han frowns some at the sharp tone,   trying not to allow the sour turn show on his face;     of course,    he thinks,    this is what he gets for trying to attempt conversation,    for trying to be nice and amicable.    perhaps next time he’ll justs stay quiet,    he thinks.    still,     despite that he spares lily a glances as she speaks next,    shrugging.    “it’s fine.    and,   well     …    not to be dark,   but there are scarier things than that in the world.    especially now.”

Lily sighed. “You’re right”. There were so many things going on out there, the Magic World was on the verge of a war and still, the scariest thing she thought about was the dark. “I really should get over this stupid fear and focus on real things... and sorry again for the harsh tone before” she added. “You’re being so nice to me and I’m... not the best right now... the dark has not a good impact on me” she said, shaking her head.

Emmeline blinked, not used to compliments of that nature. “Thank you,” she said after a moment, wondering if Lily truly meant that. “You are too,” she offered after a moment, feeling like she needed to return the compliment but not very good at things like this.

Lily lowered her gaze, smiling gently. “Thanks... anyway...” she continued, raising her head. “Can I help you somehow? I’m realizing the more I stay without doing nothing, the more useless I feel” Lily sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit but her eyes suddenly bright, lightened by a new force.

“And go through all that pain again? No thank you,” he quipped in response with a grin. “I love Inside Out too, all the memories and things, it’s a nice concept,” he paused in thought.

Will looked across as his eyes left the wooden bed frame and landed on her. “My Mom has had The Notebook on in the background but I’ve always gone off to my room. I don’t like being emotional too much, plus when I just start crying over nothing when a movie is on, it’s embarrassing,” he grinned, finding humour in the situation than true humiliation.

His gaze stayed on her at the words that filled his ears. He could feel his heart in his throat. Will opened his mouth a little before words failed him, he wasn’t brave enough.

“Nothing wrong with being hopeful,” he uttered as his gaze dropped to the space between them. He somewhat wished that he could be brave, that he could tell her. He was just too scared.

Dropping his head, he moved over as he had found himself in her hugs so often. It brought comfort and safety. “I promise we’ll go back to your dorm later, if not, you can stay over,” he offered. Right now she was safety and he was a little selfish in how reluctant he was to leave her.

Lily chuckled a bit. “Yeah, Inside Out was really something...” she said, lowering her gaze. “It leaves you thinking” and crying she thought. The third saddest animation movie she ever saw, after Coco and The Iron Giant.

Lily nodded. “I understand. You give your tears only to Disney masterpieces” she said, chuckling a bit. “But I get what you mean... sometimes it’s strange being so emotional over something that’s not even real. However, I kinda like it...” she shrugged a bit. “Moreover, just so you know, most of the romcoms don’t tear your heart apart in tiny little pieces... listen to the expert” she winked at him. It was strange for Lily how around Will she felt so confortable to say almost anything went through her mind.

After she finished what she was saying, Lily saw Will open his mouth and she held her breath, not knowing exactly what she was expecting. After his words though, she sighed. She should’ve stopped making up movies inside her head... then Lily smiled softly. “Yeah, nothing wrong...”

Lily smiled as Will moved closer to her. She let one arm around him, rubbing slowly his back and embracing him gently. She closed her eyes,feeling again the tiredness but enjoying the heat coming from WIll’s body even more than before. “I don’t mind stay here a little more... Here, with you, it feels nicer than ever...” she whispered, her words so low she was not sure if Will heard them.

Will smiled brightly as he listened, “yeah I can’t really picture a date topic,” he chuckled. He softened at her words and let his shoulders relax. The comfort on his hand kept him settled as he casually brought up things like school and quidditch, casual talk they usually carried out.

“I’m sure you’ll have done fine, more than fine even, you’re clever,” he spoke softly. “Mine- I always over worry so I can never really tell until results come back. However,” he paused before looking across at her. “I feel like they went reasonably okay,” he shrugged.

Before he knew it, his arm was being yanked and he was dragged in the direction of Honeydukes. Laughing to himself, he made sure his feet kept up with her excitement and breathed in the ecstasy that was sugar. “Everywhere,” he answered, eyes glistening with excitement as he too adored sweets and sugar. He had a stash underneath his bed.

