Magic
Disclaimer: It’s all J.K.’s.
Did you know how you would move me well,
I don’t really think so.
but the night came down and swept us away.
and the stars they seemed,
to paint the most elaborate scene to date.
We’re So Far Away by Mae
James Potter knew something about Lily Evans that no one else knew; not her friends, not her teachers, not even her family. He was the only one in the world that knew her secret.
Secret. Their secret. Of course, she had no idea that he had any knowledge of it, nor was he sure she wanted him to know.
How had it happened? How exactly had he found out? Luck. Pure dumb luck. It had happened in his fifth year, on a warm Friday night in early April, just moments after the Marauders had returned to the castle after a long night, in which they helped Remus transform. They returned to their dormitories, late, and nearly everyone collapsed into their four posters. Everyone, that is, except for James.
Instead, he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his Potions essay, thoughts of Quidditch replaying in his head. On warm nights like this, when the entire world was asleep, he couldn’t concentrate. He had to be outside, on his broom, the wind ruffling his hair.
His head ached, and his fingers twitched. He needed it. He had to have it in between his fingers, the wings flapping in the palm of his hand. The Golden Snitch. He wanted the Snitch, which sat all alone, in his trunk that he was currently laying his bare feet on.
Then, without realizing it, he jumped off his bed, and kneeled down next to the trunk, jiggling the lock. After a moment, he pulled it open, and his hand quickly grasped the green sock that sat between his Quidditch robes and his invisibility cloak, two of his most treasured possessions.
He slowly pulled it out of the sock and held it up, imagining the cheering fans, imagining himself raising the Quidditch Cup yet again.
He sat on his bed again and let go of the snitch, closing his eyes. He often played this game, where he would let it roam the room, and then he would make a miraculous catch. However, tonight, just seconds after he squeezed his eyes shut, he heard it collide with the glass of a window across the room. He opened his eyes just in time to see it fall into the soft seat cushion below the window it had crashed into.
He stood up lazily, rolling his eyes, and wandered over to where it sat. As he picked it up, something else caught his eye. Rather, someone, a girl, lying sprawled out on the banks of the lake, staring up at the sky.
She looked to be about James’s age, and, when he looked closer, he recognized her red hair, flowing out in all directions around her head. She was a Gryffindor, a fifth year, like him, one of the smart ones, that the teachers liked, that everyone liked. One of the girls that always answered questions, that always won house points, always went to Slughorn’s parties.
He continued to stare at her, not really knowing why. She wasn’t the most beautiful girl, not the nicest, not the most popular, so what was it about her that made him wonder about her, made him want to watch her?
Why was she staring at the stars? What did she look like up close? What was her favorite class? What color were her eyes? James had to know. He wanted to know everything about her, every detail, every flaw, everything. He wanted to talk to her, to laugh with her, to touch her hair, to stare into her eyes. Why, though? What, exactly, was it about her?
It was at that moment that James Potter became absolutely infatuated with Lily Evans.
And so, since that night, the night he had found out her “secret,” James watched her. He watched her in the halls, in class, at feasts, and, every Friday night, when she would wander down to the lake and look at the sky. At the end of his sixth year, he began to follow her, hidden under his invisibility cloak, and he even continued to do so now, in his seventh year.
But this year was different. Unlike the past years, she didn’t hate him. She had actually given him a chance, and, to both of their surprise, they had grown to be close friends.
And so, he became more and more infatuated with her. Now, she was real, not some fantasy he had. He didn’t have to dream about the two of them laughing together or talking to each other because it actually happened.
They were always together, roaming the halls, studying in the library, eating at the feasts. Now, they were inseparable, and, to most of the people in the school, it was obvious that they were indeed in love, however, to James, it wasn’t possible. She only wanted friendship, as she constantly reminded him that they were best friends.
So now, on a warm Friday night in late April, James gazed out the window, waiting for her angelic figure to appear.
The sky was the clearest he’d ever seen, and the crescent moon reflected off the black, smooth lake. A gust of wind came through the open window of his dormitory, and it made the hairs on his arm stand on end.
To James, something about this particular night was different. It was unbelievably hot for April, the sky was bright and clear, and the stars seemed to glow more than usual. To him, it was a perfect night.
James glanced back to where his invisibility cloak lay, draped across his trunk, and he smiled to himself, thinking of the night ahead; stargazing with Lily Evans.
