Disclaimer: written by @AMagicGirlInAMuggleWorld
Hogwarts, Fall Term, 1976
Thunder crackled in the distance, and Lily Evans looked up from her Transfiguration text. Gray storm clouds rolled towards her, low and menacing above the lake. "Shit," she murmured.
Lily slammed her textbook shut and shoved it into her bag. She leapt up from her favorite spot under the tree on the edge of the lake (perfect for studying on a warm September day) and began running up the hill towards the castle. The afternoon had gone from mostly sunny and breezy to dark and stormy in a matter of minutes. Lily urged her legs to move faster. Almost there, almost there, almost there, she repeated in her head as she ran.
The clouds split open at the same moment her school bag did. Her belongings - her textbook, some quills, a sketchpad, colored pencils, an ornate compact mirror that had belonged to her mother, and an unopened letter - spilled onto the newly wet grass. Her shoulders slumped as she looked at the things scattered at her feet. "Bollocks," she said, sighing.
She pulled the now-useless satchel from her shoulder began scooping up her possessions from the ground. She paused as she picked up the letter. The ink on the envelope was smearing in the rain, but she could still see Petunia's name and address on the front, and her sister's prim cursive below it. "Return to Sender."
Squatting in the grass in the courtyard, Lily clenched the envelope in her fist and closed her eyes, letting the rain run down her face. The letter had been an impetuously-offered olive branch from younger sister to elder, written on their mother's birthday. The first such birthday since their mother had died last year. In her loneliness, in the sorrow she felt as her mother's birthday approached and Lily realized that the day would come even though her mother was no longer alive to celebrate it, Lily thought that maybe Petunia would understand. Maybe, she thought, Petunia would be feeling the same loneliness, and would appreciate the chance to put aside their differences and reconnect with her sister.
She had been wrong. Petunia was not interested in putting aside their differences. In fact, it appeared Petunia was so thoroughly over, done, through with her sister that she didn't even bother to open the letter, didn't even want to read what Lily had to say before sending it back.
The rejection had hurt Lily more deeply than she had thought it could. Shoulders sagging, she wrapped the rest of her things in the torn satchel and walked the last fifteen feet to the castle slowly, heedless of the rain. Arms full, she leaned her shoulder against the heavy door leading in from the courtyard and stumbled into the dry corridor.
She bumped directly into James Potter. He caught her arm to steady her, then blinked in surprise as he recognized the dripping girl. "Merlin, Evans!" he said, grinning. "You look like a drowned cat."
Not the best way to win the affections of a young woman, but James' methods had never been orthodox. Besides, Lily Evans gave as good as she got.
Now, she looked at the sopping-wet items in her arms and then blinked up at James with wide green eyes. He smirked, hazel eyes mischievous behind his black-framed glasses, awaiting her witty retort.
And Lily burst into tears.
"Bloody hell!" James took a quick step backwards, then immediately forward again, hands extended almost ... gently, as though he wanted to pull her into his chest, grab her face, stroke her hair - something, anything, to comfort her. But he didn't, and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets instead. "Evans, what's wrong?"
Lily dropped everything she was carrying, except the returned mail bearing her sister's name. The mirror from her mother cracked as it hit the ground. With a gut-wrenching sob, Lily slumped against the wall and slid slowly to the floor. She angrily wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned away from James. "I'm fine, Potter. Just leave me alone."
James froze in the face of so much raw emotion, then immediately began racking his brain for some way to fix the mess in front of him. He was relatively inexperienced in the art of comforting a teenage girl, so he settled on collecting Lily's fallen belongings. Then, with the kind of caution one employs in disarming a live bomb, he carefully lowered himself to the ground next to her.
"Well, you're obviously not fine," he said reasonably. He stacked her items in a pile at her feet and looked at her expectantly.
Lily sniffed, and her tone was haughty despite her tears. "Maybe not, but you certainly can't help." Her voice took on a slightly pleading note as she added, "Please go away."