“I need several chocolate frogs, my collection is missing a fair few,” he began as his eyes traced the wonderful delights. “Oh! Have you tried fudge flies, they’re one of my favourites- oh and droobles, I need a packet of droobles for class. Keeps me entertained.”

As they started talking about things they were used to, Lily relaxed a bit too. If she had said she wasn’t nervous about this date, she’d been lying! But chatting with Will as always... it made everything better.

Lily smiled gently at him hearing his words. “I’m very happy to hear that”. It was really nice seeing him not nervous. Sometimes he truly worried too much about his work. “You’re a smart too, Will. Don’t understimate yourself” she added, squeezing a bit his hand before leaving a quick peck on his cheek.

“Oh, I need lots of jelly slugs and sugar quills! Nervous eating before exams made me finish all my backups...” Lily sighed, looking around to find them in the big mess the shop was. “And I need droobles too...” she said, biting her lip to concentrate and recall if she had to buy anything else.

“Maybe a couple of peppermint frongs? No, they were a bit too much last time...” she started muttering to herself, before realizing Will was still there. “I’m sorry” she said, curling a lock of hair around her finger, blushing not so slightly. “When it comes to sweets, I can get a bit crazy...”

He nodded, he understood those feelings. The thing was that these things didn’t just happen, and no matter how many times you tried to tell yourself they did, you knew, deep down, you were wrong. “It feels shitty so say, but at least things weren’t worse than what they are”

Lily sighed at Asher’s words. “You’re right. I mean, it’s the hard truth and we can’t ignore it” Lily said, leaning against the wall. “We don’t really have to accept it... but we can’t ovethink about it neither... dwell on things won’t bring anywhere”

“oh,    of course.    i understand.”    han responds,    quickening his pace immediately    –   he pauses for just a moment to make sure that lily’s in step with him.     “you know,    fear of storms isn’t something to be shameful about.”    he says,    quietly,    hoping to maybe help her feel better.    “everyone has fears or things that make them feel unsettled, right  ??”

“I’m not afraid of storms” Lily repeated, a bit more harshly than what she wanted. “Sorry” she sighed, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “As I said, I like thuderstorms... the smell of earth, the sound of the heavy rain on the windows, it’s so relaxing! But I don’t like dark corridors when thunders could roar at any moment scaring me”. Lily shivered as her words were followed by a thunder. “It’s like being in an horror movie where the killer could jump out from every corner. Don’t you think?”

“They will,” Emmeline assured her gently. “We have good mediwitches here. Everyone will be okay. But, you know, if you need a break or anything I’m sure the professors will be lenient. They’ve already cancelled exams and classes for the week, but if you need more time to recover, I’m sure they’ll give it to you. I can even advocate for you.”

“You don’t need to do that” Lily shook her head with a weak smile. “I’m sure the days they left us will be enough to put myself at ease again... I appreciate the offer though. You’re really a nice persone Emmeline” she said, smiling gently at the girl next to her.

Remy laughed softly, amused at her lack of knowledge on dragons. Not that he could blame her, he wasn’t going to know all about Muggle Studies or which kind of tarot card is the best to use in Divination. His eyes watched as she brushed her hair behind her ear and he bit his lip slightly. Lily was definitely recognisable by her hair but he had never noticed just how shiny it was before.

“Herbology, eh?” His face flooded with surprise by that answer. Personally, he found Herbology terribly dull. Who cared about plants? They didn’t do anything apart from sit there, in his personal opinion. “Come on Evans, don’t sell yourself short. Plants have got some uses, haven’t they? I’m sure a lot of remedies for potions come from Wiccan Willows or something.” He grinned, shaking his head at the absurdity of plants. “Not to mention, the best plant going is dangerous. Venomous Tentacula can be very dangerous. I got bit by one once when I was younger, thought I was a goner.” Remy added with a dry chuckle. “Do what makes you happy, I say.”

Lily nodded slowly as he talked. “You’re right” she said. “Plants can really be useful... as you said, no plants means basically no potions...”. Lily shrugged before taking her last sip of drink. “I still have time to think about it. Maybe by the end of these years I’ll have changed my mind again and you’ll find me teaching astronomy” she chuckled to herself. “I hate astronomy” she explained to Remy. Now she really felt dizzy! It wasn’t a bad feeling, but it was also strange how words rolled out of her mouth almost without control.

