!” The leader’s words echoed in the huge, nearly lifeless hall. “The orders for this mission are clear: protect the ministry at all cost. I don’t care how you do it: fight until you are not able to breathe anymore. Do not pay attention to the rest of the team, be the only one standing if it has to be this way. Reinforcements are planned to arrive.” He marked a pause, fixed each member of his group, each soul under his charge, knowing that he may never see them again. “And please, do your best to not fucking die.”

There was no clapping, no murmur of approval. You don’t acclaim what can be the most final goodbye.

“You wrote.”

The words slipped off her tongue in an unauthorized murmur. She mentally punched herself.

“You didn’t write back.”

She had sworn she wouldn’t.

All lights were off. The silence was sluggish. The air was suffocating.

It was not her first operation of defense, but a sense of uneasiness was crawling up Lily’s lungs. She never had to fight in almost complete darkness before. A good pair cooperation was going to be crucial.

Great, she’d probably die tonight.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t intend to say goodbye to life right today, Evans.” James’ voice was full of assurance. “So if you could please avoid to hit me square in the chest...”

He really thought that she hated him.

Everybody thought so.

That’s how she had made her letter sound.

A blonde silhouette hovered before her eyes for the fraction of a moment.

“Just fucking fight, you prat.”

And the conversation was over.

The first flash of electric green ripped the stillness seconds later, but the real shock shook them when somebody screamed.

At least two dozens of black draughts circled the members of the Order, and materialized in masked, caped shapes. The impact of red and blue lights was immediate, and chaos erupted.

Rolling down to the floor, Lily avoided a stupefy thrown her way, and poured all her rage in a bright orange spell. A strangled sound confirmed that she had hit her target.

“Expelliarmus!” shouted James from her side. He threw himself to the ground too, when his missed aim replicated. Lily saved him by conjuring a shielding charm, but couldn’t avoid the intense shot of purple that hit her in the ribs.

At first, nothing. Then, everything.

A snake of fire formed in her veins, consuming her skin. A searing blade was tearing her insides, her hands were attacked by invisible knives, her throat scratched by razors at each call for misericord. Her flaming hair cruelly danced around her, threatening to choke her already impossible breathing. Her bones were exploding, her mind was becoming something else. A burnt smell travelled in the atmosphere, her vision was masked by red sparks of suffering.

They always tell you horrific things about the cruciatus curse. They never approach the truth.

She could not think, nor react. She was a broken doll in some atrocious kid’s hands.

Her screams filled her attacker’s ears like a gong of victory. He savagely flicked his wand, enjoying the sight of the contorsionating girl.

He paid his barbarity too cheaply.

“Avada kedavra!”

Still harboring an ugly smirk, Adam Rosier became James Potter’s first victim, collapsing on the ground as the meaningless mass he was. The young wizard spat in the Death Eater’s direction, leaving for later his reaction to the shock of killing somebody.

He ducked a lost red flash, and ran to kneel down next to his partner’s motionless body. He prayed under his breath that she hadn’t died right here and now, before his eyes, because of him. His forehead was pale skin under a coat of sweat.

He grabbed her wrist, felt only a faint pulse, muttered a spell, prayed harder.

“Potter!” Kingsley’s voice was barely audible through the wall of imprecations and incantations, even though he was his closest ally. “Potter! What the hell! Get up and fight!”

No time to explain him about Lily, he would not have listened anyway. The orders were clear, and Kingsley was a man shaped by rules.

James sent him to hell, and took the girl in his arms, wrapped in occasional bursts of light.

He made it to the nearest hiding he could find, a wide crack in a wall, with a deep burn in the back and a bleeding eyebrow, but ignored them at his best. He carefully laid the witch on the fissured floor, waved his hands above her head, and breathed a couple of curing charms.

An explosion resounded, the ground quaked. Dust and little stones fell from the roof, hitting her face like solid rain drops.

“Please, Evans, don’t be a bitch and stay alive.”

He risked himself to shake her shoulder.

A groan escaped her throat, and James almost fainted of relief when her eyelids slowly raised.

“What the-” Her feverish eyes opened widely, and she sat up in a urge, releasing the content of her stomach on the concrete ground. Her face was the same color.

Another violent tremor shook the building, and the man had to force his throat shut.

When Lily’s retching came to an unsure end, her back found the floor as a support.

Her breath was heavy.

“Are you ok?”

Now, what a dumb question. Of course she was not.

She didn’t answer.

Lily had never imagined that she would meet James Potter again under these circumstances. It made the whole situation worse.

She had left him broken, two years ago. She had disappeared, leaving scars all over his soul. Yet, there he was, saving her life.

This was one of the things she had struggled the most to hate in him, when time had come to force herself out of their relationship. His unconditional kindness, his generous thoughtfulness. He was ready to believe in anybody’s redemption, providing excuses to the most irrational behaviors.

Through the blurry curtains of her pain, Lily distinguished his creased brow. Of course, he was preoccupied. He couldn’t hold any grudge, had to forgive everyone. Even when they killed him in the inside.

Why the fuck did he always have to be so- himself?

Lying, pale like a blanket, she wore that severe expression that implied she was on the edge of exploding.

A blonde face smiled at her. She blinked, and it was gone.

“Did you just call me a bitch, Potter.”

It was not a question, nor a joke to release the tension. He felt it.

“I just saved your life, Evans,” he defended himself.

“You are disobeying the orders.”

Their eyes met for the first time that night. It felt like a clash.

“So what, I should have left you at that monster’s mercy?”

“Exactly.”

James pushed his glasses up his nose with a raging gesture.

“You know what, Evans? I may actually consider you to be a bitch. And I surely have a hundred reasons to. Do you realize that it’s the first time we have a conversation since our- since our last day at Hogwarts?” There was badly disguised pain in his words. “Do you realize that, maybe, I have some questions?”

From the breach on the wall, some bits of the fight penetrated their safe place.

Lily stumbled up.

“Where do you think you’re going now?” James’ voice was irritated, but also preoccupied. He hadn’t brought her all the way here to see her fall again out there.

“Have you really not heard the bloody orders, Potter,” she answered, leaning on the wall to chase away her dizziness. “Get your scared ass in the tussle and fight.”

“But you can’t possibly think t-!” She was already out of reach of his words, moving toward the core of the collision. “Damn it, Lily!”

She heard him running toward the center of the mass a few seconds later.

“Confringo!” Her blue sparkle hit one of the enemies straight at the heart, and she stupefied another one shortly after avoiding his attack.

Feeling that agony inside her had heightened her expectations of sufferance, and she thought of nothing as she walked more dead than alive through the web of curses.

She was angry at the world, at James Potter, and at herself.

“Avada ke-”

Her words were cut off by the sudden disappearance of her target, leaving her baffled. She looked for another Death Eater to aim at, but could find none alive in sight.

She heard Kingsley’s confused imprecations, joined by Alice’s, and James’ sharp inhalations neax to her.

The temperature had dropped considerably.

“You have lost enough.” The treacherous voice snaked its way to her ears like a repulsive melody invading her mind. “If you give up now, you will be rewarded. Lord Voldemort is not insensible to courage.”

Several looks scanned the room, but the semi darkness prevented anybody from seeing farther than a few meters away.

A glacial laughter resounded in her head.

In prey of a terrible presentiment, Lily focused on counting the living people remaining in the hall, all members of the Order. One, two, five, ten, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Fifteen! Maybe she had just counted wrong. Again: one, five, ten, fifteen.

“You have until the count of three to surrender,” the voice explained, freezing her blood. “Or else you will all die.”

A bright light illuminated the air, forcing Lily to protect her eyes with her hand.

Her limbs stiffened.

Three bodies were suspended in the emptiness by a magical rope tied to their chest.

Three faces were decomposed in fear, bathed in this raw light.

Amanda, Drew, and Peter were hanging twenty meters above the ground.

Lily had found her three missing teammates. Panic was boiling between her temples.

Peter emitted a strangled squeal that shook her from her apathy. His eyes, out of their orbits, were fixing a point behind the group.

“Face me, members of Dumbledore’s army! See the traits of the man that will end your miserable existence if you don’t bend to him!”

When she swung round, a cry escaped her mouth.

The body was draped in black, floating in mid air. The face was thin, blueish, bore no nose. The fingers were long, bony, holding a menacing wand. The eyes were a snake’s, of an intense red.

The smile was sharp, victorious.

She was staring at the Dark Lord in person.

“I advise you to surrender,” The voice did not reach Lily through her ears. It came from between her ribs, from the center of her bones. “Now.”

Lily felt James’ body tensing centimeters away from hers, but the menace received no answer.

Despite the fear, the orders were clear.

“Good,” the Dark Lord’s voice echoed, with a cynical trace of amusement sketched in it. “So let the countdown begin. Nagini!”

Lily’s knees trembled.

Whatever Nagini was, it came slowly, imperceptibly, quietly, like death itself.

They didn’t see it, but they could feel its presence to their left, their right, everywhere. The creature’s aura trapped them, froze them. It was as if a spell had been casted on the room, preventing any movement. Any smell, any sound, had disappeared from the world.

The wizards couldn’t even hear their own shaky breath.

Time had stopped.

“One!”

A shout of despair recalled Lily’s attention on the point where the hostages were hanging.

Faster than a bolt, a long, scaled form had coiled down the first rope. Amanda’s face, which had been deformed in horror, was now still, her pupils vitreous. On her neck, a hideous mark was drawn in blood.

The aftermath of the cruciatus hit Lily hard in the stomach, and she felt like throwing up again.

Her arms couldn’t move, she was paralyzed.

“Two!”

She saw Drew’s last desperate look falter on his traits.

Heavy drops of cold sweat slided down her spine. She gathered all her forces, interrupting her breathing in the effort, weak from her injury.

Peter already looked dead to her.

She struggled to stretch her fingers.

“Th-”

“Confringo!” “Avada Kedavra!” “Petrificus totalus!” “Cruciatus!”

The four spells flew at the same time toward the voice.

Responding to their instincts, Lily, James, Sirius, and Alice had managed to break the inertia that was pinning them down, firing their shots with a propulsed rage.

It happened so fast.

Nobody could resist to four curses at once.

A ball of blinding light surrounded the Dark Lord, its powerful energy making everyone fall to their knees. The inhuman cry of destruction ripped the atmosphere, pierced their eardrums, reached their souls and tore them apart. A storm of black dust wrapped, asphyxiated them. There was coughing, an intense warmth, and the smell of rotten meat.

A skull formed in the air, laced by a snake. For a split second, it seemed to Lily that the skull looked at her with an intense rage.

She heard Peter’s screams, then fainted.

***

Lily wondered why everybody preferred life rather than death. At least, when you’re dead, you can’t wake up to a raw reality.

The first signal that she received from her body was a stabbing pain on her side. She stifled a cry with her pillow, which left a disagreeable smell of bleach on her face.

The sheets were white, that’s all she saw. Her eyes were too sensible to last more than a few seconds open.

Last time she had found herself in medical care, it had been because of a potions experiment gone wrong, in her seventh school year.

Right after waking up for good, she had been greeted by half a dozen of her friends, either sitting or standing, who had brought her sweets and kind notes.

Professors had passed by in the day, beaming at her and sharing their wishes of seeing her well soon.

Tucked under the soft sheets, she had thanked them all dearly.

The only thing to beckon now was the lonely grey chair that flanked her uncomfortable mattress.

She hated hospitals.

She tried to move her hands, but the effort caused a wave of protest in her stomach.

Her other, rapid sight of the world were two shadows on the white curtain that isolated her bed.

It took her a while to distinguish any sound.

“... serious state,” affirmed a high-pitched voice.

“How long do you think it will take?”

Dumbledore. This was Dumbledore’s serious tone.

“Probably days,” placidly answered the woman. “She was hit by a cruciatus, according to Shacklebolt. It didn’t last more than a dozen of seconds, but it was enough to make her lose her senses. And then, there was this explosion they all talk about. We can’t understand the magnitude of the force that hit them, nor how it possibly left her in such a drained state. She was two-thirds dead when they brought her here. Do you know anything more?”

The buzzing in her ears made it impossible for Lily to hear the warlock’s murmured answer.

“If you are right, I must act right now. Another healer will lead you to Pettigrew’s room. Black left yesterday, while Longbottom is still unconscious. Potter received a visit earlier in the morning. A young woman, to whom we gave exceptional allowance as she affirmed being his fiancee.”

A hurtful darkness engulfed Lily.

***

Everything was numb.

She was vaguely aware of the door of her room clicking open. A voice slinked in.

“I am not sure if she’s awaken yet, boy. And visits are not allowed, at this stage of the cure. You’ll have to come back in a few days, when she’ll feel better.”

It took some seconds for the words to sink in.

What?

No fucking way she was going to stay in this hell of a place for ‘a few days.’

“Hey!” She called.

Hurried steps came her way, the curtains were dragged open, and a grey beard bent over her face. The man’s pungent breath stung her nostrils.

He pulled back just in time to avoid her first retching wave.

The world was spinning, she couldn’t draw in any oxygen.

“Johnes!” The healer’s voice was as disagreeable as his smell. “Call Jenkins and Perks, she’s having another attack!”

The last thing Lily saw, as her unsteady gaze fell on the doorframe, before sinking back into oblivion, were squared glasses and ruffled hair.

***

This dance between life and death was the most exhausting thing that had ever happened to her.

Exhausting and deceiving: she always woke up.

The fissures under her eyelashes revealed the same depressing white light on the roof. She groaned, but was relieved that no twist of nausea manifested itself. Her tongue seemed glued to her palate, and her throat was as dry as a roasted nut.

Helping herself with her forearms, Lily sat up.

“Bloody hell,” she whispered. It somehow felt comforting to hear her own voice, even if it was cracked. “When was the last time I brushed my teeth.”

“Six days ago, I’d say.”

Her start was so violent that she almost rolled down to the floor.

“That is, assuming that you wash them regularly.”

The grey chair at her right was not empty anymore. James was sitting on it, his legs crossed.

Lily instinctively pulled the sheets up, to cover what the hospital’s blouse barely disguised. “What- How in the world did you get inside here?”

The man pointed a finger toward the door with a smirk, which, in other conditions, would have made her roll her eyes.

She scanned him. He looked much more like the James she had always known, with his hair all untidy and his crumpled shirt half-tuck in his pants.

Nostalgy almost made her smile, but she got the feeling that he wouldn’t have appreciated it.

“What do you want?”

His stare fled hers.

“Before your dear friend comes back to kick my butt out of here, you should see this.”

He handed her a copy of the Daily Prophet

The rugose paper was stained in multiple places, ripped in others, but it would have been difficult not to read the title that took the entire half of the first page, ‘The Dark Lord Defeated.’

Lily’s jaw dropped. “I swear, if this is one of your stupid pranks, I’ll-”

A spasm in the side cut her sentence.

“Calm down, Evans. We don’t want you to die after becoming a hero, do we? Dumbledore would kill me.”

His finger brushed the upper corner of the newspaper, invisibly highlighting some words and numbers. Swallowing with difficulty, Lily read the date of publication. It was from three days ago.

“So?”

“So it’s not a prank. But it’s useless. He’s still alive. Cobra confirmed it.”

Her shoulders dropped. Still-

“How can somebody resist to four attacks at the same time? He can’t possibly be alive!”

James brushed her comment away with a gesture of his head. “Have you seen him the other night, Evans? He already looked like a corpse. He masters some dark magic we don’t know about, not even Dumbledore. I doubt we achieved anything more than to anger him.”

It had been too good to be true. Though it didn’t feel like reality. More like a nightmare.

“We did more than that. We saved Pet-”

Her voice died in her throat.

They had saved Peter.

They had saved only Peter.

On her neck, a hideous mark was drawn in blood.