"How do you know I can't help? I'm very resourceful," James said, nudging her with his elbow. She ignored him, head turned firmly to the side and arms folded tight around her stomach. "In any event, sometimes it feels better just to get it off your chest, don't you think? I say let it out." He made a sweeping gesture with one arm.
They sat in silence for a moment, James waiting and Lily hoping he would give up and go about his business. Finally, realizing that he wouldn't, Lily turned and glared at him. "Fine! Fine. We've got this Transfiguration exam tomorrow and I cannot for the life of me understand the theory behind cross-species transfiguration. I mean, it was one thing to turn a teacup into a mouse and back again, but turning a cat into a salamander or whatever is just beyond me. Not to mention larger mammals! It's a wonder I ever passed my O.W.L.!"
She huffed angrily and turned away from James again. When she resumed speaking, her voice was quieter. "But I just keep thinking, last term I studied with Severus. And he always helped me figure it out, and now it just reminds me all over again that my best mate was a bigoted twat."
"He wasn't your best mate," James said quickly, eyes flashing. "The first person you met at Hogwarts, maybe, but never worthy of your friendship. Never." He snorted. "Good fucking riddance."
"I already know what you think of him," Lily said coldly. "All the more reason I didn't want to discuss this with you." Her eyes filled with tears again, but she rapidly blinked them away. "Doesn't matter. I just want this day to be over. I'm soaked, my bag's torn, I've broken my mum's mirror, and then I get this in the post . . ." She brandished the unopened letter in James' direction.
He took it from her flailing hand, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What's this, then?"
"A letter. Returned to sender." Lily glowered at him as though this - or everything, or anything - were his fault.
"I can see that, yes," James said patiently. He looked at the address again. "Your sister?"
Lily nodded, not trusting herself to speak. James waited for her to say something, then prodded her some more. "Has she moved or something?"
"No," Lily whispered, shaking her head. "She just doesn't want to talk to me. Ever again."
James let out a low whistle. "Forever's a long time, you know, Evans. I can't imagine you've done anything so terrible as to warrant forever. I mean, is everything really beyond repair?"
"Yes," Lily said adamantly. "If anything could have brought us back together, I thought it would be this. My mum's birthday-she's all I've got left, and-but she wouldn't even read it." Lily felt like a little kid again, desperate for her big sister's approval. "She really does hate me."
"I doubt that's true," James said softly. He didn't know exactly what Lily was talking about, in terms of her mother's birthday or why her sister would hate her to begin with, but her words felt familiar. He remembered the row he'd had with Sirius - who was as close to him as any brother could ever be - last year. The fight that had nearly caused them to come to blows, the one that had led to the two boys not speaking for weeks. At the time, James didn't think they'd ever recover, that things could ever be the same between them. But they had, and they were. Now he looked at Lily with eyes full of concern and added, in a tone more serious than she was used to hearing from him, "You'd be surprised what family can forgive." He paused, as if considering saying more, but he didn't. After a moment he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Lily sighed. She thought of Petunia, and her mother, and her bedroom in her family's house in Cokeworth, and even Severus, and she worried if she started talking, she would never stop. "It's a long story," she said finally said, her voice trembling slightly. "I'd rather not."
James looked at her for a beat longer, then nodded. "Well, I suppose you were right on one count, then," he said gently. "I probably can't help you with your sister, except to say, don't give up." He put a hand on Lily's knee, and she flinched in surprise. "Don't give up," he repeated seriously.
Something about James' tone - or maybe it was his touch? - made Lily's cheeks flush. What's that about? she wondered. She nodded slowly, and an odd thought crossed her mind. Severus and Petunia. Who would've thought two people who despise each other so much could have so much in common? I'm proud to be Muggle-born, and I'm proud to be a witch, but neither one of them will ever accept all of the parts that make me who I am. So maybe I'm better off focusing my energy on all the people in my life who do accept me, and bugger the rest.
But Petunia was family, and Lily had precious little of that left. She looked up at James and realized he was right. She couldn't give up. "I won't," she said softly. "Honestly, I don't think I can change her mind. But she's my sister. I'll always try to make things right between us."