“Anyway” Lily continued, moving her hand in front of her face, as shoving away an annoying fly. “Now I really want to try to picture your Chinese Fireball. Even though I have the smallest knowledge on dragons, doesn’t mean I can try to learn more! Tell me, how is it?” she asked, smiling at Remy.

Quirinus felt bad about keeping it from her, of course he didn’t know her well but he knew he had nothing to fear from her. She was kind, sweet and above all, spoke to him like he existed. He inhaled deeply and shrugged his shoulders keeping his head on the stone floor of the castle. “Comments… The occasional hex… I-I’m used to it…. I’ve had it all my life.” Quirrell said with a very weak smile. The amount of abuse had become as natural as sunlight to him. It was a natural occurrence in his life and no amount of time could ever heal that. Bullying was a wound that would never be closed. The second you stitch up your old wounds, someone rips open the seam with that trigger. That one word or phrase that just sends you right back into your old body, your old life. Suddenly, you’ve regressed ten years and you feel small and empty. One word was all it took to make the old wound bleed fresh, familiar blood once more.

Lily looked at Quirinus. He seemed so helpless right now, like his head was remembering all sort of bad things that ever happened to him, despite the little smile on his lips. “You know” she started, raising her chin. “I had my portion of bullying through all elementary school... I was a bit too much smart and my hair didn’t help me mix with all the kids...” she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. Remembering those times always gave her shivers down her spine. “Not the best years of my life... I think about those days often, it’s hard not to... they helped me became who I am but still, they still hurt”. Lily raised her gaze to Quirinus. “I’m literally no one to you, I know, but if that guy bothers you again, I’ll kick his ass. I may be nice, but I can’t stand bullies...”. Lily smiled gently at Quirinus, then her expression got more serious. “You shouldn’t be used to it, even if you went through that all your life, or you’ll never get rid of them”

Quirinus couldn’t contain his excitement over such a simple joy, He let out a small giggle and bounced on the balls of his feet. “Exactly! Lumos is so simple but so elegant. The best thing I find is that it’s a great spell to adapt. Lumos Maxima, sending the ball of light into certain objects like jars… The possibilities are endless!” He grinned happily.

Fear sank down his body as she asked about the Slytherin who had passed them. He looked down at his shoes and walked slowly not wanting to meet her eyes. “N-n-not really…” He stuttered, his stutter was always his biggest tell that he was hiding something. “J-j-just don’t get along with um… Well, with h-him…” He confessed trying an awkward laugh but it came out as more of a squeak.

Lily smiled, seeing how Quirinus got excited talking about spells. She didn’t know him a lot - honestly, she didn’t know him at all! - but it was nice talking to him and seeing him happy, somehow, made her happy too.

Lily regretted immediately the question: his smile disappeared and his shoulders sagged like his head did. She didn’t have to analyze too much what he said to understand that he wasn’t telling her all the truth: it was pretty obvious from the way he started stuttering. “You don’t have to tell me anything, if you don’t feel okay with it” Lily said with a small smile. “We don’t know each other so well, and I didn’t really want to upset you so, if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s totally fine...”

“Yeah we both lost house points,” he shrugged. “I broke his wand, which he’ll probably flaunt about now,” Will said with a little regret. It was a rather taboo subject to break another’s wand but the fight or flight instinct had been to remove the threat. His wand had been that threat.

Will looked up to meet her gaze momentarily when she mentioned wanting to protect him too. Dropping his head he smiled slightly before running his hand through his hair. “I keep breaking down on you lately, I gotta stop doing that,” he croaked wit ha hint of amusement in his voice.

Leaning over, he let his forehead gently collide with her shoulder before his let his shoulders sag, she was the best comfort. “I swear I’m not usually this much of a mess,” he mumbled before letting his arms find their way around her. “You’re okay though right?” he asked pulling away briefly but still making sure they were close. He’d been worried seeing her so upset. “You mind if I be annoying and stay with you for the rest of the day?” he spoke fondly. Brown eyes dancing his gaze over her face before he lent in and kissed her cheek. He didn’t want to step over a line.