Amanda had always been nice to Lily, even if the latter didn’t seek people’s company. She had shared with her a part of her lunch for long, after a particularly hard week, when Lily’s hollow cheeks had become too evident.

The last look of despair faltered on his face.

Drew had always been an important moral support to the squad. Not the most brilliant bloke in the world, but his seriousness was a column to which many members had found support, including Lily.

They had been important, in their own way.

And now they were gone.

Lily’s shoulders slumped.

“I- there is something else- I have to tell you.” James’ pause was sad, warned her of the worse. “Dumbledore told me something about- the second hostage’s wife. She- she died yesterday. They did her possible to save her but h-”

He kept talking, but nothing reached her ears.

Lily had met Drew’s wife once. The Order had lost her as a member when she had lost her brother because of a mission. She was very reserved, pale like a chrysanthemum. Drew often compared her to a frail flower, but Lily had understood that she was ill.

They were a loyal couple, loved each other dearly.

In wedding vows, you promise to follow your other half everywhere, no matter what.

The poor woman had kept her promise.

The air burnt Lily’s throat. She didn’t want to breathe anymore.

James was still sitting next to her, and didn’t move as she buried her grief under a sea of tears.

She would have wanted him to hug her, to help her soothe the pain of mourning people she had barely known, but who had died in front of her.

‘Fiancee’ had said the healer to Dumbledore.

“Just leave, please.”

It costed her only a whisper, and she was alone again.

***

Lily filled her lungs with the sun’s air, relieved to inhale the dust of the streets. After ten days of undergoing all types of stupid tests in the hospital, she was finally physically out.

What she needed now was infinite sleep, and a ton of pain killers.

But Fate knows how to be cruel.

***

Things reached her through a haze.

The bed and the light were the same, just the curtains had changed. They were thicker.

It was a nightmare repeating itself.

Her head throbbed. Somebody must have hit her skull with a hammer.

The person standing right next to her, maybe.

“Good morning, Lily.” For a moment, she feared that the man would get too close. Then she noticed that his beard was clearer than the healer’s. “Can I have a second of your time?”

Her instinct advised her to send him to hell, her sore throat won the battle.

Dumbledore observed her like a little girl looks at an injured puppy. Something in his voice was wrong.

“Do you remember anything, Lily?”

Anything of what?

Shaking her head made her nerves go wild.

“You did it again.”

She did what now. End up in a bed that smelt of too much cleaning?

Yeah, she had noticed.

“You defeated Lord Voldemort a second time.”

And she passed out.

***

“Can somebody tell me what the fuck he meant?” The only answer she got was the metallic noises of medical tools. “How in the world did I ended up in this disgusting place again? What’s going on?”

Being nice had been completely erased from her agenda.

The nurses who were taking her blood pressure sighed in frustration. “We have already told you, Ms. Evans. We can’t tell you anything. The Head Healer said-”

“Then call your damned Head Healer.”

The women left without taking their toolkit.

An eternity later, Grey Beard stepped in.

“Good afternoon Ms. E-”

“How did I fucking end up here?”

He seemed to hesitate.

“I have been instructed to not reveal any information, Ms. Evans, for the sake of your health. You will have to wait until you get the green light to leave.”

“As if,” she grunted. “Where is Dumbledore?”

The man hesitated. His inner voices were arguing over what to do, but promptly found an agreement.

He left the room, and didn’t come back for the next two days.

***

“I am not a doll!”

Her fist hit the table.

She was wild. A real storm.

The portraits on the walls were empty, their occupants having fled toward a better climate.

Behind his desk, Hogwarts’ Headmaster didn’t flinch.

“You left me rotting in that horrible hospital for ten more days.” Her tears were a free stream. “You came to give me an explanation when I could only think you were a vision.” A bubble burst in her chest. “And now you tell me that-”

Dumbledore sighed. “And now I tell you that the girl who was your best friend died in that mission you can’t even remember.” Lily pressed her hand to her mouth, bit her fingers with rage. “Ms. Mckinnon was one of our best members, Ms. Evans. She knew that this mission was highly dangerous. She accepted it. Do not blame yourself.”

It hurt.

It hurt because Marlene had been the first person Lily had met after her sister had called her a freak for the hundredth time, on King’s Cross station.

It hurt because Lily hadn’t spoken to Marlene after their last day at Hogwarts, for the same reason why she had broken up with James, for the same reason why she had refused to answer to Mary or Remus’s letter.

It hurt because Marlene had been the only one to accept her decision, to try to understand her, when she had left.

It hurt because, after that, she had seen her for the last time during a mission she didn’t remember, maybe told her something she didn’t recall, or perhaps ignored her like Sirius had done with her.

“Are there- Are there chances to recover my memory?”

At least she could grasp to that, but Dumbledore’s eyes were sorry.

“The shock of the impact, its magnitude, leaves us few hopes, Ms. Evans. We don’t know what would have happened if Longbottom hadn’t come to your rescue.” Lily shuddered. I wouldn’t be here. “But what you managed to do,” he adds in a comforting voice, “Is extraordinary. Ms. Mckinnon will not have died in vain.”

She could ask him again, but he didn’t seem incline to disclose some information. It didn’t belong to him, after all.

“So who could tell me what happened exactly that night?”

She needed to know from somebody who had been there.

She needed to know how it had happened.

“Four people were present beside you and Ms. Mckinnon. Black refuses to have any contact with anybody, Fortescue and Longbottom are still interned. The only one that will accept to help you is-”

She felt the answer before he could mention it.

Fate knows how to be cruel.

“James Potter.”

***

The doorbell rang.

It had cost her a herculean effort. She hoped that no blonde girl would open the door.

An eye appeared in the spy-hole, widened considerably, then vanished.

There was a second of doubt before the wooden panel swung on its hinges.

“Lily?”

Blimey, Euphemia Potter hadn’t changed a bit. Maybe she had a couple more wrinkles, but these are things you don’t notice in women like her.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Potter. Is James here?”

Euphemia defied the girl with a stare. A mother never forgets the face of her son’s murderer.

“Please,” begged Lily. “It’s very important.”

The woman slowly nodded.

In the corridor, she didn’t offer her any tea or biscuits. Not even water. She pointed to the living room, then disappeared upstairs.

Lily crossed her legs, and patiently waited.

She didn’t hear James coming, and practically did not see him standing in the doorframe until he cleared his throat.

Again, that will to hug him, to forget everything in the security of his warm embrace.

“What do you want, Evans?”

She raised her eyes to his face. “What happened?”

He sat in the armchair that faced her, and did something that pushed her down the cliff.

He took her hands.

***

Marlene had infiltrated the Death Eaters’ meeting.

The Order needed information. They had provided her a backup squad, in case things would go wrong. Everything was under control until the Dark Lord had required the attendees to take off their masks.

He knew.

Marlene had looked at him straight in the eyes when he had raised his wand.

“You jumped forward from behind the double-wall.” James tried to hold his voice together, pressing his thumbs gently on her palms. “Marlene looked at you as if you were from another world. For the fraction of a second, her empty expression switched with the one she usually harbored at- at Hogwarts. She badly wanted to smile, but you were both about to die, so she didn’t. The effect of surprise you had caused vanished, and the shot was fired. Hit her square in the chest.” He badly represses a sob. “He dismissed the meeting, as if nothing had happened, while you were still gazing at Marlene’s body. He felt so- superior.”

Lily’s vision was blurry.

“He was aiming at you, smirking, when shock woke you up. You turned to face him, and screamed the curse. He underestimated you so much that he didn’t duck it on time, so he stumbled. Alice and Frank were quick with their spells, but he was quicker. Like last time, his dark image invaded the room, and he dissolved into thin air. You were the closest one, the energy trapped you.”

Her mind didn’t want to assimilate this as the truth, though she knew deep down that it was the correct version of facts.

It felt unreal, but what did not lately?

She was not even capable to accept pain and sadness anymore.

“Lily… We could have gone through this together…” In other times, embarrassment would have made him scratch his neck, but his fingers were warm on hers. His grip was firm. He wanted an answer. “Why did you do it?”

Did he honestly think that she could talk about this right now?

She wanted to cry, but her body was dry.

“You have a fiancee, James. I don’t think it really matters to you anymore.”

“Don’t use that accusative tone. It sounds as if you expected me to wait forever.”

“I didn’t expect you to wait forever. I just hoped…”

“You hoped! Be honest, Lily! I thought you loved me at least a fragment of how much I loved you, that would have been enough. The world as we knew it was breaking apart, we all needed some stable points, but you decided to destroy my strongest one!” He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him in the eyes. “Do you know how much our relationship meant to me? Did you realize that you’d leave me in pieces? Did you even care? It turned out you hated me!”

Two years of efforts.

Marlene had died not knowing that she loved her, perhaps even thinking the contrary.

“I didn’t!” Her shout made him recoil. “I loved you more than anything in the world, James! I- I wanted to save you! You, Peter, Remus, Sirius, Mary, Marlene, Dorcas, and all the others! You were getting attacked for dating me! They fucking used the cruciatus on you, while we were still at school, bloody hell! You got tortured because of me!”

James was appalled. He raised, dropping her hands.

“Loving somebody means caring about their feelings, Lily. You hurt me more by leaving than these damned moron could have in hours of persecution! They came after me anyway! They still tried to kill me after you left! And guess what, I didn’t feel like surviving! I was dead in the inside! Was it not for the boys, I would be under six feet of dust right now!”

She stood up too, erecting herself so his nose faced her forehead.

Her eyes were losing their sparkle.

“You don’t hear yourself, James! War is not the right moment to attach your life to somebody else’s, most of all if that person is a principal aim! Look at what happened to Drew and his wife. He died, and she didn’t resist! I didn’t want that! I didn’t want you to suffer because of me!”

“It was harder to accept the fact that you were leaving without any apparent reason! Fuck, Lily! Try to be coherent!”

“You had friends then, but who knew if they’d still be living later! You got over it, you didn’t die of despair! You found l-”

She had to sit down, to cover her face with her hands.

All she had wanted was to protect him.

And now, he had a fiancee. Another person through which they could harm him.

He was making all her struggles meaningless.

He was making her jealous.

“You found love again.”

Fate knows how to be cruel.

***

Her apartment had never seemed as dim as when she stepped out of the chimney.

Even after opening the curtains -- she took them off, she had had enough of any kind of them -- the windows barely let a couple of light rays in. They needed some cleaning, but it seemed impossible to her that such a basic task still existed.

There was war going on. Her living room glass panels begged for some soap.

The two things did not get along at all.

Lily sank in her old sofa, sending a cloud of dust and ashes spiraling in the air. She took her wand out of her pocket, and examined it consciously. She was not sure to remember how to use it.

When you want to produce magic, you need to mean something.

She didn’t feel like she meant anything anymore.

Her gaze dropped to the floor, and this is when she noticed the envelope abandoned on the carpet.

***

Lily hesitated.

It was pure suicide.

“How many of us?”

Her favorite question to alleviate the pressure.

Though now, she really needed to know.

“Four.” It was a glacial answer. A frightened answer. “More would be too much, and less… pure craziness.”

This was already crazy. Marlene had tried. She had failed.

“Who else apart from us?”

“Frank,” Of course. “And James.”

Considering her luck in the last months, it didn’t even surprise her.

“I’m in.”

Their imperceptible nod was a silent promise .

Lily was about to leave her teammate’s flat when something clicked in her head.

“Does somebody officially know about this?”

Alice’s eyes scanned the redhead’s face, calculating the pros and cons of telling the truth.

“No.”

Nobody would come to their rescue. It was a secret against a safety.

They were disobeying the orders.

Their last drop of hope splashed on the floor.

***

Lily rubbed her hands together, then blew some hot air between her joined palms.

She was the first to arrive, for once. Hell, if she had to die, she had to do something extraordinary before.

There was a loud crack behind her, followed by another one. Without speaking a word in the silent night, Alice and Frank acknowledged her presence, then took different paths to their positions.

The woman waited for the last apparating sound to turn around.

The man wore a long coat and dark pants. His hair was combed, but he ruffled it. He probably wanted to die as himself.

“Good evening, Lily.”

“‘evening, Potter.”

She seemed unable to articulate anything more. But they didn’t have the whole night at disposition.

“You know, I meant it,” she said at last. He slightly raised a brow, observing her tense face from above his glasses. “When I said I loved you.” He looked away. She could see his perfect jawline contract as he clenched his teeth. “And as we’ll probably never see each other again…”

She stood on her toe tips, and lightly brushed his lips with hers.

Saying that it didn’t provoke any emotion in their chest would be a blatant lie.

But it didn’t feel the same anymore.

He had loved her, but she had hurt him. He had slowly mended his wounds, didn’t want to open them again.

Lily understood it, pain and remorse corroding her soul.

She left to take her position.

***

This time, it was over. They had finally done it.

He was gone. She believed it.

She wanted to believe it.

She hadn’t even ended up in that fucking hospital.

Maybe life was going to be good again.

She asked nothing more of it than to be acceptable.

So she had said yes to a couple of firewhiskey glasses. Which had turned into bottles.

The Daily Prophet’s title was its biggest in history: ‘The Dark Lord Defeated For Good: Four Heros To Thank.’

The journalist and editor must have been drunk.

In the pub, wizards and witches greeted her, thanked her, cried in front of her.

They were all drunk as well.

The music, the shouts, the people. It was all too much. She had retired in one of the bedrooms. To be alone with her thoughts drowned in alcohol.

It felt wrong to celebrate.

“Evans?” The slur was full of booze.

James was one of the other ‘heros,’ and understood as much as her how heavy this title was. They other two did too, but at least they could make out to forget.

He slowly came to sit next to her, on the mattress.

Chills ran down her spine.

“Nice party, huh?”

She didn’t answer. He was talking to her as if nothing had happened before the attack. Maybe he didn’t remember.

“Know what, Evans?” He took a sip from the bottle he had in hand. A long sip. “This whole story is bullshit. If four curses didn’t killed him the first time, I doubt that he got affected now. The man’s not over. He’s got like a thousand souls, I swear.”

This stupid theory, the stress, her hopelessness made her laugh nervously.

Granted, she had drunk one shot too much.

James had indeed forgotten all about her confession. He had blissfully forgotten everything about his life for this night. He deserved it.

The only thing he was conscious of was that, whatever the newspapers said, he had a bad presentment. And also that his leg brushed hers.

Meanwhile, Lily was getting hysterical. Her cackling irritated him, and he, pushed by the cruelty of oblivion, found no other way to shut her up than to press his lips to hers.

It was not a kiss like those they had shared in their youth. This one was furious, full of reproaches, aggressive. It was the result of tension, of an intense passion repressed for two years, moved by firewhiskey.

It was not sincere, it was desperate, crazy, drunk.

They were breathless, broken, intoxicated. They were lying on a bed, forgotten by everyone, in a room too far from reach.

The moon was full outside, treacherous, insatiable. The wolves hollowed in the woods, the empty souls trembled, the proud ones lost themselves.

Fate knows how to be cruel.

Lily and James were proud souls.

What should not have happened, happened.

***

“Don’t you fucking dare to kid me on this, Sirius.”

“I swear to you on Merlin’s left b-”

“How the bloody hell… What did he tell Katie?”

“The truth. The kid is his. Due in July.”

“Fuck.”

“I know. She slapped him round the face, didn’t want to see him for a week.”

“Did he-”

“They’re going to marry in June.”

“Lily and him?”

“Katie and him, Moony.”

“What?”

“Katie’s his fiancee. What happened with Lily was- an accident.”

“Are you fucking kidding me! I know he said he would never forgive her, but for Gryffindor’s hell of a hat… ”

“The girls are holding no excessive mortal grudge. Lily will settle in a calm neighborhood, she’ll have an old witch to help her with the baby.”

“At least that. The newspapers?”

