matching hearts ━ r. lupin

Chapter 06

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟎𝟔
*ੈ✩‧₊˚

It should be mentioned that Lily Evans held a strong dislike for secret admirers.

In such a large place like Hogwarts, it's no surprise that the whole thing had happened before. Unsigned love letters, flowers with no card, parcels with no return name. It was all standard secret admirer tactics. Sometimes it could even be charming. Like something out of one of the muggle romance novels that Lily secretly took delight in.

The thought that someone might want you, so much so that they find it difficult to tell you themselves. It was sickeningly sweet and bashful and of course, Lily loved watching it unfold.

But this was not a romance novel.

Lily was not looking for uncertainty. She was not looking for someone who didn't wish to make their identity known. She didn't want unsigned letters or flowers with no card.

She especially didn't want poems or gifts littered with tiny hints as to who they might be from.

And she really hated thinking for a second that the yellow flowers in a green vase on her dresser, accompanied by a ridiculously sweet note, could be from James Potter.

She was unsure.

She had been given flowers before but they were often Lilies, homage to her name. But last year, days before Valentine's Day and before James' incident with Severus he had asked her what her favorite flower was. And James had been so decent toward her at the time she'd gone and told him. Aria, Marlene, and James were the three people who knew of Lily's infatuation with orchids.

The flowers on her desk weren't from Marlene or Aria. She had asked profusely.

Lily sat at her desk in her dorm. Trying to do potions homework and failing on every level to not stare at the flowers.

They were from James. They had to be.

But if the flowers were from James that meant that the note had to be as well. A note about forever wanting and waiting for her. Just the thought of that being true formed a pit in Lily's stomach.

But the thought of it being from anybody but James made her feel so much worse.

Lily shouldn't even have anything to do with him. Even if Severus was an awful person, what James and Sirius did to him was horrible. But they of course did everything they could possibly do to get back into her good graces. They'd even apologized to Severus and Lily knew that had to have taken years off their lives.

And James meant it and Lily forgave him and they were fine.

And now Lily was staring at the flowers on her desk, secretly, embarrassingly, and desperately hoping they were from him.

She groaned loudly, running a hand through her red locks.

"Alright there, Evans?" Marlene asked from her bed.

"No."

"Does this have anything to do with the flowers in front of you?"

"...No."

"Convincing."

Lily groaned again. This was just so painfully typical of James. Forcing her into a situation where her feelings about him change again. It was frustrating and she'd had enough of it.

She stood up from her chair, refusing to let him take this much space in her mind.

"Where are you off to?" Marlene questioned as Lily haphazardly threw on some shoes and a jumper.