His gaze stayed on her for a moment as it had done many times. A lazy smile tugging in the corner of his mouth. The way he’d looked at her across the great hall or class room for the past few months. It was small moments with feelings locked inside. Quiet glances over library sessions when she wasn’t looking, yet now circumstances were a little different and feelings were out in the open. “I-” he began before looking down quickly before meeting he eyes again. “Ignore what I said earlier? I meant it and- and there’s nothing that would make me happier than to y’know…” Will smiled slightly already feeling his cheeks heating up. “I want that, I want us. But I completely get it was the wrong time. I just panicked. Which I’m sorry for.”

Lily furrowed a bit, just a second. “You may have broken his wand, but he could’ve done much worse to you... and I don’t really wanna think about it” she said, shaking her head. “I swear, if I see him showing around his broken wand... I may be nice and kind, but I would punch him right now!” she continued, clenching her fists. The only thought of Remy made her angry...

“Well, five minutes ago I was crying on your shoulder...” she said, smiling softly. “I guess were even now” she added, shrugging. “Moreover, it’s okay being a bit messed up, I mean, who isn’t?”

As Will leaned against her shoulder, Lily didn’t move, letting him find his way into her arms. She rubbed gently his back, a smile tugging on her lips as she placed her chin on his shoulder. She liked this closeness and the comfort it gave her. It felt right... When Will pulled away, Lily raised her eyebrows, a bit confused by the question. “Of course I am” she nodded, smiling even more at his next one. “I won’t mind it at all” she said, leaning in to let their foreheads touch. “I like this and right now, it’s everything I need”.

The kiss came unexpected, but that didn’t mean Lily didn’t like it. As she felt Will’s lips on her cheek, she closed her eyes, feeling the heat on her cheeks, the beat of her heart and the softness of his lips. It had been quick, and not enough to Lily. They had been parted for days and now, finally, they were there again... With a smirk, she leaned towards him, leaving a kiss on the corner of his lips. She lingered a bit more than necessary, hoping he didn’t mind. “Sorry...” she whispered, breaking away. “Maybe you didn’t want it now...”

“You don’t need to apologize” Lily said. “I, on the other hand, am really sorry on how I reacted. You’ve been through so much lately...” she shook her head, looking down for a moment. “I want us too, Will, more than anything” she said, looking straight in Will’s eyes. “I’ve never felt it so clear before...”

Remy nodded proudly at her surprise. “They’re interesting creatures. Hagrid actually gave me some good advice about handling them. He’s read loads on them and probably knows more about a dragon than most people in the castle. For me? The Chinese Fireball is definitely the coolest.” He took another sip of his drink and beamed proudly at her compliment. It was nice to hear admiration without his usual stupid antics. “Auror? Tight.” He grinned. “What makes you think about something else? Is catching bad wizards not that one thing that gets you out of bed in the morning?” He asked curiously.

Lily smiled akwardly. “Even though I have read something about dragons, I have no idea which dragon is the one you mentioned, but I’m sure it is as cool as you say” she said, moving a lock of her behind her ear. At his comment on Aurors, Lily smirked a bit. He was farily right. “Of course catching bad wizards would be cool” Lily said, keeping her eyes on her drink. “And I could be useful, but I have this little... feeling, I guess, which keeps pulling me towards Herbology... and I really like Herbology, but I won’t be really useful there”. Lily chuckled, taking a sip. “Growing plants isn’t exactly the best way to defend the Wizarding world”

                    daejung  is  embarrassed  that  he  was  so  tearful  during  the  confrontation      –      he  was   a  prefect  after  all,   and  he  was  supposed  to  be  able  to  deal  out  punishments  when  they  were  needed  and  to  comfort  students  when  they  needed  the guidance  but  he  was  hopeless.  he  sniffles,  wiping  at  his  eyes  with  the  back  of  his  hand.              ❝   i’m–i’m  fine.  thank  you.  you  didn’t  have  to  do  that.  i’m  supposed  to  be  able  to  handle  it  all  by  myself.  i’m  so  useless   ! ❞                  he  straightens  up  a  little  so  he  can  properly  look  at  lily,  and  offers  her  a  little  smile.  she’s  pretty.  he  always wished  he  could  pull  off  red  hair.                     ❝   i  just  ….  i  wish  people  would  be  nicer to  each  other.   ❞

Lily frowns a bit, seeing how uncomfortable Daejung looked. She had already saw him different times around the school, but never like that. Being a prefect, he always had to keep things inside.  “I know, but I couldn’t help myself. I hope I didn’t ruin your reputation” she said with a little chuckle, which she stopped immediately. “Sorry, it’s definitely not the time for jokes”. Then she continued, shrugging a bit: “Times are hard for everybody right now, so it’s normal how you’re feeling...” she sighed, looking to the floor. She was feeling like that daily, since the “accident” happened. At his last words, Lily smiled slightly. “I wish that too... the world would be easier if everyone acted kindly to each other...”