“Those stupid blokes that call themselves journalists don’t say anything on the topic, too busy explaining why the Dark Lord is back after all. ”

“Hoping it’ll last, last thing we want is a scandal. But I guess the Ministry is covering them up. They still need them as a symbol.”

“Yeah. Defeated the Dark Lord thrice. But that bastard keeps coming back.”

“You know, it’s the first time I hear about Lily in two years.”

“I’m sorry, Moony.”

“Bloody fucking hell… Life’s a bitch.”

***

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...."

***

She let him in.

James came once a month, when Katie allowed him to. His wife was sensible to Harry being the result of adults’ mistakes, just a kid.

A kid bound to die.

Lily’s hands trembled every time she opened the door. She feared to see her nightmare, the blueish face, red eyes, coming to kill her son.

But only James and Peter knew where to find her, so she tried to ignore her fears.

Happy chirping called her in the living room. James had brought chocolate frogs, and all kinds of soft sweets were lying on the floor.

Of course.

He had once bought his son a broomstick, when the Quidditch season had started.

He was a good father.

In her letter, the letter with which she had broken their relationship, a little more than three years ago, Lily had mentioned how things are bound to happen, and how James and her were not one of these things.

Now that she saw him play on the carpet with Harry, the possibility that she may had been wrong squeezed her heart.

But Fate knows how to be cruel.

It will never tell you what decision you have to take.

It will never allow you to step back.

It will never warn you of any danger.

As James stood to leave, half an hour later, in this chilly night dressed in the colors of autumn, Fate confirmed once more its superiority with a single, blood freezing sound.

Somebody knocked on the door.

#jilytober #Lily evans #james potter #hpwriters #hpwritersnet #jilychallenge #jily #***writing #au #angst #y'all I DIED #it's almost 10k and it was so hard to write #i wanted to say more but it didn't fit #i hate jilytober #i hate myself for writing that

52 notes · View notes

women-inthe-sequel · 6 years

Text

Scarred Hearts (Jily)

JILY CHALLENGE | @women-inthe-sequel vs @curiosity-at-its-finnest angst + prompt: After 5 happy months together, Lily dumps James for his own safety from blood purists who were hurting him because they were together. After begging her for a reason, Lily lies and tells him, "I just don't love you anymore, James," and it hits him right in the gut. But, it hits her worse because she knows it's so far from the truth.

read on ao3

Sticks and stones may break my bones, her mother always said, but words will never hurt me.

From the time Lily was young, however, she knew that words had power.

Witch, they would call her where she came from, if they knew where she went for several months a year. Freak, her sister declared when the letter came. Mudblood, a former friend sneered, revealing what everyone else already saw.

The words etch themselves in her mind, even when she outwardly assures everyone else that they don’t matter.

New rumors shouldn’t get to her, but there is something different about these ones. From across the hall, she can hear every word that is meant for or about her.

“Yeah, that’s her. It’s sick, if you ask me.”

Lily determinedly faces away from the table at the other end of the hall. She tries to look like nothing rattles her and eats breakfast, as if sordid tales about what she was doing during the last Hogsmeade visit isn’t the topic of choice this morning.

“Heard they caught Evans with her hand down a girl’s skirt.”

Jamie squeezes her hand under the table. Ordinarily, it might make her heart skip or at least get Lily to smile. Now, it feels like a weight on her chest.

“In the alley, is what I heard.”

Setting her fork down noisily, Lily moves as if she’s going to try to leave. Jamie’s hand is insistent in hers when hazel and green eyes meet. “We don’t have anything to be ashamed of,” she whispers, and Lily almost believes her.

“They’re idiots,” Sirius adds from across the table. The fact that he says it through a mouthful of toast actually makes it feel more genuine.

“Mudblood whores like her will take anything they can get!”

At this, Lily snaps to attention. The word goes through her like a bolt of lightning, charring the branch of hope Jamie’s words inspired.

She’s aware suddenly that a hand is no longer in hers.

Lily whips her head around in time to see the star Gryffindor chaser running across the Great Hall. Her dark hair is going in every direction. There’s intent clear in her eyes, her tie is half undone as always, and damn it, Lily has never seen anyone so heartbreakingly beautiful.

Even when she’s being held back by two professors, shouting threats and vowing to do a whole lot worse than a punch.

Mulciber is on the ground for a few seconds, but he comes up snarling. Professor McGonagall casts a shield between them before there can be more blood.

Lily is out of her seat and by Jamie’s side in an instant, trying to evaluate what went so horribly wrong so quickly.

��Evans,” her Head of House says, relief clear in her voice at the sight of the generally more reasonable of the two Head Girls, “please escort Miss Potter to the Hospital Wing.”

She nods, not trusting herself to speak.

The visible struggle goes out of Jamie when Lily touches her arm, but she levels another threat toward the laughing group of Slytherins by the table. “I’m not finished with you!”

“That will be enough, Miss Potter! Another ten points from Gryffindor.”

Lily tugs on her arm urgently, desperate to get away from any prying questions and curious eyes. Thankfully, Jamie knows when to follow and does so now.

The Entrance Hall is quiet compared to the commotion of the Great Hall. It feels even quieter, because, for once, Jamie doesn’t try to fill the silence with noise. Lily doesn’t try to say anything until they’re in an empty corridor and behind a tapestry, safely tucked in a spot only known to four particular mapmakers and Lily.

The light hasn’t gone from Jamie’s eyes, though it has changed. Only a few minutes ago, it was something desperate and vicious. Now, it’s the more common kind of spark, as if this morning was some grand adventure she planned from the start.

“Did you see me, Evans? Defending your honor and all that?”

“Was that what that was?” Lily counters, voice fragile.

Jamie shrugs the same way she does when she gets caught in the middle of some prank. Like the whole world is a joke and she’s the only one who gets it. Like she’ll get another detention on her record and move on, learning another way to not get caught next time.

“‘Course,” she answers. “I’m not going to let them talk about you like that. Don’t girls like it when their boyfriends defend their honor?” A brief look of confusion momentarily crosses her face, but Jamie takes a step closer to Lily, her hands finding a familiar place on her waist. “I’m not exactly your boyfriend, but I thought you’d be happy.”

“You’re bleeding, and I’m supposed to be happy?”

Jamie’s gaze drops to her hand for the first time. “This?” She holds her split knuckles up to the light. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Lily shakes her head, the wall behind her back keeping her in Jamie’s hold. “You punched him. You never think about what you’re doing, and it’s going to -”

Jamie cuts Lily off by pressing her lips against hers.

It’s heaven and every lovely thing in the world and how she wants to spend the rest of her life. Lily melts against her, and Jamie pulls closer so more parts of them are touching. For a few seconds, nothing else matters except never letting this feeling disappear.

When she remembers what happened at breakfast, Lily makes herself push Jamie away. Even now, she can’t make herself take her hands off her shoulders. Touching her somewhere is better than nothing.

“You can’t just kiss me and make this go away, Potter.”

“And why not?”

“We can’t. They don’t even want purebloods like you talking to people like me. If they knew -”

Jamie doesn’t let her finish. “I don’t care, Lily!” She can hear the note of anger in Jamie’s voice, and Lily doesn’t think it’s only directed at the Slytherins.

“We have to care! It’s not that easy, Jamie. Don’t you know what they’re capable of? They could hurt you, they could...”

Hands are in her hair, and she doesn’t have the energy to pull away. She doesn’t want to pull away. She wants things to be as easy as the other girl thinks they can be. She wants to hug herself close and forget about everything else.

Softly, Jamie pressed a kiss to her forehead. Lily lets herself release a sob when words don’t work and buries her face in Jamie’s neck. The arms around her don’t make everything go away, but they do make her feel better.

Slowly, she pulls away and wipes her face with the back of her hand. Jamie runs her thumb over Lily’s cheeks, brushing away tear tracks.

Before either of them can say anything else, Lily pulls Jamie down, fits her body against hers, and kisses her.

Although Jamie let her clean the worst of it and wrap her knuckles with a bandage, Lily wonders if it was the best thing to do. The whole school knew about the fight McGonagall stopped, so she doesn’t really see the logic in not going to Madame Pomfrey. Jamie insists, though, and Lily doesn’t have the heart to enforce something that might not matter.

One night, with their legs tangled in the covers of Lily’s bed and the curtains pulled shut to keep everyone else out, Lily adds Jamie’s arm to the list of places she seeks to memorize with her mouth. She isn’t deterred from her mission when her lips brush across Jamie’s pulse point and make her giggle.

Jamie’s hand closes abruptly, however, when Lily’s mouth makes it to the back of her hand.

“You think it’s going to scar?”

Lily drops a row of kisses across Jamie’s knuckles and nods. “Yeah. Probably.”

“Good.” Lily looks up and sees a familiar half smirk that she can draw from memory. “Reminder to everyone not to mess with my girl.”

In the moment, Lily rolls her eyes, decides to leave the memorization of her hand for another day, and presses Jamie into the mattress.

Now, she can’t stop thinking about the fact that she’s the cause of an actual scar, something permanent, something forever.

Jamie may think it’s nothing, but Lily is used to her dismissing every injury as if it’s a papercut. When she’s nearly knocked off her broom in the middle of a Quidditch match, she insists that it was only for dramatic effect. When a prank goes slightly awry and she comes back to the Common Room with a black eye, she calls it nothing more than a laugh.

For days, she carries the guilt inside of her.

To avoid it, Lily starts kissing her in increasingly dangerous places. Breaks between classes are chances to sneak away and forget about everything except Jamie’s mouth and hands. Any time that isn’t taken by schoolwork or mandatory responsibilities is spent memorizing each other. In the middle of rounds, Lily hooks her leg around Jamie’s hip and dares her to make her scream.

When they’re alone, it feels like it can be all right.

As soon as they’re back, however, she wonders if she’s making it worse. This path can lead to exactly what scares her. Rumors can become confirmed fact, and the new scar on Jamie’s hand will look like child’s play.

And what does Jamie think about Lily’s inability to keep her hands off of her?

Jamie grins crookedly at her over breakfast, and Lily almost breaks.

So, it’s her only choice. She has to end this while her heart will be the one that’s permanently broken.

She lets herself watch for a second from the edge of the room. Jamie is laughing with her friends and running a hand through her hair in that maddeningly charming way. Anyone could fall in love with her bravery, her humor, her.

For just a little while, Lily got to be that anyone.

Relying on a small dose of courage, Lily pulls Jamie aside with nothing more than a tap on her shoulder when she passes. Almost instantly, she drops the essay she’s pretending to work on and follows Lily out of the portrait hole.

Then, it’s all happening too fast because they’re in a secluded alcove that has seen far more pleasant times between them.

Jamie tries to kiss her neck, but Lily holds her hands up.

The other girl’s brow knits, and her hand rests on Lily’s hip. “All right, Evans?”

Lily forces it out before she loses her nerve.

“I can’t do this anymore.”

Jamie’s face immediately falls. “What?”

“This.” She gestures between them and feels Jamie’s grip on her hip tighten. “I can’t… We can’t do this - us - anymore.” Lily makes herself hold her gaze, even though she can swear that she hears her own heart breaking in her chest.

She has to do it now. Waiting will only make it worse. Waiting is the cowardly option. Waiting will hurt her more.

“You’re breaking up with me?” Jamie’s voice sounds the way Lily would never describe her - weak.

Lily nods. “It’s better for both of us if -”

“I don’t care about any of that nonsense.” The temporary weakness in Jamie’s tone is replaced with something more common. Anger. “We’re happy. You’re happy. I know you are, Lily, so you don’t mean that.”

“I - I do mean it,” she answers quickly, unable to hide the waver in her voice.

“No, there’s some…” Jamie’s hand moves to her shoulder, urgency written across her entire body. “What did they say to you?”

“Nothing,” Lily says. “No one said anything.” Her voice already has an edge of hoarseness from swallowing back tears. This is the lie she’s practiced until she can almost fool herself. “I just don’t love you anymore.”

As quickly as the anger came, it disappears. Jamie’s hand falls from her shoulder. Her glasses slide down her nose, but she doesn't notice. She doesn’t seem to notice anything when Lily’s worst words hit their target.

Lily wraps her arms around her middle to prevent herself from reaching out to comfort the person she wants to protect from all pain. She’s the cause of it now, she knows, but this is temporary. It’s saving Jamie from future pain, from worse pain. It’s what she has to do.

Jamie will marry a nice, pureblood man and have nice, pureblood children and make her nice, pureblood mother cry tears of joy. Jamie has a whole life in front of her, and there’s no room in it for mudbloods with dirt on their knees and in their blood.

Before Jamie can see her cry, Lily slips past her and back to the Gryffindor dormitory to hide under the covers of her lonely bed.

Keeping to herself is the easiest solution. Lily wakes up before everyone else, pulls the curtains closed around her bed before anyone comes upstairs, and specifically avoids the gazes of four particular Gryffindors.

When she walks into Potions class, though, she isn’t prepared. Her usual chair, right next to Jamie, is open. She’s halfway there before she realizes that it was where she was headed.

Lily looks up, meeting Jamie’s eyes for the first time since she broke everything.

They aren’t filled with the light that made her pulse dance. Instead, dark circles mirror the ones that reflect back to Lily in the mirror each morning. She can only stomach it for a few seconds before she casts her eyes down and then across the room, searching for anywhere else to go.

Slowly, Lily makes her way to the back of the classroom and drops her bag by a chair. It’s the only spot that isn’t next to a Slytherin or her heartbreak. She can handle Potions without a partner better than trying to pretend that everything is okay in front of people who don’t know why it isn’t.

Sirius turns around in his chair to face her, his eyes piercing. Lily remembers when that stare was used to protect Jamie and her. She swallows and looks down at her parchment.

Once she’s seated, Lily really notices the fumes wafting from the cauldron in the front of the room. They reach her, even in the back row.

Peanut butter cups. Fresh air.

A familiar mix of fresh cut grass and faint perfume.

But no, she forces her brain to insist, despite the obvious. It’s just a breeze that sent the scent her way from the girl a few rows ahead of her. Forget that they’re in a dungeon with no windows to allow in a stray wind. She’s so used to smelling it near her and on her sheets that it’s following her. It has to be.

Professor Slughorn’s handwriting on the board, however, doesn’t lie. Amortentia.

Lily freezes. When they were sneaking into each other’s beds every other night, the scent started to linger, even when Jamie was gone. Since breaking it off, she’s pressed her face against her pillow, trying to catch any leftover trace of the other person who used to be there.

She would know it anywhere.

The only movement she registers is a dark head of hair in front of her, twisting to see the back of the room. Lily refuses to look anywhere near her eyes. She stares determinedly ahead at the board, seeing nothing and not letting her eyes drift.

As soon as Slughorn dismisses them, Lily is out of the room like a shot. She’s still stuffing a book in her bag as she walks, determined to let nothing disrupt her path.

Sitting in class is hard enough, even without Jamie’s smell surrounding her. Attending one might have taken all of her strength for the day. Maybe it won’t matter if she misses the next one. If she can make it to the girls’ bathroom on the second floor, they’ll mistake her tears for Myrtle.

A hand grabs her arm and stops her. Lily’s book hits the floor.

They’re already away from the noise of dismissed students, since she set a furious pace, but someone pushes her into an empty hallway.

Her back is against the wall and that scent is everywhere. Lily can barely think when she is so close, her hands on Lily’s shoulders and body only inches from hers.

“I know what you smelled in there,” Jamie whispers, since they’re close enough to do so.

“I don’t - I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The Quidditch Pitch. Treacle tart. You. That’s what I smelled.”

Lily shakes her head, still determined to avoid Jamie’s eyes. If she doesn’t look up, if she can just slip away… It’s hard now, and it’s going to be hard for the rest of her life, but Jamie has a chance to move on, a chance to get out before the war takes her too.

