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

Chapter 39

On Saturday, Lily awoke to an empty dorm room. She was surprised that James had already gotten up since he was usually a late riser. She quickly brushed her teeth and showered, managing to stuff her unfinished essay into her bag as she pulled on her socks.

When she entered the Great Hall, she sighed with relief as she spotted James sitting at the Gryffindor table, a plate full of food in front of him. Lily walked towards him, stopping when she was standing across the bench from him. She dropped her bag on the floor next to her as she grabbed a plate and sat down.

She began to pile food onto her own plate, frowning when she noticed James still hadn't touched his food. Lily nudged his foot, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." His voice was raspy. He swallowed and cleared his throat.

"Don't lie to me, Potter," she threatened, brandishing the butter knife she was using.

"First Quidditch match of the season," he croaked, still not making eye contact with her.

That's when Lily took in her surroundings. It was still pretty early in the morning, so only a few people were in the Great Hall eating breakfast at the moment. However, the few Gryffindors she noticed were all decked out in the telltale red and gold.

"Oh, well, I'm sure it's important to eat before a match. Go on," she told him, sliding his plate closer to him.

James continued to stare at his plate, food remaining untouched.

"Come on, James. You're the Captain, for Merlin's sake. You have to eat something."

"I don't."

"He speaks!" Lily exclaimed sarcastically.

James threw her a dirty look, but slowly picked up his fork and speared some hash browns onto it. However, he still remained unmoving, his gaze fixed on the potatoes in front of him.

Lily sighed and dropped her own knife, moving to place her hand over his. "James, you look like you're going to be sick. Is everything alright?"

He gave a noncommittal murmur and swirled his fork around his plate. 

A rough hand on her shoulder startled her. 

"He's always like this before a match," Sirius said, sliding onto the bench next to her. "You're lucky if you can even get him to look at you, much less speak."

Sirius was already dressed in his Quidditch robes, the ends of them trailing on the floor next to her. On the other hand, James looked like he had slept in his school uniform, his white shirt wrinkled, and his tie was crooked. His hair, usually in a constant state of disarray, looked even more rumpled than usual.

"Did you even sleep last night?" Lily asked him, taking in his appearance.

He shrugged. "No."

Lily sighed and reached over to grasp the handle of the coffee pot. She poured the black liquid into a mug and pushed it into James' hands.

"Drink."

He shook his head and tried to put the mug down, but Lily's grip was firm. 

"Drink it. Now," she ordered. 

He looked up at her, eyes dull. "I don't even like coffee."

She shared a quick look with Sirius. "There's always a first time for everything."

He glowered at her but took a sip nonetheless. She watched his face screw up at the bitter taste, and he quickly swallowed the liquid. 

"Well played, Evans," said Sirius, lifting his own mug at her.