Will craned his neck a little before nodding. “Just sore,” he croaked. “My voice is the frustrating part,” he murmured before shaking his head. “Don’t apologise for him.”

He adjusted his weight in his seat as she settled her arm on his own. He was jumpy, on edge, fearful of touch right now. Yet hers offered a little comfort. He turned towards the table as he looked down at the wooden surface, a welcome distraction from the distraught inside him.

“You didn’t,” he answered. “I-” he went to spoke before he fell silent. He couldn’t tell her. The past week had his stomach feeling like a washing machine with unease. The mission demand he’d been given, the meeting he’d attended, the argument with his father, the fight, now the attack. It was all just a little too much for him to handle right now. This was war. It wasn’t easy.

“I- things are unpredictable and ever changing. Nothing is for certain right now but the one thing I am certain on is how I feel for you. How you make me feel. How this war may not matter when I’m around you because you make all this.. madness.. worth it. I know I’m out of line and that maybe I’m being incredibly selfish but this war is making me realise how little I have. My mother-” he stopped as he hung his head and tried to swallow the emotion inside him. “My mother I could lose and I need to keep her safe. You… I need to keep you safe too. I don’t wanna say that word but you’re a flicker of good in all this darkness and I need to keep you safe. I care about you. I- how I feel, inside me, that-” Will sighed heavily, thick with frustration. “I feel like talking isn’t really helping myself here…. Can we just forget I opened my mouth?” he asked sadly.

As he spoke again, hearing better his craoky voice, a strange anger she never felt before grew in Lily towards Remy but that really wasn't the moment to get mad. "I know, it's just... I can't believe a Gryffindor did this to you..." she shook her head. "He deserves detention or worse..." she muttered, her eyes slightly lit up.

Lily was happy Will accepted his touch, but her worries grew even more when she saw how his face darkened as he fell silent. He looked so helpless and all she wanted was to hug him and tell that everything was going to be fine... but she simply squeezed gently his arm. Seeing how he reacted when she brushed his face before, she tought that was enough for now...

"I..." Lily moved her gaze down. Even though the sadness, she couldn't help but blush a bit hearing Will's words. "I didn't know how much I meant to you... and I understand that you want to protect me, and I thank you for that. But please, let me protect you too, alright?". Lily took a deep breath. "I've never felt like this before, and... it scares me a bit; but you're right. Those feelings are the only anchor we can hang to, and what I know is that I don't want to lose you" she finished, metting his gaze. Now her eyes were not wet anymore, but they were filled with a new energy and force she couldn't ignore.

“I don’t care if it’s dangerous. It’s unacceptable that the Ministry let this happen,” Emmeline said flatly, shaking her head. “There has to be some kind of explanation …” She paused, glancing over at Lily. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?” she asked softly, not wanting to go on a tangent without making sure the girl beside her was okay.

Lily sighed at her words, passing a hand through her hair. “I do hope so” she muttered, closing her book and turning to Emmeline. “Yeah, I’m... I guess I’m okay... just a bit overwhelmed by everything, you know...” she smiled, weakly, trying to take an hold onto herself. “I just... I hope the hurt students will get better soon”. She also hoped to not see more students hurt or worse, but she knew her wish was just an impossible dream.

Will’s face fell seeing the look on her face. “I’m okay,” he quickly interjected even if it wasn’t completely true. “Got in a fight with Remy, I’d say it was my fault but no, it was his. It’s..” he trailed off and shook his head as he didn’t want to talk about it. He flinched at the touch and moved his face away, admittedly he was still a little on edge and protective of himself.