“You lied,” Jamie says, voice louder this time. “I know you love me. Like I love you, Lily. I love you.”

“Don’t,” Lily answers, feeling heat behind her eyes that she can’t stop. She isn’t in the bathroom or behind her four poster curtains. She can’t let anyone see her break, and now she’s about to break in front of the person who she needs to hide from the most.

“Don’t what? Love you? It’s too late for that, Evans.”

Fingers under Lily’s chin make her look up. It’s a command, but the touch isn’t rough. It’s still gentle, even when power is radiating from Jamie in waves. Even when she is pressed between Jamie and a wall, she doesn’t feel unsafe. Even when she knows this is one of the most dangerous places to be, her body wants to find its place against Jamie.

Lily finally meets Jamie’s eyes and a sob catches in her throat. “Someone is going to see.”

“Let them.”

“Jamie, they’ll hurt you, they’ll -”

Their foreheads touch, and Lily wishes she could see a way forward. She wants to forget about the war and slip her fingers under Jamie’s shirt. She wants how they feel about each other, how they make each other feel, to be the only things that matter.

“Then we’ll fight. Together.”

Lily shakes her head. How doesn’t she understand? How can Lily ask her to give up safety just to be with someone, just to be with her? “I can’t do that to you. I can’t make you choose.”

Jamie shrugs, the trace of a familiar smile at the corner of her mouth. “Too late, Evans.”

“It’s not a joke, Potter.”

“I’m not joking. Not about this.”

The flicker of light is back in Jamie’s eyes. It’s the way she eyes at the goal posts at the end of the Quidditch Pitch when she formulates her next play. It’s the way she looks at Lily before tackling her on the bed and making her giggle.

It’s the way Jamie makes her feel. Like anything is possible and they’re capable of fighting the world because they have the nerve to try.

“You,” Jamie says, closing the distance between them to kiss her nose, “are worth fighting for. More than worth it.”

Before she can let fear drive her again, Lily tangles her fingers in Jamie’s permanently mussed hair and rises to meet her.

#curiosity-at-its-finnest #jilychallenge #marieka writes #female james potter #angst with a happy ending #jily #jily fic #jily fanfic #fem!jily #jilytober #scarred hearts #jamie & lily

47 notes · View notes

golemqueen · 6 years

Text

JILY CHALLENGE April | @2upergirl vs @scaredofrobots

@jilychallenge sorry for just BARELY making the deadline! I’m not totally happy with how this turned out but it’s long and plotted so I can’t complain.

prompt: lily panic kissing prince james after saving him from a ship wreck because "oh my god she's not breathing cRAP what do i do" little mermaid au

i kinda just went ‘little mermaid au’. I hope you enjoy!!

Voice of Reason

When Severus promised Lily to bring her to a seawitch, Lily had thought that was an exaggeration. She hadn’t been expecting...this.

The witch was woman on top, draped in pale pink-stained seaweed, and instead of one tail, she had eight bright pink tentacles. She was stirring some sort of pot that glowed a menacing fuchsia. Lily’s red hair would definitely clash with the ambiance.

Severus pushed aside the gauzy curtain in front of the cave and prodded Lily forward. “Come on,” he said. “It’s rude to keep her waiting, don’t you think?”

Still Lily hesitated, her green tail swishing side to side indecisively. “I’m not sure, Sev. I’m a little—”

“Frightened?” The seawitch had spotted them, and now approached with a wide grin that reminded Lily a bit of the sharks that frequented the same sunken ships that she did. “Now, now, dear. There’s no need to be scared. Come in, tell me what it is I can do for you.”

Lily and Severus swam through the curtain to join her.

“Tell her what you told me,” Severus said, nudging her with his tail. “She can help, I promise.”

“Well—okay,” Lily said dubiously. “I’m a half-mer, er—Madam Seawitch—”

The seawitch’s grin widened. “Dolores, dear.”

“Dolores. I’m a half-mer, and during my time on land I’ve become completely enamored with human culture. I’m an aspiring anthropologist, you see. And, well, I was hoping—I was hoping you could help my legs last longer.”

Dolores was still smiling. “Well, dear, I’m afraid I haven’t met many half-breeds. Am I right in saying that when you emerge from the sea, you only have twenty-four hours before your legs turn back into a tail, correct? And then twenty-four hours until you can go back on land with legs. That’s not very conducive for a thorough study.”

“It’s not,” Lily agreed, bristling a little at her half-breed comment. “I was hoping to go undercover. See how humans act around other humans, take notes on their behavior—”

“I understand.” The seawitch turned back to her cauldron. “Severus told me you might be coming, so I took the liberty of brewing a little something.” She scooped the potion into a vial, then held it out to Lily. When Lily reached out to take it, however, Dolores snatched it back. “One teensy little caveat,” she said sweetly. “I require something of you in return.”

Lily began fishing around in her bag. “Of course. I have several gold coins recovered from an old human shipwreck—”

“Not your money, dearest. I need something of the humans’.” Dolores held the vial up to the light. “The humans only have three sources of power, called the Deathly Hallows. The palace by the sea holds one of them.” She set the vial of potion on the lip of the cauldron. “The Cloak of Invisibility. I want it.”

“That’s all?” Lily asked warily. “You want me to steal from the Royal Treasury?”

“I don’t think it’ll be quite so easily accomplished.” The seawitch pulled a scroll from behind her, unfurling it as she spoke. “These are my terms. You will have your legs for a week, but if you goes back in the sea for any reason, if your legs so much as touch the ocean, they’ll turn back into a tail permanently.”

Lily read over the terms. Freshwater would not have any effect, so drinking while human would be permissible, but so much as a toe in saltwater would unravel the spell and leave her with a tail forever. No more midnight strolls on the beach, no more visits to her human friends. But avoiding the ocean for a week didn’t seem too hard...

“One more thing,” Dolores added as Lily reached for the proffered quill. “Should you fail, and not bring me back this cloak by the end of the week, I will steal your voice.”

“My voice?” Lily asked, her tail flicking in surprise.

Dolores swept the quill through the water carelessly. “Just an insurance policy. I’m sure you understand.”

Lily took the quill. “What do you need the Hallow for?” she asked.

Dolores was smiled indulgently. “I’m an avid collector of magical items,” she said. “Now come along, dear. Light is wasting, and this counts as your first day.”

Lily signed her name.

James was hiding.

This in and of itself was not unusual; he often hid from his duties, with “annoying regularity”, according to his dear mother. What was odd about it was that no one was able to see him, even when they walked into the parlor where he sat with his book, remarked on the oddness of a roaring fire in an empty room, and then left.

It appeared that the cloak he and Sirius had nicked from the locked vault in the second dungeon was somewhat special after all. When they discovered that the hidden room they’d spent the better half of an hour trying to break into was empty, save for a dusty old cloak, Sirius had stormed out in disgust. James figured it would at least make a good blanket, and took it anyways. What he had not figured was that it would turn out to be the legendary Invisibility Cloak.

When Remus appeared in the doorway, James let the cloak slide to the floor.

“There you are,” Remus said, relief coloring his voice. “The queen asked me to fetch you ages ago. No one’s been able to find you. She needs you to interview some marine biologist looking to stay at the castle and use our resources.”

James, who had been hoping for something more interesting from the man who had been tirelessly searching for him, stuck his nose back in his book. “Make Sirius do it.”

“Sirius isn’t actually a prince.”

“Really? Has anyone told him that?” James waved a hand, not looking up and settling deeper into his armchair. “You do it, then. As my Official Royal Advisor, you are now qualified to do whatever duties I deem you fit for.”

Remus groaned. “Sirius and I were going to dinner.”

“Have the chef make you something and eat during the interview.”

“James, you do know the topic of marine biology isn’t exactly conducive to a romantic atmosphere.”

“Isn’t it? Perhaps that’s why I’ve had miserable luck with women.” James idly turned a page. “It’s my day off, Remus. Call me if anything interesting happens.”

Remus paused on his way slouching out the door. “Actually, there was. Apparently an ancient magical artifact went missing from the vaults. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

James shook his head, surreptitiously sliding the cloak under his armchair with his foot.

“I see. And the fact that you appeared from nowhere earlier, that wouldn’t have anything to do with the magical artifact you’re so desperately trying to hide from me?”

James leapt up, swearing. “Damn it, Moony, why are you so damn perceptive?”

“It’s a curse,” Remus said dully. “I won’t tell anyone, if only because I suspect Sirius had more to do with the theft than you. But you have to interview the marine biologist. She’s waiting in the foyer.”

“Fine, fine. Have a nice dinner with Sirius.” He spat the last part like it was a curse, and to his irritation Remus merely smiled.

“I will, thank you.”

James left the cloak under the armchair (because who on earth would think to look there?) and slunk down to the foyer where a woman was indeed waiting for him. Her bright orange hair seemed damp and fell loose and curled about her shoulders. She wore a short-sleeved pale blue dress that hit at her ankles, revealing brown boots. James dragged his gaze up from her ankles to her face, which looked displeased at having been forced to wait.

“Apologies,” he said smoothly, heading off a complaint. “I’ve been incredibly busy today. Would you care to follow me into the drawing room, where we can sit comfortably?” Not waiting for her to answer, he marched through the white double doors, expecting her to follow. She did, slipping slightly on the polished marble flooring. He sat with a flourish in the armchair closest to the large window, and she sat gingerly across from him. After nothing from the chair she sat in leapt to attack her, she settled into the seat.

“Thank you for seeing me,” she said. Her voice was huskier than he expected, as if she’d been gargling salt water while he’d lurked upstairs reading. “I realize I’m putting you in an odd position.”

“Well, we live in a coastal kingdom,” James allowed. “The merpeople wouldn’t fault us for wanting to study the ocean.”

The woman leaned forward. “Your Highness, I’ve had...close contact with merpeople. I believe this puts me in the unique position to tell you that yes, they will fault you. They will see you as encroaching on their territory.,”

James ran a hand through his hair. “Then why are you here?”

“Because I believe the work I do is important.” The woman was staring at him in a way that struck him as odd, her eyes wide and unblinking. “I want to improve relations between merpeople and humans. I recognize that that is a controversial wish—”

“Not to me,” James interrupted. “Very well. I have a few questions for you, Miss...?”

“Lily,” the woman said.

James paused, but she didn’t continue. “Miss—er—”

The woman—Lily—paused for a moment. Then she seemed to remember that it was impolite to call a woman by her first name, and supplied him hastily with her last. “Evans. Lily Evans.”

Her falter intrigued him. “Miss Evans. Where did you attend schooling? Forgive me, but we don’t find many female scientists these days.”

Miss Evans blinked, finally. “Hogwarts. I don’t know if you’re familiar—”

A wry smiled was twisting on James’ lips. “I’m very familiar. I attended there myself. How old are you, Miss Evans?”

“N-nineteen,” she said, her cool demeanor faltering.

“Ah, we would have been in the same year!” Smile widening, James continued. “I think I may have seen you around a few times. Slughorn sure was a handful, wasn’t he?”

“Y-yes,” Miss Evans stammered. “He was.”

James propped his chin on his hand. She wasn’t a skilled liar. He switched tactics. “What do you think of the colony of merpeople that live off the coast?”

She regained her composure surprisingly quickly. “I’ve studied their behavior as closely as one can from land, and I believe that, with a tactful approach, they would be open to negotiations for an alliance.”

“Negotiations,” he repeated. “With whom? Who speaks Mermish?”

“I do,” she said. “I have a friend who is a merhuman.”

James’ eyes widened, forgetting briefly that she’d been lying to him and he’d been interrogating her. “Really? Who? Do they breathe underwater as a human, too? Can they control the change?”

Miss Evans looked shocked. “I—I did interview her as a part of my research. I plan on including my findings on half-mers in my thesis.”

James tilted his head. “I don’t know if I can trust you, Miss Evans.”

He’d expected to unsettle her again. Instead, she surprised him by smiling. “And I don’t know if I can trust you, your Highness. Isn’t life funny that way?”

James laughed. “You’re hired, Miss Evans. Stay here—I’ll send a maid to bring you to your new room. I expect weekly progress reports.”

Miss Evans nodded her gratitude, but there was something in her eyes that made him think she had no intention of staying indefinitely.

James wanted to call her bluff, to question her further. But something about her beauty was arresting; he couldn’t bring himself to say anything that would cause her to leave. So he went to find his mother to arrange Miss Evans’ stay.

***

Lily hadn’t ended up needing the fake credentials Frank had prepared for her, and for that she was grateful. He and Alice were waiting for her in town, outside a small dress shop Lily planned on patronizing.

Alice ran to hug her. “How did it go?”

“Fine,” Lily said. “I may need to introduce you to the prince as my half-mer contact, though. All my personal experience will need to be passed off as interviews with you. I wouldn’t ask you to reveal yourself unless I have to—”

“Say no more,” Alice said, holding her at arm’s length so as to peer into her eyes. “I’d be happy to help you in your subterfuge. And Frank and I will treat you to your wardrobe for the week.”

Lily tried to refuse, but Frank ushered her in. “We only ever need a few dresses for Alice, since she’s only on land for a day at a time. We have the budget for some for you.”

“And once your week is up, you can continue to wear them whenever you surface instead of just borrowing mine,” Alice smiled sweetly. “Though that one does look lovely on you.”

“What’s your plan?” Frank asked. “About the Hallow, I mean.”

“I don’t really have one,” Lily admitted as Alice waved a tailor over. “He seems surprisingly receptive to the idea of working with merpeople. I wonder...I wonder if I might be able to set up a meeting with Dumbledore.”

Alice froze. “You really think Dumbledore would approve of your seeing the seawitch?”

“Well,” Lily hedged, “I hadn’t thought that part out yet.”

The tailor bustled over. “I’ll take you into the back room, dear,” she said. “What are you looking for?”

Lily opened her mouth to answer, but Frank cut her off. “Three day dresses and a ball gown will suffice, don’t you think?”

Alice was nodding. “In case of a special event, yes. And we’ll need a few underthings as well—she’s just moved from out of town and her wardrobe won’t be delivered for another week, poor thing.”

The seamstress nodded sympathetically, taking Lily’s arm and making to drag her away.

“You can’t,” Lily protested. “It’s too much—”

Frank waved a hand. “It’s still my mother’s money,” he said. “She’s spent it on worse causes than you.”

As Lily was led into the back, she wondered what, exactly, she’d gotten herself into.

With every step Severus took, he hated land more. Dusk was falling, hopefully obscuring any of the human’s view of him emerging from the sea. The castle loomed ahead, imposing but beautiful, and Severus’ heart skipped a beat. Lily was in there, somewhere.

She was too good. She wouldn’t have it in her to take anything from the filthy human prince. But he wouldn’t let her lose her legs, her access to humanity. Severus might not have been able to understand her love of the humans, or how she felt anything but disgust at how her tail split, like his, but he knew they were important to her. He couldn’t let her squander her life underwater for a week of life in a castle.

She didn’t know what was best for her. He did.

Lily was given a room that overlooked the ocean, with seafoam green walls and pillows shaped like shells. Whoever had appointed her this room must have wrongfully assumed that she longed to be under the sea, swimming with merpeople and frolicking in the waves.

She drew the curtains to block out the view and sat down at the desk to draw out a plan.

Pens and paper on the surface were always so odd; the paper ripped easily, and the squid ink stayed in the jar when she opened it. Dipping the pen into the jar, she began to compose her plan.

She would need to spend time by the ocean, pretending to take notes on the water quality or whatever, but in reality watching the humans on the beach. How did they interact with the threat so close at hand? She often saw them, spread out in chairs with their children shrieking and playing, seemingly unaware of the danger. How did they do it?