"Good." James nodded curtly. He clapped his hands once, the serious expression fading from his face to be replaced by an impish smirk. "As for the rest of your problems, they certainly are not beyond repair. In fact, they fall squarely within my purview! First, your mirror." James picked up the cracked compact from the floor and pulled out his wand. "Reparo," he muttered, and the shards of glass realigned and sealed themselves in place. He held it out to Lily with a smile. "There!"
"Oh," Lily mumbled, slightly embarrassed that she hadn't thought to do that herself, "Right." She laid her torn bag on the ground in front of her and fixed it with magic, as well.
"Look at that, two problems solved already!" James grinned a lopsided grin. "Now, I don't suppose you'd want my help drying off?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively. Lily scowled, and James lifted his hands to his shoulders in an innocent gesture. "Right, I didn't think so. But the Transfiguration exam - that I can help with. It's my best subject. Ask me anything." He leaned back and gave Lily a confident smirk.
Lily's scowl deepened. "You're going to help me study?" She served the words drenched in skepticism with a side of dismay.
"Absolutely," James said, beaming. "And I'll choose not to take offense at your tone. If we start right now, I'll have you up to speed in no time."
"Argh. 'No time' is what I've got. I'll never be ready by morning." Lily shook her head quickly, but her expression was far less skeptical than her tone had been moments ago. "I appreciate the offer, Potter, but at this point I think I'll just go lie in bed, staring at the ceiling and wishing this wretched day was over, already."
James frowned. "No, no," he said, wagging his finger disapprovingly, "the Lily Evans I know would never sit in her room moping when she could be taking action. That girl wouldn't give up studying Transfiguration 'til she knew the theory backwards and forwards. So I'm going to help you find that girl today." He nudged her again. "Plus, I think you could use the distraction."
Lily snatched her arm out of range of his elbow. "Fine," she grumbled, but she knew he was right. She sighed for what felt like the millionth time in the past twenty minutes. "Just let me go back to the dorms and change clothes."
"Pity," James murmured, raising an eyebrow. "If you aren't going to let me help with the drying process, I actually rather enjoy this wet look."
Lily swatted him. "Watch it, Potter."
"Always." He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes. With a charming smile, he handed her the mirror and pushed himself to his feet. Lily shoved her things into her newly repaired school bag, and James extended a hand to help her up from the floor. Together, they began to walk back toward Gryffindor tower.
Except for the squish of Lily's shoes, they walked mostly in silence, Lily thinking about the unfamiliarity of agreeing to study with James and James wondering whether Lily recognized yet how good things could be for them, together, if she'd just let him in.
And, if we're honest: James was also thinking about how pitiful-yet-adorable Lily looked soaking wet. She caught him watching her, and she blushed again. What is wrong with me? She shook her head as if to clear it. It didn't work.
They reached the portrait hole, but before James could give the Fat Lady the password, Lily grabbed his arm. "Hey. Thank you for helping me. And for not just taking the piss when you found me ..." She gestured vaguely to her splotchy, tear-stained face and her dripping wet hair, and she laughed awkwardly. "Of all the people to see me like this, it had to be you."
James grinned his crooked grin, relishing the feeling of her hand on his arm. "You know, it's a new year. Who knows, you and I might even become friends." He raised his eyebrows merrily.
Lily groaned and clutched her head dramatically. "Potter . . . I'm upset enough as it is."
At that, James chuckled. "Come here, Evans," he said, reaching out and wrapping her in a hug. He pulled her tight to him, and, to his surprise, she let him. "There, now. Being my friend wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to you, would it?"
Lily leaned into James, and a corner of her brain made note of how natural it felt to have his arms around her. She frowned. "I suppose it wouldn't," she conceded, mumbling into his chest. Still, after a moment she pushed him away, and when he looked down he saw a twinkle in her eyes and smirk on her lips. "Don't get any ideas, though, Potter. I wouldn't want to have to sic the squid on you. He's a jealous sort, and so much bigger than you."
James burst into laughter again. "Ha!" he crowed, with a small but victorious fist pump. "There's my girl!"