[On Hiatus] It Was Meant to Be (A James and Lily Story)

Chapter 6

The next morning, James rushed out of the dormitory as fast as he could. He wanted to avoid any awkward interactions with Lily regarding last night. 

James sat down next to Remus in the Great Hall and began piling his plate up with as much food could fit. He glanced sideways at Remus and saw that the dark shadows under his eyes were more pronounced and was surprised to see how sickly pale his friend looked.

"Moony," he whispered under his breath, "you okay, mate?"

Remus gulped and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I-I'll be fine, Prongs. Are you sure that you can make it for tomorrow night?"

"Remus, I'll always be there for you. You know that, right?"

"Thanks James. I don't know what I would do without you guys."

"You would probably be some lame bloke who wished he had a friend as handsome as Sirius Black," a voice spoke up behind them. James didn't even have to turn around to realize who it was.

"Shut up, Sirius. We all know I'm the handsome one of the group," James retaliated.

"Right, and I'm the Minister of Magic," Remus said, rolling his eyes. He was used to this sort of witty banter, but what none of them could see was the warm feeling that was flooding through his veins. He had always thought that his condition would leave him, alone, without anyone to talk to, much less, friends like James, Sirius, and Peter.

"Oh and Remus, if I hear any more of that I'm not good enough talk, I'll hex you so bad you won't be able to see for the next month," Sirius warned.

James smiled and looked up to see the rush of owls delivering the morning post. A brown tawny owl dropped a copy of this morning's Daily Prophet in front of Remus. He placed a singular Knut into the pouch on the owl's leg and opened the paper just as Peter walked up behind them.

"Mornin'," Peter said as he grabbed a plate.

"Morning, Peter," Sirius clapped him on the back, "Remus, anything worth worrying about in there?"

Remus looked over the top of the paper at Sirius and narrowed his eyes. "Of course there's something to worry about, you fool. People are dying, Sirius. They're dying because some crazy bloke thinks people like you and James are better than me."

James, Sirius, and Peter stared silently at Remus as he went back to reading the paper. Remus had never spoken about their blood status in such a manner. With James being a blood traitor and Sirius being disowned by his maniac pureblood family, James had always considered all of his friends as equals. But now, he had begun to catch a glimpse of what life was like for those who weren't as privileged as he was. His mind jumped to Lily but was interrupted by Sirius.

"So, Prongs, Quidditch tryouts? Both Taylor and Williams asked me about it today and I think you should set a date soon."

James knew he was right. He couldn't spend all of his time worrying about his Head duties with Lily. "Fine, I'll post a date for the tryouts later tonight in the Common Room."

Their classes flew by quickly, mainly since none of them were really paying attention. He caught a few glimpses of Lily throughout the day but ducked his head down to make sure they didn't make eye contact. He was dreading going back to their dormitory. He was sure that it was an irrational fear, but this new friendship with Lily was so fragile, he didn't want to do anything to ruin it.

At long last, after spending as much time with his friends as he could, he grudgingly made his way back to the Heads Dormitories. He stopped in front of the portrait of Sir Cadogan, hoping that he would be able to stall some more.

"Wolf's Bane."

"Huh? How dare you disturb my peaceful sleep? Duel me and we will see who turns up the victor!"

James wondered how one could duel a portrait, but he simply said, "Just let me through."

The door swung open and James wearily walked inside, prepared for nothing.

"Potter! Where have you been? We have so much work to do!" James looked up and saw Lily surrounded by a massive stack of papers, her fingers smudged with ink.

"I'm sorry... what?"

"We have to create the schedules for the patrols! Have you already started to slack off? I knew I was going to have to do most of the work myself, but this is our second day! I should've known it anyway. Where were you? You know what? I don't care," she massaged her forehead and left small stains of ink, "Just let me finish this in peace."

"Evans! I told you on the train that I meant to take full responsibility for my actions and this position. And I meant it! Just because you think you're so high and mighty doesn't mean I won't do my share of the work. I'll admit that I forgot, but at least I'm here now! Tell me what I have to do!" James could feel his temper rising.

Lily narrowed her eyes and stood up. "What do you mean 'you think you're so high and mighty'? I have spent hours working on this and you come prancing in here like you own the place! If you think you can do it better than I can, go ahead, help yourself. I'm done." She threw her quill down and picked up her schoolbag from beside her.

"Fine!" He pulled the chair out, sat down, and began sifting through all the papers.

Merlin, this is complicated.

He stared at Lily's handwriting wishing that the words on the page made sense. He rubbed his temples slowly. Suddenly, he felt a small hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Lily pulling over a chair. She gave him a half-smile and sat down next to him.

"Sorry," she whispered. He looked at her gratefully.

"Well, two Heads are better than one," he joked.

In the dimming candlelight, they worked together through the night, arranging, rearranging, and finalizing. They worked quietly and found how easy it was to work with the other.

Halfway through the night, at around two in the morning, James instinctively reached out toward a mug he saw on the edge of the table and took a sip. His eyes bugged and he spat out the drink. Lily jumped, startled.

He looked inside the mug at the murky liquid swimming in the cup. "What the hell is this?"

Lily glanced at him sideways, "It's coffee. And it's bloody amazing. Oh, and that's my mug by the way."

James frowned and put down the mug. "Why can't you just drink tea like the rest of us Englishmen?"

"Because I'm not like the rest of you Englishmen."

James sighed and resumed his work. He would never fully understand Lily Evans. But, he was okay with that.