At least being in the castle gave her an excuse to dine with human nobility. Perhaps she could understand why the humans put their faith and money in them. They didn’t seem to be the wisest or bravest or kindest or shrewdest, as the leaders underwater had to be.

There was a knock at the door. Lily hastily placed the nearest book on top of her notes and rose to answer it.

The prince stood in the door. “My mother has requested your presence at dinner,” he said. “I was running late myself, and figured I’d offer to escort you.” He offered his arm.

“I don’t think I’m dressed properly—”

Prince James waved this away. “Dinners with my mother tend to be casual affairs. It’ll just be my brother and I, and a few members of my mother’s court.”

At least the dress was new. Lily looped her arm through his and allowed him to lead her to the dining hall.

It was not what she had expected. The hall was large, yes, but the many tables stood empty, save for a long one at the end of the room. A stately woman Lily recognized as the queen sat in a green velvet dress, laughing at something a handsome man with long, dark hair had told her. James led Lily to the table, depositing her next to a man in a frayed brown suit and then kissing his mother on the cheek.

“You must be Lily,” the man said, his eyes smiling. “I’m Remus.” He shook her hand rather than kissing it, and Lily hoped this meant that he regarded her as a colleague.

“The newest member of our little court,” the queen announced with a hint of laughter in her voice. “We’ve never had a marine biologist visit. We’ve never had anyone other than James interested in the merpeople. And with the latest threats from underwater, we’re happy to have any help.”

Lily gave a deep curtsey, a maneuver she still found difficult to do with legs. Luckily, her full skirt hid how oddly her knees bent. “Your Majesty,” she said. “Thank you for hosting me.”

“Please,” the queen said, laughing. “Call me Euphemia.”

The man next to her leaned over Remus, his hand outstretched. “Sirius Black. Royal Pain.” Lily took his hand, her lips twisting into an odd smile as she sat down.

“Finally,” James said, raising his hands towards the skies. “He admits it!”

“Where’s Peter?” the queen asked. “I thought you said he’d be joining us.”

James shrugged. “Went for a walk, or something.”

“Moody and Shacklebolt have been held up,” Remus said. “I’m afraid it’s just us for dinner, Euphemia.”

“No matter,” she said briskly. “Sirius, dear, would you run to the kitchens and let them know we’re ready?”

Sirius pushed back from the table, his hand lingering for a moment on Remus’ shoulder, then disappeared through a side door. Lily noticed the emptiness of the room, a distinct lack of all the servants she’d read about and seen on her brief previous jaunts through town.

James caught her looking around. “A lot of the servants left after the last threat from the merpeople,” he explained. “And the rest we let go, except for the essential lot.”

“What would you know about the last threat, Lily? In your...expert opinion.” Euphemia asked airily enough, but something in her eyes was sharp.

Lily cleared her throat. “From my research and experience” (i.e.: her life up until this point) “it’s actually a radical faction of human-hating merpeople. The vast majority appear content to coexist and live separately.” She didn’t mention those half-mers who were looked down upon by even that vast majority.

“Well,” Euphemia said, as Sirius returned. “That’s comforting, at least. My son tells me you speak Mermish?”

“I do.”

“Good. We’ve found a document that washed ashore earlier today that we haven’t been able to decode. Maybe you’ll be able to take a look at it.”

A man in a white chef’s coat backed through the door, his arms laden with plates. James and Remus rose to help him carry them to the table. Sirius tucked his napkin into the collar of his shirt.

James set a platter of what looked like blackened sea bass in front of Lily, who stared into its deadened eyes in horror. She’d known humans ate fish but...knowing and seeing were two very different things. What was the word for humans who didn’t eat fish.

“I’m actually...” she scrounged for the word. “Vegetable. I’m vegetable.” No. That didn’t sound right.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “You’re...a vegetarian?”

That was it. “Yes,” she said. “That’s what I said.”

“You said vegetable.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Enough, children,” Euphemia said. “Lily, we have some steamed vegetables as well—Remus, dear, please pass them down—”

Lily accepted the bowl gratefully, relieved as the dead fish was moved away from her. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to be an imposition.”

“Of course not.” Euphemia tucked into dinner. “As soon as you’re done, you’ll dive right into translating the message we found and prove yourself useful.”

Lily did not prove herself useful, but only because there was no way in hell she was translating this document.

It was a letter from her sister.

Dear Lily,

I heard about what you did. I haven’t told our parents yet, but you’d better hope you fail and end up with a tail forever or you’ll be eaten alive by those humans. I can’t believe you’d go and flaunt those freakish things with the humans. I haven’t told Vernon about you yet, and it’s getting very hard to explain your absence.

Petunia

Lily didn’t know how she’d heard, but the message in the bottle had apparently washed up right outside the castle, just as Petunia had undoubtedly intended. Lily set the paper aside in disgust. Trust Petunia to ruin her first ever assignment.

Instead of translating, Lily wrote a letter:

To the humans:

Those of us who walk among you regret that we cannot serve as ambassadors without facing discrimination from both sides of the conflict. War is not necessary, but you must show the first effort.

A friend

“From a half-mer?” James asked skeptically, holding up her “translation”. “Are you sure? We haven’t heard or seen from any of them.”

“Well, they wouldn’t exactly make their presence known,” Lily said crossly. “Not when risk of discovery means imprisonment on land and shunning under the sea.”

James raked a hand through his hair. “Imprisonment? There’s no law—”

“It’s not official imprisonment,” she said sourly. “People kidnap half-mers, and when they turn back peel off their scales and sell them, one by one. I once had to break a friend out of captivity, but not before she’d lost two scales.” She shuddered at the memory. She’d been close to turning back herself by the time she’d freed Alice, and the two had gotten a serious talking to from Dumbledore when they returned to school.

“That’s awful,” James said, setting the paper down. “I’ll talk to my mother, see if we can’t get some laws into effect banning that sort of thing.” He tilted his head, taking in her tired appearance. “How would you like to go to lunch with me tomorrow?”

Lily blinked. “Lunch? Why?”

James smiled faintly. “I was...well, I was hoping we could talk more about mer-human relations. I’ve always wanted to open communication with their leader, what’s-his-name—”

“Dumbledore,” Lily supplied promptly. “He’s absolutely wonderful.”

“Have you heard much about him?”

Lily wanted to jump in and exclaim, Heard of him? I’ve met the man! He’s tutored me! He’s spectacular! But, for obvious reasons, could not. “My half-mer contact,” she explained lamely. “She...talks a lot about him.”

“So,” James said, now looking nervous. “Lunch? Tomorrow? With me? There’s a great little restaurant I’ve heard about—no seafood, of course,” he said, grinning. Lily’s heart warmed.

“Of course,” she said. “I’d love to.”

Day 2

Severus was lurking in the shadows of an alleyway, waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the castle, when he saw them.

The flash of red hair, the swirl of emerald skirts so close to the color of her tail. Lily was dismounting from a carriage, her feet slipping to find purchase on the cobblestones. Gracefully, the human prince descended beside her, laughing. Laughing at her.

Severus’ fists clenched, but Lily was laughing too. He edged closer.

“I’ve never had tea in a tearoom before,” she was admitting. She looked lively, surrounded by a small lush garden in front of the shop, her dress trailing across the spring grasses. On land, her hair hung below her elbows, rather than floating up around her ears. Severus had seen her out of the water before, but not in a while. While Lily loved exploring, he would always wait in the shallows for her to return, splashing in just in time for her legs to turn back into a tail.

The prince was gasping dramatically, ushering her inside. Severus could see them through the window. Lily touched his arm, brushing her hair behind her shoulder as she laughed.

He needed to get inside that castle, soon.

Lily was so caught up in a story James was telling her she almost forgot to be taking notes on the human behavior around her. Though, truth be told, it was not much different than a mermish cafe.

“You know what’s always fascinated me?” James asked idly, stirring far too much sugar into his tea. “Merpeople’s magic. They’ve got so much of it.”

“Not everyone has magic,” Lily said quickly. “Only a few seawitches and the like. Even then, their powers are unstable and unpredictable.”

James tapped the small silver spoon against the edge of his teacup. “All we have is the Invisibility Cloak, which isn’t even particularly impressive magic—” he broke off. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

Lily’s heart skipped a beat. He knew about the Hallow. “Your secret is safe with me,” she assured him. “But I’ve always been so interested in the Hallows...could you tell me anything about it?”

It had been a mistake. He was closing off. “What were you going to do today?” he asked. “Did you have a plan to study the merpeople?”

“Oh—er, yes,” she said quickly. “I was planning on meeting up with my half-mer contact again today. She said she might be able to, uh, fetch me some artifacts now that I have somewhere to keep them and study them.” Lily watched him, to see if he grew suspicious. But he was just nodding, as if this sounded entirely reasonable.

“When I was little, I used to wish I was a merman,” he said. “Or a half-mer. I’d go swimming in the ocean and just pray and pray that my legs would turn into a tail.”

Lily’s blood turned cold. She had a feeling she knew exactly where this story was going, and she didn’t like it at all.

“One day,” he said, staring into his teacup, “When I was about eleven, I swam too far out. Sirius got scared and ran back home, but it was too late. I slipped under the water and couldn’t breathe. And then I saw her.”

He had been almost unconscious when she’d found him. His black hair floating around his face, his mouth open and trailing tiny bubbles. Despite her legs, Lily had always been strictly forbidden from going ashore until she was sixteen. But here was a stubbornly human boy, drowning in front of her.

“She had hair like yours,” he remarked.

Exactly like hers, actually.

“And she swam me back to the surface and set me down on the beach. She had to have been about my age, and she saved my life.” He took a deep breath, turning the teacup in his hands. The whole shop seemed to have faded away as Lily remembered leaving him on the beach, the sand darkening around his wet form, her tail tingling and splitting until she was the proud owner of two legs, wrapped in a scaly skirt that was quickly falling apart. “Ever since that day I’ve been determined to find make things right between humans and merpeople. To repay her.”

Lily wanted to tell him. She wanted to grab his hands and tell him that that day had changed her life, too. She’d stood on dry land for the first time and taken in the view, and decided she wanted to know everything there was to know about the human world.

But instead, she took a sip of tea. “That’s admirable,” she said finally. “I hope I can help you.”

“I think you already have.”

Day 3

Lily spent a lot of time in the library, something James found quite odd. He’d assumed she’d come to his castle specifically due to its proximity to the sea, and figured she’d want to spend all her time down at the shore. Every time he’d offered however, she’d blush and refuse. Apparently she didn’t want to go anywhere near the ocean, and was fascinated by the vast library.

Every time he stuck his head in, she was reading a different book, none of them on marine biology. She had a pile of history books, a few novels, and, curiously enough, a sociology textbook.

“Part of the reason I came here was for your library,” she finally admitted. “It’d seem a shame to waste the opportunity.”

He didn’t entirely believe her. She’d gone completely white the day before while he’d told her about his experience with the mermaid, and he didn’t know what to make of that.

Peter was waiting for him outside. “Remus told me about the Cloak,” he said eagerly. “Can we take it out for a spin?”

“It’s not a new carriage,” James said. “It’s all I have left of my father.”

Peter left soon after.

James kept the Cloak on him at all times, ever since Lily had let slip her interest in it. He still didn’t trust her entirely, but more importantly, he didn’t trust himself around her. He’d had no intention of telling her all that yesterday, but it had all come out anyway.

He turned to reenter the library only to find her standing behind him, her wide eyes full of sympathy. “The Cloak,” she said. “It was your father’s? I’m sorry I asked about it yesterday, I—I didn’t know it had sentimental value.”

For once, she seemed to sincere James consciously decided to share with her. “He’d hidden it away, but after he died I took it upon myself to hunt for it. I only just found it.”

She seemed sad, suddenly. “I see. If you don’t mind my asking...what happened to your father?”

“Scalepox,” he blurted out. “Sometimes the merpeople poison the fish they know is going to be eaten by humans. Usually, we can detect it, but...” he shrugged. “It was a year ago.”

“I’m sorry.” She took his hand. “I’m really, truly sorry. For what it’s worth, poisoning fish is illegal underwater. So whoever killed your father is likely imprisoned.”

James exhaled and changed the subject. “How about a walk on the beach? You look like you could use a break.”

She started. “I—can’t. Sorry. I’ve got a lot of work to do, and I was hoping to observe the town for a bit.”

“Observe the town? Why would you need to observe the town?”

Her face turned bright red, clashing with her hair. “I—” he could practically see her thoughts racing. “I was hoping to see if I could spot a half-mer among humans. See how well they can pass, you know.” She drew herself up, an attempt to regain composure. “My half-mer contacts can only get me so far.”

“I see.” James ran a hand through his hair. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

He left her there in the hallway, gazing after him.

Euphemia delivered her another message that afternoon.

Dear Lily,

Dumbledore knows you’ve gone. He’s not doing anything about it, and I don’t know why. Severus is also missing, but I don’t know where he’s gone. The last time I saw him he was with you. I know he can’t have followed you, but have you happened to have seen him? Dumbledore is starting to worry.

Petunia

Lily again drafted another letter of sympathy as a translation and handed it back to Euphemia, but she puzzled over the second note from her sister. Severus was missing as well? Very few people knew that Sev was a half-mer like her, but he hated the land. There was practically no chance he’d followed her onto land, and even if he had, he’d have to return to the sea every twenty-four hours.

The fact that Dumbledore knew was worrying. If he changed his mind and did something, would the seawitch’s spell end? Would her legs turn back into a tail? She didn’t want to think about it.

Staying away from the ocean was proving difficult. So far avoiding seawater hadn’t been too hard, but eventually James would get too suspicious of her. The books from the library had been so perfect, though. Reading them had made up weeks and weeks of first-hand research. She only wished that, at the end of the week, she could bring them back with her.

And that was another thing. She knew where the Cloak was now—obviously, James had it. But she also knew that she could never steal it from him. The Hallow going missing would jeopardize his kingship and the faith of his people, and it was the last vestige of his father’s memory.

She had a week. And then her voice would be lost forever, and she’d be back to a regular half-mer.

Might as well make the best of her last few days as a human.

Day 4

The next morning James noticed that something had changed with Lily. She sought him out almost immediately and requested a carriage ride.

“Do you have a particular destination in mind?”

She thought for a moment. “I want to have a picnic,” she said finally. “I’ve read about them, and they seem lovely.”

James agreed immediately, and went down to the kitchens to arrange it. When they met the carriage outside, Lily insisted that he teach her to drive.

“I’d like to learn to ride a horse, too,” she said. “But I suspect this will be easier.”

He sat beside her, wondering at how she’d never ridden a horse, and handed her the reigns. She was a quick study, but the ride was bumpy and jerky, and James feared for his life at several points. But watching her made it all worth it. Her long hair streamed out behind her, catching the dappled sunlight through the trees. She was grinning, leaning forward eagerly and talking to the horses, encouraging them forward.

When they reached the meadow, Lily patted the horses’ manes and offered them each an apple, cooing over them.

“Have you ever met a horse before?” James found himself asking.

“No,” she said wistfully, tucking her legs under her knees and sitting beside him on the blanket he’d spread out. “Where I’m from, we don’t really have many horses. And the kind we do have you wouldn’t recognize as horses.”

That was odd, but he didn’t want to push it. Not when she was in such a good mood.

After they ate, they lay side by side on the blanket, cloud gazing. Lily couldn’t seem to get enough of the sky.

“It’s so clear,” she said, amazement seeping into her voice. “I just...the outline of the clouds are so sharp and visible. And the blue! I’ll never get over it.”

“Say something in Mermish,” James said suddenly.

She turned her head to look at him and found that some of her hair was trapped beneath his shoulder. “Why?”

“I’ve never heard anyone speak it,” he said. “I’ve heard that underwater it sounds like singing.”

