A loss that would have thrown
A hole through anybody's soul
And you were only human after all
So don't hold back the tears my dear
Release them so your eyes can clear
James rounded the corner of the corridor before stopping in his tracks. He
stood still and strained his ears, trying to catch a snippet of the sound he
thought he had just heard. In the distance he could hear faint sobs. Someone was upset. Really upset.
He walked slowly trying to find the source of the noise, when he came to a halt at the Astronomy Tower. After quietly opening the door he noticed someone huddled in a corner, with their arms wrapped around their legs. James squinted, attempting to recognize the figure.
'Evans?' he asked, surprised, 'are you ok?' James surveyed her, up and down.
Her eyes were pink and puffy, she had definitely been crying, and her flaming red
hair was a mess. James felt something tug at his heart as he watched her, she had never cried in front of James before.
'Go away' she whispered, refusing to meet his gaze.
James made his way over to where she was sitting and kneeled in front of her, intending to ask her what was wrong. Before he could say anything, he found Lily’s body pressed against his, her arms clinging onto his robes and her head on his
chest. He felt as though he was frozen, he had never been this close to Lily before, he didn't even feel the tears forming themselves
where Lily's face was lying. Eventually he snapped out of his trance and
moved his arms to hold Lily in, what he hoped was, a comforting manner.
James didn't know how long they were there for, but when Lily finally pulled away, he wished it could've been longer - it felt so right.
'They're gone' she said, trying to wipe away her tears with no success.
'They're gone!' she yelled again, hysterically, before breaking down into sobs again.
'Lily,' he said, moving an arm to rub her back. 'It's going to be ok,' He had
no idea who "they" were or where "they" had gone, but all he wanted at that
moment was for Lily to feel better.
He heard a short intake of breath before Lily's head snapped up. She looked
at him and narrowed her eyes.
'Potter?' she asked, as though just realizing who was comforting her, 'what
do you want?'
It was not a question, it was a demand.
His mouth hung open, what had changed? He was trying to do the right thing, helping her through whatever was happening to her, and, right after he thought he had done the right thing, she had assumed it was to get something in return! James Potter was not a stinking Slytherin!
I know that you will rise again
But you gotta let them fall
I wish that I could snap my fingers
Erase the past but no
You cannot rewind reality
Once the tapes unrolled
James sighed, he realized she was trying to pick a fight with him. Instead of fighting back like he normally would have, he tried a different approach at solving Lily’s problem. Gently he asked, 'Who is gone? You can tell me...'
Lily let out a dry laugh that had nothing to do with being happy. 'Why would
you care, Potter?'
James flinched at the way she spat out Potter, why did she hate him so much?
He had been arrogant, but he was willing to change for her, why couldn’t she see this? She was still trying to get him to fight...
'I want to help you...' he said, trying to keep his voice low, as not to provoke her into another verbal attack. James noticed that she looked surprised at his response. Her eyes were now looking into his and their hard, defiant look had softened slightly.
‘What’s happened?’ he tried again. ‘Who is gone?’
She looked at him skeptically, and seemed to be having a debate with herself as to tell him or not. It looked as though James’ side had won, because she handed him the note she had apparently been clutching in her hand.
He looked down onto the parchment and noticed it had small, wet blotches
scattered on it. They were Lily’s tears. The note read;
To Miss. Lily Evans,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
To Miss. Lily Evans,
We have the duty to report to you the unfortunate news of Mrs. Abigail Evans
and Mr. Jonathon Evans death. It is believed that Death Eaters attacked your
home at 10.48pm last night, where they murdered you parents. Your sister was
not at home at the time of the event. The Muggles in the surrounding area
have had their memories modified, so they are currently unaware of the
tragic happening.
I send this with my condolences and respect.
Phoebus Penrose
James looked up to see new tears streaming down her face, before whispering,
‘Lily…’
If your spirit's broken and you can't bear the pain
I will help you put the pieces back
A little more each day
And if your heart is locked and you can't find the key
Lay your head upon my shoulder
I'll set you free
I'll be your security
He shuffled closer and put his arms around her. Any other time and he
would’ve gotten a hex, but instead Lily returned the embrace. He stroked her
hair as she silently cried on his shoulder. They had most definitely missed
lunch, and half of their first class, but neither cared. They had more important things to look after.
Lily had stopped crying but was still clinging onto James, not that he
minded. He continued to murmur encouraging things to her, and, although the words were muffled from her hair, it seemed to be helping.
‘Thank you, James’ she said into his shoulder.
‘Anytime,’ He replied with a small smile.
On any clock upon the wall
The time is always now
So baby kiss the past goodbye
Don't let the future blow your mind
James finally let her out of their hug, and she sat, rubbing her eyes,
attempting to erase the evidence of her tears.
‘Lily…’ said James, slightly hesitantly. The last thing he wanted to do was spoil the time that they had been spending together by asking her out. He also felt slightly guilty, her parents had just been murdered and all he could think about was how much he wanted to be the one that always comforted her like this.
‘James, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?’ asked Lily, a blush creeping up
her face.
She had beaten him to his question. Lily Evans had asked James Potter to
Hogsmeade. He took a minute to register this new twist in, before a wide
smile passed across his face.
‘Yes!’ he answered, unable to contain the excitement in his voice.
She smiled for the first time since she had received the letter, before
moving towards him.
James’ smile was even wider as he realized what she was about to do. He bent down towards her and kissed her gently.
It was amazing. It was what James had been dreaming of since he first laid his eyes on the beautiful red-head. It was absolutely perfect.
When they broke apart, James looked at Lily. And knew he wasn’t mistaken for chasing her, she was everything he wanted. He would be there for her,
whenever she needed him. For Lily… his Lily.
Just sit back and chill
Take things as they come
You can't be afraid
To live for today
I will be with you each step of the way
Security by lupins_4eva
Chapter Notes: I want to thank LilyJamesPotter, my beta.... so, yeah, thanks.
Please R & R, it helps when you want to improve your writing!