He looked out the window again and his stomach gave a pleasurable squirm. There she was, walking towards the lake, her skin glowing in the dark. When she was just steps from the lake, she turned around and stared up at where he stood.
His heart stopped and he ducked behind a curtain, in fear of being caught. He breathed in sharply, and then peeked out the window again. She was still staring up at it, but, when his head came out of the curtain, her shoulders sagged slightly, and she turned around, trudging to the banks.
James’s heart sank. She was looking for him. She wanted to see him. He glanced back at his invisibility cloak, then back at Lily. Without really thinking, he ran, out of the dormitory, out of the common room, out of the castle, into the warm night air.
He was approaching her quickly, and he knew she could hear his ragged breathing and his feet trampling against the grass.
Sure enough, she looked over her shoulder when he was just a few feet from where she sat, and she smiled, looking pleasantly surprised.
“Hey,” he said, lying down in the grass next to her. She followed suit and a giggle escaped her lips when her head landed in a patch of dandelions.
“Hi,” she whispered shyly, her cheeks turning red.
There was a long moment of awkward silence, and James looked up at the sky, feeling extremely small compared to the millions of twinkling lights above. He gulped, trying to ignore the squirming of his stomach.
“What are you doing out here?” he muttered slowly. She smiled.
“Making wishes…”
“Wishes?”
She nodded. “When I was a little girl, me and my mom would go outside at night, and she always told me to make a wish on a star. I always did, but… they never came true, so I guess I’d always hoped that someday…”
“Your wish would come true?” James finished.
“Yeah.”
He gazed into her eyes, smirking, his eyebrows raised. She covered her face with her hands.
“I know, I know. It’s stupid,”
James smiled and pulled her hands away from her face, placing them down at her sides. “No, of course it’s not stupid, I was just thinking… about how happy I am that we became friends this year.”
She smiled. “Me too.”
They stared at each other for a while, and James shifted his position so that he was lying on his side, facing her. He slowly moved his hand towards hers, and their fingers intertwined.
“Make a wish,” he whispered, giving her hand a playful squeeze.
“What?”
“Make a wish…”
Lily blushed and squeezed her eyes shut, her lips twitching in an attempt to hold back a smile. She hummed for a while, and then sighed, opening her eyes.
“Did you do it?” he murmured. She nodded. “What did you wish for?”
She shook her head. “I can’t tell you or it won’t come true!”
“Do you want it to come true?”
“Yes,”
“Do you think it will?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know,”
He laid his head in the grass and stared up at her.
“Did you make a wish?” she whispered. He shook his head.
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know,” he muttered.
“Make one!”
“Fine.”
He closed his eyes and made a quick wish, then opened them, staring up at the sky, at the millions of stars above him.
“What did you wish for?” Lily asked.
“Do you really want to know?” he replied, turning his head to face her.
“Yep.”
“I wished… that you would tell me your wish.”
She burst into laughter and sat up, and evil grin forming on her lips. “You’ll never know my wish!”
“Oh really?” he said, sitting up with her.
“Yes really. I won’t tell you.”
“Well, I guess you have to suffer the consequences…” he said slyly. She raised her eyebrows and frowned.
“Consequenc-” she began.
Before she could finish, James jumped on top of her and began to tickle her mercilessly. She let out a shriek, and then began to twitch underneath him, her mouth muttering inaudible pleads.
After a moment, James stopped and smiled down at her, realizing that he was indeed laying on top of her and that her face was just inches from his own. She, too, seemed to notice, and her eyes softened.
Suddenly, her lips were pressing against his, and her hands were running through his hair. But, as soon as it had begun, Lily pulled back, her nose touching his, staring at him. He smiled, and kissed her hard on the mouth, pushing her into the ground. She let out a giggle and kissed him back, and for a few long moments, they stayed this way, until Lily pulled away, her hands on his face. James stopped reluctantly, and she smiled shyly.
“I guess at least one had to come true,” she whispered, and James kissed her quickly again, and then rolled off of her, onto the soft grass next to her. She moved her head so that it lay against his chest, and he softly kissed the top of her head.
She looked up at the stars, as did he, and they both sighed.
“It’s magic…” she whispered.
“What is?”
“The stars…”
James gazed up at the sky and smiled. “Yeah… magic…”
A/N: I hope you liked it, and I’m open to any ideas, suggestions, comments, and constructive criticism. Please review! Thanks!