“It does,” she said, her voice faraway. “It’s like the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard. Above ground, though...” her voice changed to a horrendous shrieking noise. She wrinkled her noise. “Not so much.”

James became very aware of her body next to his, of the two inches between their hands. He’d only known her for a few days, but something about her made him feel so close. He reached for her hand, clasping her fingers in his. Her eyes met his for a split second, then she squeezed his hand, closed her eyes, and rested her head against his shoulder.

Day 5

Lily taught James Mermish, relishing in the sound of her own voice, even in the screeching of Mermish abovewater. She tried to memorize the cadence of her voice, to come to terms with the fact that she’d be losing her main method of communication in two days.

A strangled sob escaped her, but she passed it off as a cough. Two days.

She taught James with vigor, hoping that when she couldn’t serve as an ambassador any longer, he would take up the mantle. Maybe, before she left, she’d tell him what she was. Maybe.

“We should go down to the ocean,” James suggested once again. “Go for a swim, and speak Mermish underwater.”

“Anyone can understand Mermish underwater,” Lily argued. “It’s abovewater that you have to determine the different sounds, and the written language.”

For the better part of a day, they worked together. When James worked on grammar exercises, Lily read anthropology books. Maybe when she surfaced, after this was all over, she’d still have access to the library for the brief windows of time when she would have her legs. If she could ever show her face here again once her deception was revealed.

“Are you scared of swimming?”

James asked her out of the blue, and Lily realized she’d been given an easy answer to why she avoided the ocean. But for some reason, she couldn’t take it and lie to him even more. No, not for some reason. She knew exactly why she didn’t want to lie to him, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it to herself.

“No,” she said truthfully. “I love swimming. I just...not this week. Not now.”

James didn’t seem to want to let it go, but he went back to his work without pressing the issue, for which Lily was grateful. She nudged his foot with hers under the table, to show there was no hard feelings.

After another hour of silence, James said, “Tell me about swimming.”

Her heart warmed at an excuse to ramble, to talk for ages. Swimming was easy to talk about, and she spoke until her throat went hoarse. And then, reveling in the pain of an overworked voice, she kept talking.

Day 6

Severus watched them go to the market on Saturday, following them through the crowd at enough of a distance that Lily wouldn’t spot him. Not that she would be looking for him; she knew how much he hated being on land. Sickeningly, most of the stalls were selling fish and prawns and oysters, pearl jewelry and saltwater taffies.

Ahead, Lily was admiring a spiraling pink seashell on a string, and the human prince tied it around her neck. He paid for it, and then the two continued on—hand in hand, Severus noted with a sickening lurch to his stomach.

She wasn’t going to do it. She was going to let the week expire tomorrow, and the seawitch would take her voice. He would have to do something, and he would need to get the prince out of the way first.

Day 7

Lily awoke late. She and James had been up in the library most of the night, talking about nothing and everything. Growing close to him had been a risk, but it had made everything worth it. Leaving him...she didn’t want to think about it.

She crept down the stairs to the grand foyer, and was almost out the door when a voice behind her called out.

“Leaving so soon?”

It was Sirius, the man claiming to be James’ brother.

“I was never staying long,” Lily said.

“Then why did you make James fall for you?”

Lily winced. “I didn’t...not on purpose. Believe me, I don’t want to go.”

Sirius gestured to a low bench. “Sit with me for a minute, then, before you leave.”

Lily did so warily. She hadn’t spoken with Sirius much during her time at the castle, and the words they had exchanged had mostly been jokes over the dinner table while Euphemia held court.

“I’m not really James’ brother,” Sirius said. “My parents are from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, and they advocated mainly for all-out war with the merpeople. It was horrible, living there. And after my mother found out I’d been seeing Remus...well, she told me not to come home again. James took me in when we were about twelve, and Euphemia is more of a mother to me than that awful woman in that old house ever was.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Lily asked, her fingers tightening on the bench. She needed to get back before sundown, and while she still had several hours until then, she didn’t want to take any chances.

“If you’re running from something,” Sirius said. “If you’re not safe. This place is safe.”

Lily almost found herself in tears. “I wish it were as simple as that,” she said. “I really do. Thank you, Sirius, but I need to be gone by sundown.”

Sirius stood, offering her his hand. “Then spend one last day with us. James and I were going to go riding; come with us.”

Lily took the hand. “Alright,” she said. “But don’t tell James I’m leaving, please. I still need to decide how I’m going to break the news to him.”

She had no idea how she was going to do it. But one thing was for certain: he deserved an explanation. Now to figure out how much to tell him.

James had been about to head down to meet Sirius when a folded piece of paper slid under his door.

The handwriting was unfamiliar, but it was addressed to him.

James,

Meet me by the pier at noon. I’ll explain everything then, I promise. I’m sorry I’ve been lying to you for so long.

Lily

Sirius would understand if James never showed up, but he sent Peter to find him anyways and explain where he’d gone.

“Tell him to go without me,” he said. “Or better yet, take Remus and you three go together. Maybe we’ll meet up with you.” Depending on what Lily had been lying to him about.

Sirius and Lily had saddled up the horses when Peter and Remus entered the stables.

“That’s weird,” Peter said. “Shouldn’t you be down by the pier?”

Lily’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?” She asked quickly. “Where’s James?”

“Said he was going to meet you by the pier, said something about a letter. Maybe there’s been a mixup, we can swing by and get him.”

Lily was already climbing on the horse. “I never sent any letter,” she said. “Something’s happening. I wouldn’t have sent him to the pier.” She nudged the horse out of the stables, working up to a gallop and then an all-out run.

For someone who’d never ridden a horse before, she had to say she was doing a fine job. Then again, she had no standards by which to judge her performance. Was she supposed to bounce this much? Her thighs were killing her.

But whoever wanted James down by the pier was more dangerous than bruised thighs.

Severus watched as the human prince approached down the empty pier, the crumpled letter in his hand. He stood up, and the prince saw him.

“Have you seen a redheaded girl?” he asked. “I’m supposed to be meeting her here.”

“No you’re not,” Severus said. “I wrote that letter. Lily’s not coming.”

The prince frowned. “Who are you? How do you know Lily?”

“I’m an old friend,” Severus said. “And I know her better than you. I know what she hasn’t been able to do, what she’s about to sacrifice for you.” He advanced on the prince. “Where do you keep your Hallow?”

The prince went from confused to angry in a millisecond. “So that’s what you’re after. Was she sent here to get the Hallow from me?”

“Yes,” Severus admitted. “But she won’t do it. She’s too weak.” Severus raised a fist and struck the prince off the pier, knocking him unconscious as he fell. “But I’m not.”

Lily reached the pier in time to see Severus slinking off towards the castle. He didn’t see her, and she didn’t have time to follow him. Just off the pier was a figure with messy black hair, floating facedown in the water.

Lily didn’t think. She raced down the pier, her feet taking her nearly as fast as her tail could have. When she reached the end, she dove into the water—a perfect dive, leaving barely the hint of a splash. She could feel her legs gluing together, merging into a tail. Distantly, she realized that the spell hadn’t broken yet. She was doomed to a tail forever.

She looped her arms around James’ torso and tossed him back up onto the pier, praying she wasn’t too late. He didn’t appear to be breathing. Down the beach, she saw three horses skid to a halt, their riders disembarking. Remus, Sirius, and Peter. They began to sprint towards her.

It was too late. The sun may not have set yet, but she was already doomed. She could feel it in her throat, like something was bubbling up and threatening to spill out her mouth. Up on the pier, James began to cough up water. “Lily?” he croaked. When he saw her tail, his eyes widened. “I knew it! It was you all along—you’re the mermaid girl who rescued me!”

All she could do was nod.

Her eyes found Sirius’, who had doubled over to catch his breath at the end of the pier. She opened her mouth, and found she could still speak, albeit faintly. “Keep him safe,” she said, her voice coming as if from a distance. “Don’t give up the Hallow.”

With a flick of her tail, she had vanished into the depths of the sea.

Alice found her in her old cave, the one she’d filled to the brim with as many human treasures as she could get her hands on. Splinters from the masts of great ships, chests full of gold and rubies, entire sets of silverware. She even had two books, though all that remained was the leather binding and wisps of what had once been paper. These remnants were all that she had left to hold onto from the human world.

Lily was sifting the gold through her fingers. Maybe she should give it to Alice and Frank; it’s not like she would have much use for it anymore. The most she would see of the humans would be their skeletal remains at the bottom of the sea, and when she could stand to hold her head abovewater for more than a few seconds untransformed.

Alice swam in, her eyes full of pity and wonder. The only person who’d ever seen Lily’s cave before had been Petunia, but Petunia never came in here unless she had to. Lily didn’t meet Alice’s gaze, only swam over to where she’d stashed her parchment and ink.

“Dumbledore wants to see you,” Alice said softly. “He didn’t say why.”

I don’t want to see him, Lily wrote. I want to be alone.

“Dolores is upset,” Alice said, ignoring Lily’s request. “She’s going to send someone else.”

Severus is already up there. He tried to kill James.

“Frank’s looking for him. I saw him sneaking away from the beach yesterday. He said he’d explain all he could to the prince.” Alice held out a hand. “Come with me to see Dumbledore. Maybe he can help.”

Lily set down the quill, just shaking her head. Alice tugged at her, and she let herself be dragged through the water, offering only the occasional flick of her tail to help propel them forwards.

Dumbledore was waiting in his office at their old school, where he always seemed to be. Alice shoved Lily forward as soon as she’d knocked, then shut the door behind her, leaving Lily and the old merman alone. Dumbledore swam out from behind his desk, looking at her in concern.

“My dear girl,” he began. “What you’ve undertaken for the sake of intellectualism is commendable.”

Lily could only nod.

“I can undo the curse the witch put on your tail,” he said, and Lily’s head jerked up, barely daring herself to hope. “The curse she put was flimsy, and easily broken.” He waved a hand over her tail, and though she didn’t feel any different, the scales seemed to shine brighter. She hadn’t even noticed they’d dulled. “As to your voice...I’m afraid I can’t restore that without the aid of the Hallow.”

Lily opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Of course.

“The human magic is part of what bound this curse to you,” he said gently. “I won’t need it permanently, but I will need to study it. I trust you know where to find this Hallow?”

She nodded slowly.

“The only other way to break the curse on your voice would be to kill the seawitch.”

Lily recoiled.

“Those are the options,” Dumbledore said sympathetically. “I can meet you by the human pier tonight. If you have the Hallow, I can reverse the curse. If not...we will look into other options.”

Lily nodded. What else could she do?

When she pulled herself up onto the pier, she was so shocked to find James’ hazel eyes staring into her own that she nearly fell back into the water. He offered her a hand to pull her up, and, dumbfounded, she accepted. They watched together as her scales receded, revealing first toes then calves then thighs, swirling to form a short green scaly skirt. She stood quickly, feeling underneath the pier for the proper skirt she usually kept stuck there for just this situation, hastily turning her back and pulling it up to her waist, where it met the fitted shirt she wore while swimming.

James took her hand. “I hoped you would come back,” he said.

I almost didn’t, she wanted to say. Instead, she just shook her head, smiling slightly. She gestured to her throat.

His grin faltered. “What’s wrong?”

She opened her mouth and closed it, then mimed writing.

“Did you...lose your voice? I have tea back at the castle. Mum would love to chat over tea. About the whole mermaid thing.”

Yes. About the whole mermaid thing. Well, tea would do until she could get her hands on a pen and paper.

Sat around the dinner table, helping herself to a cup of tea, Lily mimed writing again. Remus helpfully handed her a notepad, pen, and ink, in which she eagerly began scrawling truth, about why she’d come and why she’d left. Once she was done, the paper passed its way around the table. When it finally reached James, his jaws clenched.

“I—I can’t give up the cloak. It’s my last memory of my father.” He looked to Euphemia. “And as important to this kingdom as the crown.”

Lily reached for the paper again, her mouth moving silently.

“Would an interpretive dance help?” Sirius offered. “I’m quite good at charades, I’ll have you know.” Remus elbowed him. Peter slid the paper over to her.

It would only be for a few minutes, she promised. Think about it. This would be the first meeting between a Mermish leader and a human in...well, forever, I think. Think of it as a show of good faith. I won’t let him go anywhere with it.

“Okay,” James said, staring at the paper with Lily’s words on it. “On one condition.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“You stay on as ambassador.” He slid the paper towards her, ready to receive her protestations, but she didn’t move to take it. He forged ahead. “You said you have to change back every twenty-four hours; that’s not a problem. We could build a pool for you, or better yet, a canal and reception room. To improve relations with the merpeople, making the castle more accessible to them.” He was pacing now, his mind whirling. Despite her hesitations, Lily was impressed. She picked up the pen and wrote one word: Yes.

Epilogue

James joined Lily in the pool that evening, as soon as her hours with legs were up. He brought her a fresh change of clothing for the next day, placed in the cabinet with her name carved into it. Beside it were several others, one open and spilling clothes onto the marble flooring. That was Alice’s.

Lily surfaced beside him. “Hello,” she said, kissing him softly on the mouth. She ducked back under for breath before coming back up. “Come to practice your Mermish?”

“Underwater?” his eyebrows rose dramatically. “Lily! Anyone can understand Mermish underwater.”

She ducked back down. “Yes, but I do like to breathe every so often.” Her voice rippled through the water, faint to his ears above the water. She surfaced again. “For the next twenty-four hours, until I can change back into human, this is what it will be like. Only talking for as long as I can hold my breath.” She sunk back until only her eyes were above the water level.

He brushed a floating strand of her hair away from her face tenderly. “We’ve been dealing with this for months,” he said. “We can deal with it longer. Remus and Peter are working on ways to allow humans to breathe underwater for a short period of time. Something involving tubing, I don’t really care about the logistics of it. But that will ease some things, won’t they?”

She nodded, leaving her nose and mouth under the water. Her tail flicked forward, nudging his legs as they kicked gently to stay afloat. “You made history,” she said, her voice muffled by the water. “I’m...proud of you.”

“I did nothing,” he said. “It was all you, Miss Evans. My marine biologist.”

Lily splashed him, her eyes narrowing but her mouth twisting into a smile.

“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you along those terms,” he said. “Everyone’s talking about how I’m the first prince to talk to the merpeople, but...there are still so many problems. The treatment of half-merpeople especially.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” she responded. “My role as ambassador is helping.” She moved closer to him until their chests were pressed together. “My role as your something is also helping.”

“My something.” James tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What about the first half-mer princess?”

Lily froze, only staying aloft due to the involuntary swishing of her tail. “The what?”

“Marry me,” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Please, Lily Evans. Make history with me.”

Smiling, Lily surged upwards, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him enthusiastically. “James Potter, of course I will.”

#jily challenge #my writing #alyssa glubs #jily #jily fic #jily au #harry potter #scaredofrobots

14 notes · View notes

naireides · 7 years

Text

top 5 and bottom 5 kudos fics

tagged by my favourite furry @prosciuttoe whose fics are always ah-maze-ing and we are #blessed to have her in this hell fandom

rules: tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date!

What are your five most popular works? (in descending order)

1. But They Ain't Doing It Right (bellarke, 14.9k, posted 29/08/16)

“So,” he begins, running a hand through his hair. It’s a lost cause trying to work it back into some semblance of order. “What is this?”

“What do you mean?”

He doesn’t meet her eye when he says, “Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern,” too busy picking at a loose thread in his hem.

“Wanna go three times and just make it a habit?” she jokes weakly, and his head snaps back up, eyes boring into hers. She flushes under the intensity of his gaze.

