Lily Evans rested her head in her hands as she listened to the seemingly endless sound of the rain pouring onto the rooftop. The common room had long been empty, its inhabitants having left for bed leaving Lily alone to stare at her parchment, illuminated by the light of a dying candle. Night-time was when she had always been able to think clearest, but at that moment thoughts slipped through her mind evasively; her headache growing with every concrete idea that she reached out for but couldn’t quite grasp. There weren’t many days like this, in which words simply escaped her, and she found nothing more frustrating.

Rubbing her temples feebly, she gave a sigh. You’re just too stubborn for your own good, you know that? she mused. She could name countless occasions when she was in danger of folding under stress, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to give up. When she had first received the news that she was Head Girl, she hadn’t known what to think. Naturally she was pleased, but couldn’t help feeling a little overwhelmed. She had been doubtful that she would have a second to herself between homework, revision, and Head Duties in her seventh year. As it turned out, she had been right.

Lily wanted nothing more than to retire to her dormitory, but her stubborn demeanour would have none of that. This is your alone time, remember? This is something that you shouldn’t have to stress over. You deserve a minute to yourself.

At what price does a minute to myself come? a second voice answered in the back of her head. It won’t be worth it if I’m falling asleep during Transfiguration tomorrow.

The sound of the portrait hole swinging open distracted her thoughts temporarily. Who the bloody hell could be up this late? Preoccupied with thoughts of a teacher catching her out of bed at such an hour, she anxiously made to stuff her notebook into her bag. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or annoyed – or perhaps a combination of both – when she saw Sirius Black stride into the common room.

“What on earth are you doing up this late, Black?�

Sirius was half way across the room before he noticed that he was in company. He jumped and looked around, startled, and Lily suppressed a smirk. “Oh, there you are!� he exclaimed, upon finally spotting Lily. “Why, what time is it?�

She snorted and glanced at her watch. “One thirty.�

She distinctly heard him mutter something about wanting a midnight snack, and couldn’t prevent a smile when an éclair fell out of his sleeve. As he bent to retrieve it, Lily studied him. Much as she hated to admit it, she had always been somewhat fascinated by Sirius Black. Though his complete disregard for school rules was far from admirable, it was somewhat of a marvel to Lily. She hadn’t met anyone who represented such an opposite image from herself as Sirius.

Regaining his composure, Sirius stared at Lily, and she quickly looked away. “What are you doing up this late, anyway, Evans?� he asked, and Lily shrugged. “Go on, then – without a valid reason I may be obligated to report you to Dumbledore,� he continued, his eyes gleaming.

Lily raised her eyebrows sceptically. “Are you honestly threatening to turn me in, Black? Dumbledore won’t even have time to punish me once I am finished listing all of your offences. And I’m not even breaking any rules anyway; I’m in the tower, aren’t I? That’s more than I can say for some people.� She glared at him and he smirked.

“All right, then, I won’t turn you in. Now, care to tell me why the esteemed Head Girl is up past curfew?�

“I am not breaking curfew!� she repeated bitterly. “And I’m just writing,� she explained, reaching down and shoving her notebook further into her bag.

“God, Evans, surely you take a break from schoolwork every once in a while?� he said in awe, eyeing the clock apprehensively.

“This isn’t schoolwork,� she stated.

Sirius gave her a look of incomprehension, clearly unable to fathom how or why someone would spend their time voluntarily writing, if not for school. “What are you doing, then?� he prompted, taking a seat next to her and grasping for her bag, though she bitterly yanked it off the table and out of his reach.

“I told you, just writing. You know, like, a story?� She rolled her eyes as his look of bewilderment remained.

“You can do that?� he finally asked.

“Do what?�

“Write?�

Lily blinked. “Er, yeah, I guess so.�

“I didn’t know that.�

She shrugged. “It’s not something that I like to tell everyone.�

“Why not?�

“God, do you ever give it a rest, Black?� she asked irritably.

“Nope,� he said, pulling the éclair from his pocket and taking a bite.

“I don’t know,� she continued, once she was sure he wasn’t going away. “I guess it’s just something that I do for myself, without the intent that anyone else will read it. Because, as much as I enjoy it, when I write I don’t think about how everyone else will like it. It’s just… for me.�

“Can I read it?� he asked, eyeing the notebook inside Lily’s bag.

“No!� she snapped, shoving her bag away as he made another grab for it.

“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad.�

She snorted. “It most certainly is. Even on a good day it’s hardly up to par. Today I could hardly write a single sentence.�

“Why is that?�

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve just run into a bit of a complication. I can’t decide what I want to do with my plotline is it, really. I think I want to change my plot from what I originally had in mind.�

Sirius blinked. “Why’s that a problem?�

“You wouldn’t get it,� Lily said irritably.

He inclined his head in a way that Lily would have classified as thoughtful, had it not been Sirius Black sitting beside her. “Probably not. But, as I do not in fact appear to be going away, you might as well tell me,� he said, producing another pastry from his pocket.

She sighed. “I don’t know why on earth I’m telling you this,� she snapped. “Other than the fact that I must be really tired, and really bored. But, I write because I’m insecure about a lot in my life right now,� she finally said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I graduate from Hogwarts. I don’t know how on earth I’m going to get my NEWTs with all of these classes that I so stupidly signed up for. And it’s not as though I’ve got a lot of friends to help me though this; I’ve been pushing them all away since the start of term. Writing’s something that I have always done. These stories are the one thing that’s always been consistent. If I change my plot now, I won’t know what I’m doing. Everything will be so messed up – it’s not like I need this to feel insecure about as well.�

Sirius raised his eyebrows at her explanation. “You know,� he said slowly, “you could always try something else.�

“What do you mean?�

“Just… go with the flow,� he said matter-of-factly.

“That’s just…not how I do things,� she said softly. “I always have to know what I’m doing. And so does she,� Lily continued, nodding towards her notebook.

“She doesn’t have to,� Sirius went on. “And neither do you. Sometimes you need to not have a plan, and let life take you where it will. You might be a lot happier, you know, if you try living in the moment. A lot of the time, it’s just…right.�

Lily gaped at him. Part of her couldn’t even begin to comprehend what was going on - is this really Sirius Black you’re talking to? - but also, everything seemed to be falling into place. Maybe that was why he never cared about breaking school rules, or why he would rather be off pulling pranks than studying.

“Don’t you ever look at the big picture?�

“Nah,� he said. “It’s not right for me. And from what I can tell, it’s not right for you either. I may be wrong, but, hell, you might as well give it a shot.�

“Why… why do you care?� she finally asked.

He shrugged. “You don’t seem happy. I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be.�

Lily studied his features. The unruly state of his black hair could rival that of James Potter’s, and though his grey eyes bore large bags underneath, there was that familiar gleam in them that never seemed to go away. She didn’t know what to think, really. She had just told Sirius Black everything about her – things she had never told anyone else. And yet… it felt so right.

Only then did she realise how close Sirius’ face was to hers. He slowly leaned in, his breath hot on her neck. His lips were so close to hers, so close… When he was mere inches away, the air riddled with anticipation, he pulled back. “It’s not right, is it?� he asked.

“Maybe not for her,� Lily whispered, shoving her notebook off the table, leaning in the rest of the way until their lips met. He met her with a passionate kiss, and she closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to be where she was right then, in that moment. At last they broke apart, and Sirius made to stand.

“Good night, Evans,� he said with a smirk.

Lily smiled. “'Night, Black,� she replied.

And watching his retreating figure walk up to his dormitory, for the first time that evening, she knew exactly what to write.