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

Chapter 14

Lily was fed up.

It had been almost another week since her fight with James and both of them refused to acknowledge the other. Lily didn't understand it. She had done nothing wrong. In fact, he was the one who read her letter and accused her of telling secrets. She didn't need to defend herself though since he was the one being unreasonable. What hurt her the most was the fact that he thought she would tell Remus' secret, even after she explicitly promised not to.

Lily huffed as she continued taking notes in Charms, her mind replaying the other fight she had. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought back to her encounter with the Slytherins. She unconsciously ran her thumb over her cheek, feeling the faint scar there, properly healed. Mary had been furious when she saw the scar, while Alice stroked her hair and rebandaged the wound.

She remembered Snape, the cold look in his eyes. She could see the shell of the friend he was, but he had grown to someone she didn't recognize. He had stopped her from fighting for what she believed in. He had stopped her from fighting the bigotry of Bellatrix. Lily's jaw tightened when she recalled how helpless she had been. He had thrown her wand away from her and she barely reached it in time to help James.

Lily was so lost in her thoughts that she barely registered her name being called.

"Miss Evans! I just asked you a question," informed Professor Flitwick.

Lily swiveled her head toward her teacher, a blush rising through her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Professor. Would you please repeat the question?"

"What factors determine the duration of the effects of a hex?"

"The efficacy of the spellcaster countered with the strength of the target," Lily answered flawlessly, and her green eyes brightened as an idea began to take shape in her head.

"I suggest you pay proper attention, Miss Evans. Your NEWTs will be upon you before you even know it." Flitwick scolded, while Lily gulped.

When Flitwick dismissed the class, Lily told Mary and Alice that she would meet up with them later and approached Flitwick's desk.

"Professor, I apologize for not paying attention in class, but I have a favor to ask you," Lily began, cautiously.

"Of course, Miss Evans. How may I help you?"

Lily took a deep breath. "Professor, I wanted to ask you to teach me how to perform wandless magic."

Flitwick raised his eyebrows. "Miss Evans, that is-"

"I know, it's advanced magic. But I want to learn. I'm muggle-born, Professor. I need to be able to defend myself against the people who think I don't deserve to even hold a wand. I promise you, I won't ask for much. Just something simple, like the Summoning Charm, just so I can get my wand. I just want to defend myself," Lily pleaded, her eyes boring into her professor.

Filius Flitwick looked at Lily Evans. Sure, she was intelligent, but he had also noticed how kind she was. She always helped her fellow classmates with a particularly difficult assignment, patiently guiding them through the movements. He hadn't realized how much she had grown over these seven years. He remembered her as a first year, her bright green eyes in awe as she learned how to levitate a feather. She was Muggle-born, but she was one of the most capable witches he had ever met.

He finally looked over at his pupil. "Yes, of course, Miss Evans. I will help you."

Lily beamed, her smile reaching her eyes. "Oh, thank you so much, Professor Flitwick. I won't let you down!" Lily answered, bounding out of the classroom.

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Sirius walked through the corridor, heading nowhere in particular. Sometimes, he just walked around the castle, aimlessly, trying to make sense of the thoughts in his head. He wanted to explore every inch of the castle, and he really wanted to memorize every bit of the place that he considered home.