“Actually,” he begins slowly, “That doesn’t sound that bad.”

or, the friends with benefits au that got away from me

this was the first ‘big’ fic i wrote for the fandom (as in something with a definitive plot and not an empty oneshot) and it was all kinds of ridiculous

2. The Giant Squid's Got Nothing On You (bellarke, 6.1k, 07/09/16)

“That is what stalking is though, technically,” says Raven, stirring cinnamon into her coffee. She’s joined her today on her sketching run, and the cafe is packed to the brim. “And it’s not normal either. Soon enough someone is going to show him those drawings and then there’ll be a lawsuit on your hands. And I’m not going to bail you out.”

Objectively, Clarke knows she’s probably right, but she still can’t help but lift her chin determinedly and say, “He is not going to find it.”

She can barely hear her scoff in reply over the din of the cafe. “Yeah right,” says Raven, “The internet is forever, Clarke Griffin. He will find it eventually.”

or, Clarke finds her new muse at the local cafe

my ‘merging my two favourite couples together’ fic. i really, really liked writing this one and i was honestly kinda surprised at how popular it got?? it was completely 100% self indulgent lol

3. Feel Me Running Through Your Veins (bellarke, 22k, 24/09/16)

The interviewer’s smile freaks her out. “So,” she asks, sounding far too perky, “What’s the deal with you and Bellamy Blake?”

Clarke wills herself not to flush as her brain processes the question. What is the deal her and Bellamy? He’s her sometime friend who argue and bicker like no other but she also craves the taste of him on her tongue. They’re people who sling insults at each other from their respective stages, only to find him later pulling her hair so that he can attack her neck with sloppy kisses. That’s what’s going on with her and Bellamy Blake.

Instead, she gives her a charming smile and says, “Nothing. We’re just friends. Sometimes.”

Next to her Raven begins to cough and Clarke slaps her on the back, perhaps a bit harder than necessary.

or, Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin definitely do not like each other. No matter what the tabloids say.

friends with benefits is one of my all time favourite tropes (which is why like half of my fics fall into that category whoops) and actor aus are one of my favourite aus out there so this was also pretty fun to write. if i could change one thing about it i maybe wouldn’t have switched between the times like i did? but all in all i like this one.

4. Gimme That Sugar With The Sweet Talk (bellarke, 5.4k, 30/10/16)

“Are you supposed to be me?” he asks, delighted as he pulls on the strings of her hoodie.

She swats him with the Iliad. “Well, it is pretty scary, right? If only I could have gotten the mask to go with it, then I’d be a true nightmare.”

The mirth on his face doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. If anything, Bellamy looks like her showing up in too big clothing and eyeliner dotted across her face as freckles is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

or, we’re secret friends with benefits and you came dressed as me for a party and it's really, really distracting.

this is another self indulgent fic that’s just straight up smut (surprise! it’s also a fwb fic!) and again, i loved writing it, especially the non smut parts where bellamy and clarke are being their dumbass loser selves

5. who's scruffy looking? (bellarke, 4.9k, 08/05/17)

“What, the beard isn’t doing it for you?” she snickers at her own joke and then her jaw drops when Clarke averts her gaze, blushing. “Oh my god! You’re totally into his shitty beard!”

“Keep your voice down!” she hisses at her.

i predicted bearded bellamy back in may i’m fucking psychic. okay no, i’m not, it was because bob was sporting a beard at a con that weekend and like clarke, i was both horrified and kinda into his shitty beard because i obviously am Deep in this Pit

What are your five least popular works? (in ascending order)

1. Remus Lupin: Matchmaker Extraordinaire (jily, 7.8k, 06/03/16)

Remus Lupin, werewolf, prefect, Marauder, now has another title to add to his ever growing list: match maker. Because really, sometimes your friends need that extra little push in the right direction. Or maybe a shove… and a good few hits with a potions textbook once in a while.

i originally wrote this back in like 2013 i think?? it’s funny because this was one of my more popular ones on ffnet but it’s my least popular one on ao3. idk, i liked it when i wrote it, but that was over 4 years ago when i was like 15 so my writing has changed a lot since then.

2. your eyes are like starlight now (jily, 1.2k, 31/12/16)

“The first snow is magical, you can’t deny it,” and Lily grumbled, but she did have to agree. It was beautiful.

Of course, that moment lasted exactly thirty seconds before James squashed a snowball into her face.

written for december's jily challenge prompt!

ngl i wasn’t a huge fan of this fic mostly because i haven’t written canonverse jily in years so i can’t really say i’m surprised.

3. to count the stars (jily, 1.6k, 27/02/17)

seven times james and lily meet on the train, and one time they don’t

... i also didn’t like writing this one and i guess it shows lol

4. Ready Aim Fire (bellarke, 1.8k, 18/02/15)

Clarke and Bellamy finally come to head over what happened in ton DC

technically this was the first blarke fic i ever wrote but i don’t really consider it a proper fic if you get what i mean?? it was based off of a wishful thinking list i made sometime during s2 that warped into a ‘fic’

5. so tender and mild (jily, 2k, 01/12/16)

5 Christmases at the Potter-Evans household.

i don’t really have any particular feelings about this fic tbh. i don’t hate it but i don’t like it it’s just kinda... there so it doesn’t really surprise me that it’s here. (not really surprised that the majority of these are jily fics tbh; the jily fandom is constantly on the verge of death, especially on ao3 lol)

tagging @mellamymake @prongsno @gxldentrio and @padfootdidit

#tag games #my writing

30 notes · View notes

nevillelongsbottom · 7 years

Note

4 with flintwood, jily, wolfstar, and Charlie/Draco (is this me being greedy) (yes it is)

It ain’t greedy if it’s got Charlie/Draco in there! And I like all these ships anyway. Problem is, Jily and Wolfstar are taking me a small eternity to do, so I’m just going to post the two I’ve done now since I feel like I’m making you wait forever and then post the other two as they get finished (if you want to send them again, that’s cool and I can answer it when they’re done)! I’m sorry it’s taking me a while, I just don’t want to disappoint so I’ve already trashed 2 Wolfstars (I’ll get there eventually!).

But here we are: Charlie/Draco and Flintwood (with a snowball fight)!

Charlie/Draco + In The Moment KissDraco develops a habit of drinking.

Charlie Weasley finds this out when, still a month or twoaway from when he’s expected to return to Romania, he starts volunteering aspart of the Ministry’s veterans support service; he works a night shift so thathe doesn’t have to hear George and Percy wake up screaming or get up in themiddle of the night to find Ron having gripped a mug of tea so hard he’sshattered it, and he sits just outside the special ward at St Mungo’s, in aplastic chair, waiting for people who need his help. His usual fare are peoplestill inconsolable with loss and grief, or people so depressed just being inthe same room as them drains his energy; he lucks out and avoids the drinkerson his shifts until Draco arrives one night, alive like a thunderstorm,Theodore Nott clinging uncomfortably to his arm.

He becomes a frequent visitor; Charlie files permission tomake house calls every now and then, and though he’s denied the right to dothem himself, the Ministry change their minds when three support workers arerebuffed, the doors slammed in their face and the wards around Malfoy Manorstrengthened each time. When Charlie arrives, Draco opens the door, looks himup and down, and steps aside before he even announces his business.

“I haven’t had anything to drink, before you ask,” he sayssourly. A house-elf moves to make Charlie tea; he dismisses it lightly and doesit himself, manually, like a Muggle. Draco would scoff if he didn’t have to doit himself, something to keep him grounded and all there, no matter how simple.

“I wasn’t going to accuse you,” Charlie answers, only usingmagic to pour the milk because he can only ever get it right that way. “I justcame to see how you were doing.”

“How do you think I’m doing?” he snaps. Charlie blows on histea and doesn’t answer, his gaze steady, inquisitive. “I should’ve shut thedoor on you, too. I’m upset, alright? Is that what you want to hear?

”“I just want you to tell me how you really feel,” Charliesays patiently. “Like shit. Don’t you?”

Charlie cracks a smile. “Every day.”

He visits sporadically during the week, trying to keepthings interesting, trying to catch Draco out, in a moment of weakness. Henever does. Nott had explained that he was a night drinker - the dark scaredDraco, a physical manifestation of his mental fears - but Charlie hadn’texpected it to be so rigidly true.

He almost looks forward to their visits, sometimes.

He’s on a night shift again when it happens; he’s sitting inthat plastic chair of his and wondering if anyone would mind if he Transfiguredit into something nicer when Neville Longbottom arrives by Apparition, Dracofalling in beside him and trying to lunge at him once they’ve recovered fromtheir materialisation (Charlie wants to complement Neville on a well-done pieceof advanced magic under pressure). Charlie shoves himself in the way, pushingDraco back and barking at him like he’s a badly behaved dragon to stop fightingas Neville wipes some of the blood from his cheek.

“Did he pick a fight with you?” Charlie asks, having heardtoo many a story of Longbottom’s disasters and shyness to suspect anywrongdoing on his part. Neville nods. “Alright. You head on home; I’ll takecare of him.” Without even waiting to watch Neville go, Charlie spins around,seething. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He can tell that Draco isn’t even that drunk, and that’swhat makes him so angry as the Slytherin shrugs. “Fancied giving Longbottom arun for his money.”

Charlie pulls at his hair and groans, trying to keep himselftogether. It doesn’t work. “You can’t do that, Draco! You can’t ask for andwish for redemption and then beat up the real war heroes, because that’s asurefire way to show that you’re not sorry at all and reconfirm yourself asevil! Don’t pretend to me that you’ve had it worse, either, because your familyare all alive. I lost a brother, a precious brother, and I have to live in themess left behind every day and while I know your problems are different from mine,you can’t use them as excuses! Do you see George punching people because theother half of his soul is dead? Because I don’t! And you don’t get to do this!”He’s so angry he feels like he’s about to see spots when he hears Draco shiftand suddenly there’s a mouth enveloping his.

He knows sensibly that he shouldn’t be doing this, butCharlie is hardly the poster boy for sensible, and he grips at Draco, pushinghard into the kiss, fierce like his dragons, channeling everything into thisone moment, this one crush of lips on lips and twisted tangle of tongues,strong and hot and everything and like the release of all of his frustrationsat once and he wonders if he might explode in this moment, fingers dug intoDraco’s shoulders and Draco’s hands making waves on Charlie’s back beneath hisshirt.

He’s still angry when he draws back the kiss, figuring thatDraco might never. “You’re not off the hook,” he says.

“Yeah,” nods Draco. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Good. Then go home and get some sleep. I’ll be over tomorrow.”

The taste of Charlie’s lips and of his frustration is stillthere on Draco’s lips when he steps out into the street, calling for the KnightBus. Maybe it wasn’t the best of ideas, to kiss a fuming Dragonologist, but asDraco reaches up to aimlessly touch his bottom lip, he thinks that he’d love tobe in that line of fire again.

Flintwood + In The Moment Kiss“Okay, get on over to your next class. Don’t forget yourhomework – next Thursday, you’ve got more than a week, and unless you’re beingtreated by Madam Pomfrey for the next week there’s no excuse good enough.”Oliver watches the group of first years file out of the classroom and he yawns,snapping shut his personal copy of QuidditchThrough The Ages, the spine worn by many a reread. Though his FlyingLessons certainly never included actually studying Quidditch and the history offlight and the game, the curriculum has been updated since his first year, andhe’s certainly kept busy with all the new work.

“Mr Wood,” McGonagall says; he starts, not having even heardher enter. Though she should be calling him Oliver, as they’re now equals,breaking the habit proves difficult; he can still barely get past calling herMinerva. “We’ve hired an assistant for you – I have noted that it is ratherdifficult to keep an eye on an entire class of first years in the sky – and I’dlike you to meet him.”

Oliver remembers her mentioning this; he still thinks thatit’s a good idea.

Until Marcus Flint walks in.

Merlin’s hairy balls.Oliver hasn’t seen Marcus since seventh year, and really, he’d hoped to neversee Marcus again. He doesn’t have a vendetta, but Marcus had always caused anuncomfortable swell of feelings in his belly, and Oliver has never been one foraddressing his feelings. Marcus mighthave a vendetta, though, especially considering their track record together.“Wood,” he says, looking as predatory as ever.

“Flint,” Oliver says, quirking an eyebrow.

“I know your history, you two, and if there’s any whiff of you two fighting, you’ll be outof here like a flash – is that understood?” McGonagall says sharply; Olivernods. He hopes he can keep his patience – his Quidditch career had been endedearly by too many incidents of injuries causing irreparable damage, and helikes this job. He can’t imagine being anywhere else. “Good. I expect the bestfrom the two of you.”

She shuts the door behind her when she leaves. Marcusglares. “Didn’t think it would be you.”

“All the other Quidditch players are coaching or playing.I’m the only one with free time for this.”

“How come?” Marcus asks, sitting on top of one of the desks.

“Magic can’t fix everything,” Oliver shrugs.

Marcus notices that, when Oliver strides between the deskslater that day to take in homework, he walks with a limp. He’s not a Quidditchcaptain anymore; he walks with that straightness, and still has the strength inhis arms, but he’s not the Keeper anymore.

Marcus finds him handsome anyway.

“Sir, I was in the infirmary all week because I took a bludgerto the head last Quidditch match.”

“Alright, okay, that’s a reasonable excuse. I’d like it insometime next week, though, yeah? And watch out for those bludgers. They hithard.” Oliver pats the student on the back and smiles. “Now hurry up, McGonagall’llkill me if you’re late and it’s my fault.”

“Thanks, Professor Wood!”

“No problem.”

Marcus watches the flare of Gryffindor robes as the studentskips away to Transfiguration. He had been refereeing that match, a trial ofhis skill in refereeing, whilst Oliver had been sitting in the stands, watchingintently. It had been in the slightest way nerve-wracking, but he had enjoyedthe feeling of Oliver watching him, studying him, even though he hadn’t knownthat Oliver might’ve been studying him in a different way.

He’s a Slytherin, and the hearts of Slytherins never brokewhile he was at school, but his heart breaks sometimes when he sees Oliver flynow, so reserved, none of that daring he had in school.

But he’s kind, tempered, a good Professor. Marcus would loveto be on the receiving end of those smiles, those pats on the backs, thosegrins and that praise.

“Was he really?” Marcus asks. “Not the whole week,” Oliver replies, “but I reckon we canlet him off, just this once.”

Marcus can’t sleep for dreams of Oliver Wood on a goddamnbroom, and, thrilled by the novelty of actually being able to leave his room,goes to the Quidditch pitch, taking ten points from a wandering Ravenclawstudent on the way.

It doesn’t surprise him much that Oliver is already there,balancing rather precariously as he sits inside one of the goalposts. It wouldbe normal to just stand or sit on the pitch, but of course, Oliver is a fuckingmaniac and has to be back at his post, even though it’s no longer his, and shit, Marcus thinks, he’s gorgeous.

He’s kind and he’s gorgeous and that smile of his is goingto kill somebody one day.

Marcus wants to make a move. Instead, he goes back inside.

He’s forgotten how much he enjoyed the winters at Hogwarts –it snows and it’s up to his calves and the building is always comfortablyheated so that when he comes in from helping Oliver with lessons it’s nice andhe doesn’t have to bury himself in layers of clothes. And he gets to watchsnowball fights out the window, cackling with glee as a Slytherin pelts aGryffindor in the face.

“Please stop laughing where the students can see you,Flint,” McGonagall advises as she passes him by, so he steps away from thewindow and ventures into his classroom; Oliver is marking essays, his cup ofcoffee stirring itself.

“What’s taking you so long?” Marcus asks; Oliver hasseemingly been marking these for an eternity.

“These students have terrible handwriting,” Oliver grumbles.

“Snowball fight.”

“What?”

“You can’t play Quidditch. We should have a snowball fight.It’s boring here.”

“That’s true.” Oliver gets up and takes a last-minute sip ofhis coffee, pulling a sweater on before his coat and scarf. “You know I’ll win,though.”

“In your dreams.”

