Portraits of a Flower in Bloom | Jily

4: So Scared of being Paranoid, Paranoid

~ Sunday 4th September, 1977: Night, part 1~
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The feast in the hall had finished, and the prefects had guided the first years to their common rooms. Everyone was unpacking, and people started slowly tricking into their shared lounge, absorbing in the place they would now called home.

However two people were not in the common room; for the head boy and girl got their own separated dormitory, which had it's own conjoined common room.

Both were unpacking their clothes, hanging posters and checking out their new, more spacious rooms. The privacy was nice, thought Lily, and a double bed... maybe sharing with James wasn't such a horrendous thing after all. Not if this is how she was going to live from now on.

She stood up from her bed and scampered over to the window. Peering out she had an enchanting view of the grounds. In the corner she caught a glimpse of the quidditch pitch and if she twisted her head she could just make out the courtyard. But the most magnificent view was straight ahead; over the hill, on which Hogwarts stood, was an expansive lake, light refracting off it every which way to give a mesmerising effect. Almost like the stained glass of church windows.

Beyond that was the forest, which seemed to stretch as far as she could make out. There were hills and dips and the endless trees merged together, swaying in the wind like they were performing a eternal dance, the sequence of which was only privy to those immortal entities. In the middle of it all was a beaming Autumnal sun, bouncing off everything in it's path, to create a warm, hazy glow to shroud this secretive forest.

Lily was entirely engrossed, not wanting to take her eyes away in case it was gone by the time she opened them. Unfortunately, after a short while, black and blue spots started appearing in her eyes and she was forced to blink and turn away. She spun around to see a messy haired figure, leaning casually on the wall just outside her room.

"Taking in the view huh?" James asked calmly, he strolled into her room and stood inches behind her, looking at her view for himself, "amazing isn't it?"

He jumped back onto her bed, making the springs inside squirm and shriek dangerously, "I kinda miss my old view though, you know? I used to look at that view whilst planning pranks or braiding Sirius' hair. This is a new view, I don't have any memories attached to it yet."

Lily who had been quiet up to this point was contemplating his words. The words that had, not for the first time today, revealed a new and sentimental side to James that he'd hidden until now. She quietly replied, "I know what you mean, I still vividly remember my first day, I felt so alone and different from everyone else, but I sat on my bed just staring out my old window... and it made me think maybe everything would be okay."

"Woah, Evans getting a little deep there aren't you?" Lily rolled her eyes and hit him with her pillow.

"Ow, what was that for?" He said, rubbing his neck gently as though a feathered pillow could hurt him, "almost had my eye out!"

"That," Lily scoffed, "was for being a prat."

"Well if all the punishments are going to be that painful, I better not be a prat again," he smirked and moved to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Maybe a good idea," Lily replied with a grin.

"Hey, follow me, I've got something to show you," James hopped off the bed and walked into their common room and sitting down enthusiastically on one of the chairs.

"Ta-da!" He spread his arms and smiled widely, clearly excited.

"James," Lily said simply, "that is a chair."