The Marauders and Lily

The Meeting

James
I awoke to the sound of an owl tapping at my window, I groggily grabbed the letter it was carrying; snapping awake when I realized it was from Dumbledore himself. Once again, I tried thinking about what I had done wrong recently- the list ever-growing. There were only two sentences on the page:

Meet me in my office for lunch. The password is honeycomb.

I wondered what this invitation could possibly mean. I had never heard of a Head being called to Dumbledore's office like this, but I had never spoken to a Head for long enough to ask about more than a certain little redhead's prefect schedule. All I had to do was finish my first classes of the day and then I could find out if this was a common practice for Dumbledore. I walked down the stairs from my room straight into the bathroom, quickly realizing that Lily was already in the shower. Her voice filled the room as she sang absentmindedly. I knew that I needed to leave, I shouldn't be in here in the first place, but all I wanted to do was listen to her sing forever. Finally, I found the willpower to stumble out of the bathroom and wait on the couch for her to be finished.

She walked out a few minutes later wrapped in her towel. I quickly stood up, not wanting to stare at her noticeably long. When Lily noticed my presence, a deep blush crept onto her cheeks, "Lily, um, can I have the bathroom now?"

She nodded before practically sprinting up her stairs. I had to smile, she was beautiful even when she was embarrassed, even when she had a deep blush gracing her cheeks. I slipped into the bathroom, finding everything I needed for a shower neatly arranged on the counter. I stepped into the boiling water, absentmindedly repeating the words I had heard Lily singing just moments before, "Here comes the sun and I say, it's all right."

I smiled to myself, feeling comforted by the happy words. I didn't know the rest of the song, so I simply repeated the one line until the words had no meaning.

When I had finally styled my hair to be just controlled enough that I could see, I stepped into the common room. To my surprise, Lily was draped across a chair with a book in hand. Our eyes met, neither of us looking away until a few too many moments had passed. I glanced down sheepishly, knowing that I shouldn't be staring; she wasn't interested. My goal this year was to surprise her with how mature I had become, introduce her to the real James Potter, the James Potter the Marauders knew. Her voice interrupted my thoughts, "I'm sorry, I, I was waiting to walk to breakfast with you. I, um, I just thought it would be rude to leave without you. It's such a small-"

"I'd love to, thank you!" I interrupted her, knowing she would leave if I didn't stop her mind from racing. Things already felt different between us. The more James I was, the more Lily she was; no more need for surnames.

I hurried through my dressing, grabbing my bag without so much as looking at it, and ran down the stairs to meet her. She looked shocked as I ran into the room, as though I had startled her with the sudden entrance. As though she hadn't expected that I'd actually come. The thought alone made me smile, little did she know that as long as she wanted me around, I'd be right here. 

She stood and led the way out of the common room. We made our way down the maze of stairs to the great hall, making small talk about our first day back at Hogwarts. It was the longest, civil conversation that we'd ever had. I assumed she'd join me and the Marauders when we made it to the great hall, but I was mistaken. She still scurried off to her friends when we arrived. I looked at the group critically, no one paid mind to Lily; all too preoccupied by their lover. I imagined myself there with Lily, but the picture didn't quite fit. I wasn't meant to just be a boyfriend, I was meant to be more then that; still James Potter. When I looked around at the Marauders and imagined Lily here, the picture felt whole and safe; I would still be me, I'd just have the girl of my dreams by my side. She'd make not only me, but the Marauders better. She'd complete us.