Many of the students stop to admire two of their teachers,absorbed completely in a brutal snowball fight, wands and all – they’re theyoungest on the team, and Oliver is popular, having a whole fanclub to himself,but neither of them care: they’re busy having a snowball fight, eager to beatthe other, years of rivalry still strong. Oliver loves it: his life withoutQuidditch has been horrible, and the idea that he can still have fun, stillcompete – it’s perfect.

And he’s beating Marcus Flint.

“Suck it, Flint!”he bellows, narrowly avoiding a snowball aimed at his head and flicking hiswand, sending three snowballs in a triangle, two of which hit their target.

“You watch it, Wood!”A student starts betting on which one of them will win. A snowballhits Oliver in the face: hard, brick ice, Scottish snow. “You bastard! I’mgetting you for that!” He moves from behind the snow tower he’s created (he’sScottish; it pays off) and sprints for Marcus, snowball in hand, whacking himfull-force in the face, a beautiful coup d’état. Marcus glares at him, pawinghis glove into the snow for another go, when, still elated by his perceivedvictory, Oliver leans in and kisses him, wrapping his arms around Marcus’sgiant down jacket and pulling him in with that Keeper strength.

Marcus kisses back, unwavering; this has been what he’swanted long before he even left Hogwarts, and Oliver’s mouth is hot incomparison to the cold of the snow seeping through their gloves and layers,moving ferociously as if kissing were just the next stage in their eternalcompetition that Marcus is keen not to lose, pushing back, their mouths justbecoming a clattering of tongue and teeth until they fall from pushing eachother so hard into the snow, Oliver rolling over.

Marcus takes the opportunity to dump a snowball down theback of his neck. He does not earn a kiss for that move; instead, he makes arun across the grounds, Oliver following closely behind him, yelling about howhe’s definitely going to kill him for that, and thinks that this is probablythe best time he’s ever had.

#i feel like the flintwood one is terrible but hey it's a snowball fight!#love a snowball fight #and some edge from draco #charlie's just worried tbh #he just wants draco to stop drinking cus he's alright #and for him to be ok #also i'm sorry oliver unable to play quidditch made me sad too #but i liked him being able to find solace in something else #especially snowball fights #and teaching #i write shit #flintwood #marcus flint #oliver wood #charlie weasley #draco malfoy #prompt fill

1 note · View note

likeawildthing · 7 years

Text

75 fluffy jily fics for a happy new year

Anon: Hello! I'm a college freshman and it's my first exams week and I'm physically ill and also homesick and so could you pretty pretty please direst me to some wholesome jily fluffiness to make things better?

Sorry for the late reply! To make up for it, please have way too many fluffy jily fics to make you feel better. <3 I 100% gave some of these drabbles arbitrary titles because ‘untitled’ is boring when repeated thirty times.

hogwarts

and i wait for shore <> jiilys frequently I find myself agreeing to things I shouldn’t just so I can be next to you

arse over tea kettle <> october31st1981

her voice drifts down the corridor, and half of him wants to think something poetic about the way the sound of it envelops him, and the other half of him thinks he is a complete prat for even having such thoughts

ask me <> bcdaily “So, Hogsmeade,” she says, sitting before the fire in the common room next to him, going through some disciplinary paperwork McGonagall had passed off to them that morning–the downside of being Head Boy and Girl. “Have any plans?”

can i tell you a secret? <> october31st1981 “Can I tell you a secret?” he murmurs into her neck. “You’re part troll,” she guesses. She pats him clumsily on the back, unwilling to move from their position sprawled out on the grass. “It’s alright, I’ve accepted you for who you are.”

charms class and jealous hands <> realslytherinchick Sorry? Stop what? That thing you’re doing. Stop it. You’ll have to be a little more clear than that, Evans, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.

eleven <> october31st1981 James Potter is very different from when he was eleven years old, you think as he kisses you.

first time holding hands <> suchasart He was tall. Tall, and looking down at her, and the embers in his brown-gold eyes warmed a blush across her face.

good, decent <> bcdaily She watched as he wriggled the bits of parchment he’d unceremoniously sprawled himself upon out from underneath him. Instead of tossing them atop one of the piles she already had stacked on the nearby coffee table, he began to skim through them, one by one. “What are you doing?” she asked. His gaze flickered to her briefly. “Helping.”

how will i find you <> jiilys James, you say with your chin on my chest, let’s go live in the moon.

jily drinking together <> october31st1981 “I am a gift,” says James seriously. Lily swings her body around, kicking him in the head in the process. She ignores his yelp, telling him, “That’s a funny way to pronounce ‘git.’”

lily stalks james <> bcdaily “I’m sort of starting to get the feeling that you’re enjoying stalking me.” “I am trying to keep you from blowing up the school,” Lily says, dipping her quill in her inkpot and gently tapping it against the chipped lip. “There’s pleasure in that, certainly.” “You’re sure that’s all it is?”

of sickles and snogging <> jamesstruttingpotter she didn’t even throw it, she just slowly pushed it into his face. it was the most sexually charged pie throwing i’ve ever seen.

new year <> scared-of-clouds Lily Evans is planning on seeing the New Year in alone, then just getting through the rest of the year with as few problems as possible. Unfortunately for Lily Evans, very little in her life is that simple. Still, what difference can a year make?

nice <> newtscmandr In which Lily is hung over and has a nice conversation with James, about a certain part of his anatomy.

this could happen <> jamesstruttingpotter Future planning + Jily flirting.

the one with the forgotten two of diamonds <> iolanthepotter/apalapucian James and Lily brew Amortentia together—and nothing happens. Lily thinks she’s officially gone forever numb, James thinks the dungeons smell like a swamp, and everyone concludes they’re both idiots. Everybody’s daft in love.

quidditch shirt <> iolanthepotter/apalapucian Marlene peered at her and grinned. “He smells that nice, eh?”Lily whipped around to glare at her. “It’s very… comfortable. That’s all.”

study date <> october31st1981 “You’re an awful influence, Evans,” says James, glancing up from his Potions textbook. “I’ve never known you to complain about where I put my hands before,” she says, still grinning widely.

testing (gift for an angel) <> bcdaily If he thought about this critically, James reckons he’s spent the better part of three years planning this date. (It really was a damn shame that Sirius seemed determined to cock it all up.)

that elusive aha moment <> suchasart/wilhelmina willoughby The Aha Moment: a point in time when something finally clicks. Everyone realizes that there’s something more between James and Lily, though it takes some people longer than others. James has always been a slow learner.

the early morning toast brigade <> ghostofbambi In which Lily Evans makes the best of insomnia, with the help of her womanly wiles.

the juggernaut factor <> fabiansgoldwatch There’s something you have to realise about a boy who buys you sweets that taste like torture, fights a branch duel for your honour, or lets you dribble on his jumper: a boy like that should never be ignored.

the long haul <> bigquidditchhero “Don’t try and change the subject,” she said sternly, waggling her finger at him. “You’ve got loads of secrets, I know you have.” He shook his head as he turned his attention back to the crossword. “Evans, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m an open book.”

the story of a lady and a gentleman <> hiddenpolkadots Lily scoffed. “Look who’s talking about rude,” she sniffed. “I’m standing here and you’re sitting there. Didn’t your mother ever teach you that’s it’s gentlemanly to give up your seat for a lady?” “She did,” he allowed. “But I don’t think that rule applies to cheeky bints like you.”

there’s a reason for all those love songs <> gxldentrio If you asked James Potter at what point he figured out that he was absolutely in love with Lily Evans, he wouldn’t be able to give you a straight answer.

married/engaged

a cold war coming <> thequibblah “Here’s an idea,” Lily said suddenly. “I’m all ears.” She grinned widely, her whole face lighting up. “Marry me.”

a compromise <> october31st1981 “And what woman do you expect to carry seven of your offspring into the world?” He takes a moment to consider this. “You, probably.”

a lavish affair <> bigquidditchhero “- I’ll still be thinking Merlin, that Evans, what a killjoy. But then I’ll think, thank goodness I get to do unspeakable things with her as well. The fun’s not completely lost that way, you see.”

adorable drunken babes <> sunshinedaisieswindmills He really would like to kiss her, he decided, so he closed his eyes and tilted his head and moved in, only to find that Lily was no longer standing in front of him. Instead, she sat on the floor giggling. “I fell,” she said, laughing. “There was a puddle and I fell and now my bum’s wet.”

lace <> theodoornott “You look really beautiful,” he suddenly whispers in her ear, and she turns to her husband and just laughs because he looks so lustful and mischievous and positively boyish. She grabs the hand that is currently tickling her side, and kisses its palm. “You too,” she tells him, and she means it.

till kingdom come <> iolanthepotter/apalapucian “I love him so much, you know?” And it’s ridiculous, but Remus’s heart swells, and just then he can feel the tears stinging the corners of his eyes. “Bloody prat’s been in love with you since forever.”

say when <> ravnclaws “James?” she asks and he hums against her ear in response. “Really?” “Just say when.”

starlight <> iolanthepotter/apalapucian “I didn’t let you fall,” he answers. He smirks, draws you closer to labor the point of his pathetic excuse for a catch. Except he did, you think. And you’ve fallen. Oh, how hard have you fallen, Lily Evans, how hard are you still falling, a million times in the million little leaps of faith you’ve made with and for this boy, long before your feet touched the ground.

domestic/family

are you flirting with me <> october31st1981 She takes the hand that is not in hers and places it on her waist, while hers drifts to his collar. “You know, Lily, this feels a lot like flirting,” says James conversationally, his fingers pressing warmly on her rib cage.

morning <> apalapucian/iolanthepotter He was very, very warm. He stood there, still and quiet in all his messy-haired, bespectacled glory, just looking down at you with a raised eyebrow and a quarter of that trademark smirk. “Are you going to take it off or should I?”

ready, set, go <> bigquidditchhero James, Lily, and baby Harry are in hiding in Godric’s Hollow and they entertain themselves by playing with the cat

familiarity (kills the romance) <> ravnclaws When they go to bed that night, she watches as he brushes his teeth and as he changes into his pyjamas and as he kisses her goodnight, and she thinks about how James is not a mystery, he’s just a normal guy after all.

golden days <> suchasart/wilhelmina willoughby James and Lily like to appreciate the little things in life.

golden retrieval <> preciselypotter Lily held up the black-and-purple briefs she’d just found on their bedroom floor. “Are these yours?” “What?” James stuck his head into the room. “What do you mean, are those mine? Have you been having a bloke over while I’m out?”

hands <> theodoornott Call it cabin fever but it has reached the point where she cannot resist looking on as takes the broken and downtrodden into his hands and brings them back to life, whistling tunelessly as he works and clicking his tongue whenever he’s in deep thought.

a cauldron full of strong, hot love <> bigquidditchhero Lily’s got a summer job, and James is suddenly a keen potioneer. No war AU.

blue shell <> jamesstruttingpotter Did you actually just blue shell me on our date?

brand new neighbors au <> iolanthepotter/apalapucian What he’s trying to say is that, well, three knocks is too unceremonious a warning, and that he’s pretty sure this is his soulmate standing before him right now.

in another world <> itwasprongs/padfootdidit They meet accidentally, strings entangling together beneath the ink of Paris’ night. In the lamplight she is a ghost, hair on fire. James goes to her and the stars turn his backpack into dusty wings.

intercepted communication <> ravnclaws I use morse code to talk to my friend during class but it turns out you know morse code too and now you know that i think you have a cute butt AU.

key limes <> fetchalgernon/cgner In which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the existence of Prince James’s gold star system.

laugh to fall apart <> realslytherinchick Lily is fond of laser tag, but when the Marauders find out she has no one to play with, they invite themselves along to a game.

lessons in lesson planning <> fetchalgernon/cgner Lily and James are unwittingly set up on a blind date and execute the perfect revenge.

my spellbound heart <> hiddenpolkadots “What kind of person could they be if our shared mark is a pair of antlers on my arse?” asks Lily, craning her neck to stare at the ink, stark against her pale skin. No matter how hard she glares at it, it remains there.

pretty <> realslytherinchick “First you criticize the brilliance of my last-minute costume, then you nearly break my heart. Who are you, Lily, that you have such power over me?” “Either your worst nightmare or your wildest dream come true, but possibly both at once.”

rule #27 /’ the group with the pies’ <> poppypomfrey ‘Lily, take off the moustache, you’ve been wearing it for 20 minutes.’ ‘This is serious business,’ she says, tugging it from her upper lip, ‘and besides, it’s ten times better than your moustache.’ He can’t stop looking at her lips.

seven things <> iolanthepotter/apalapucian James leans in. Lily hears the script crumple in his hands, but she doesn’t look to check. His lips touch the corner of hers, a hand coming up to cup her face. He is moving. So. Maddeningly. Slow… She curses in her head, makes up about a hundred thousand excuses for the next second—and then grabs him down by the back of his neck and kisses him fully, desperately, fervidly.

shades of red <> fetchalgernon/cgner “I’d heard that the potion gave you Veela powers, but I didn’t know that also came with conceitedness.” “Is it conceit if my hair is that good? Because I think that’s just regular pride. Would you rather I lied and said I hated my hair?”

sheep riding and freefalling <> fetchaglernon/cgner He’s leaning forward in his seat to study an air vent, his face only a few inches away from the dashboard, his brow furrowed in concentration.“Fascinating,” he breathes. “Put your seatbelt on or I will pull this car over,” Lily says.

so tender and mild <> hiddenpolkadots If they lived fluffy domestic oneshot.

staff relations <> bigquidditchhero Professor James Potter is happy in his job as Transfiguration teacher - until the new Potions professor tries to ruin his life.

swipe right (into my arms) <> a_lrightevans Her thumb hovers over the unmatch button for a second, but then she switches back to his profile, and he really does have nice arms, so she just types out ‘you’re a massive prat and terminator is a shite movie, anyway’ and hits send instead.

textbooks, time scarves, and tea <> fetchalgernon/cgner Lily visits the coffee shop because Sev works there, even though he’s got a completely obnoxious coworker with admittedly fantastic hair.

the rom coms got it wrong <> hiddenpolkadots Fake dating AU

what a beautiful wedding <> a_lrightevans ‘Sneaking away… from your sister’s wedding… for a snog…’ said James breathlessly between kisses. ‘Classy, Evans—’ She shut him up by kissing him harder, knocking his glasses askew and tangling her hands in his hair. ‘Psh …’ she muttered as his lips moved to her neck. ‘This is what weddings were invented for.’

undercover <> a_lrightevans Lily scoffs. ‘We have sex like, once- maybe four times, and suddenly I’m your girlfriend?’ James shrugs.

mine

a list is just a list - The Marauders think the parchment James just dropped is a list of the places they’ve pulled pranks, but Lily knows better.

feels like love - Lily & James use each other’s wands for the first time.

hello, mister - me and my housemate just spent twenty minutes trying to take the lid off of a blender and had to resort to taking it to our next door neighbor, who we have never met or spoken to before.

pep(per) up, peppermint - Sixth year Lily is home, sick, at Christmas. Can a visit from her friends cheer her up?

shining stars - The ’78 Hogwarts class—Gryffindors, mostly—gather at a pub to catch up when someone brings up who, exactly, was to blame for Breda Padgett’s broken ankle, sixth year.

subtle arrangements - Person A owns a flower shop and Person B comes storming in one day, slaps a 20 on the counter and says, “How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flowers?”

the one that i want - James and Lily end up at the same costume party dressed up as two members of a famous fictional couple. Everyone makes them take pictures together and quote lines from the movie. It starts out really awkward but then Sirius, dressed as a pirate, finds them making out in the bathroom.

three quarts of milk - James and Lily have been in hiding for two months. James is stir crazy and trying not to show it. Lily jumps into action.

your other pillock boyfriend - James writes to Lily to explain a few things.

#jily #jily*#rec #lindsays

420 notes · View notes