He kept his arms around her and frowned as he felt her become upset. The unsteady breathing and tears, he hated if he’d upset her. Although, he was thankful if he could be someone to let her guard down around. The boy smiled slightly at her opinion on Easter, “yeah she likes you too,” he uttered with a fond smile. She had already been nagging him to meet her and asked him to point her out in any pictures he had. Will was thankfully he had a supportive mother.

His expression twisted further into a pained frown, he despised seeing her upset. He dropped his head and tightened his jaw, trying to keep everything inside him locked up tight. He hung his head when it felt like she was scolding him, guilt swelling in his chest. Maybe he was being selfish. Of course, there were bigger things at stake here but that night had truly scared him. Waking up in the hospital and the developing fear of asphyxiation, he had sought out what truly mattered to him. She mattered to him. Pulling his sleeves to hide his hands, he looked up slightly when he heard her become further distressed. “Do you want me to go? I can go,” he offered. The last thing he’d really wanted was to upset her. “I- ..” he began before averting his gaze. “It scared me, what happened… I thought- I wanted to get my-” Will sighed heavily as it was clear he was struggling to explain everything. “Things happened and I’m not talking about the demetors and those things really frightened me. I’m scared. I’m scared I’m not gonna have- how do we know- how can I just assume I’m entitled to next week? I-” Will crossed his arms in front of his waist slightly to offer a bit of comfort, “I thought what’s the point in waiting on something just because of fear, and fear led me to this decision so it’s-” he groaned in frustration.

“I really care about you, I-” he hesitated as he couldn’t get the word out hidden in his chest. “I’m sorry, I can go. I really didn’t mean to upset you. That’s-” Will looked down as he tried to hide the look on his face, one full of anger and pain and upset. “That’s the last thing I wanted to do.”

As Lily heard the name, her face darkened. She knew Remy, not well, but he saw him different times. He was a Gryffindor and she had different chances to spend some time with him and he didn’t seem so bad... “I’m so sorry...” she muttered, as the guilt of another Gryffindor was her own guilt. She repeated the apology when Will flinched under his touch. “Does it still hurt?”

Lily smiled weakly hearing Will’s words. “I’m happy to hear that” she said, with a little smile on her face. Even though she didn’t knew at all WIll’s mom, from his words she reallt seemed one of the best people on this Earth, especially because he made Will smile everytime he talked about her.

As she heard the question, Lily shook her head, but she didn’t say anything. She listened to Will carefully, her heart aching more and more as he spoke. She didn’t truly understood how much she meant to him, and she couldn’t even dared to imagine the fear he had been through. And it was worse thinking she could’ve lost him without even knowing what had happened, without being able to say how much she cared about him...

After his last words and after seeing the look in his eyes, Lily shook her head. “No” she said, placing an hand on his arm, gently, as she didn’t want to scare him or make him even more upset . “I don’t want you to go... right now, you’re the only one I want next to me...” she sighed. “I didn’t explain myself well before, did I?” she said then, fixing her gaze on her hands. “I only made you upset... I’m such a mess with feelings and finding the right words...” she muttered, but she really wanted to make Will understand how she truly felt in that moment. “So many things happened in a small span of hours and... I feel all these so clearly that I can’t ignore them, even if I try”. Lily took a deep breath. “The dementors, the hurt students... then your fight with one of my same House, someone I know... I feel so guilty for that, like I was the one who hit you. But then you ask me if I want to date you and of course I do! You’re the best thing ever happened to me Will... I really can’t imagine going back before meeting you. But... it almost feels wrong being happy now... but I want to be”. Lily raised her eyes, meeting his. “I want to be with you and smile and laugh... I want to hold your hand and never let go...”

He let out a loud sigh, knowing that Lily was right. They weren’t trained for this kind of thing. Most wizards, even older ones weren’t, and Asher had never been the kind of person to fight or protect people in this manner anyways. Still, he thought maybe when push came to shove he would have been braver, but he hadn’t been. “How are you holding up in all this?”

Lily sighed, her gaze falling slowly down on the floor. She took a deep breath, trying to focus on the answer and to ignore her stormy feelings. “I don’t think I am...” she said, her voice low and shaky. “I try not to think about it, try to tell myself everything’s gonna be fine, that these things happen, but...” she shook her head, a little smile on her lips. “The irrational guilt is still there, as well as the other feelings”