mssr { p r o n g s }

They aren’t leading me astray, they are molding me into the best I can be. They are keeping me safe. Well aware, thank you. When are your parents adopting the other two? What’s wrong? How long has he been unwell? Even with me off the team, yours still doesn’t stand a chance, Potter. I take some comfort in that. I don’t have strength of my own. We lost because I fell.

Vanity.

P.S I am soon to be a woman married. If my parents get their way. They always do.

P.S.S That’s even worse than the Sirius joke.

Why are you letting someone else mold you in the first place, "woman married"? Hopefully soon. It was great having Sirius, but something still felt like it was missing, you know? Couple months. If they know what's wrong, they haven't told me. You forget that I'm Captain this year. Gryffindor is going to dominate the competition. What are you talking about? You're one of the strongest people I know. I looked up to you, you know.

Potter. 

P.S. I feel bad for the poor bloke stuck with you. You have the personality of a beanstalk. Don't settle for some trash Slytherin. You deserve better. And yes, you have to get my approval.

P.S.S. Which one? I have an arsenal at this point.

Poor One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, it really didn’t stand a chance. How was her reading homework to trap even an ounce of Lily’s attention when the warm, joyous commotion of the Gryffindor Common Room competed for it? There was hardly even a competition to speak of. Bright emerald eyes constantly drifted over the familiar, fond faces of old friends and those of the newest lions, whose names she was determined to learn despite having the memory of a goldfish for that kind of thing.

This was home. Cliche as that had become, odd as it sounded, it was a simple fact. Especially this common room — with its inviting fire, comfortable corners, warm colours, its history, the memories that were imbued in each nook and cranny, good and bad, pivotal or small. That wasn’t even to mention the company. Though this was to be expected of every student, Lily always felt most at ease among her housemates. Sure, on occasion they could be too loud and proud and irksome for her, but Lily could be and often was all of those things, too. Even though she might have complained of her house’s general behavior, the lion was an utter hypocrite, in that sense, guilty of all the same crimes she lamented over.

Tonight, however, she wouldn’t change a thing. On another night, she might have been handing out detentions or stowed away up in her room. And on another night she would be, but not now. She had claimed the sofa next to the fire, an impressive feat. Long limbs sprawled along it as though she were trying to blend into the furniture, fanned and dangling hair achieving that goal. In fact, she looked like she would never move from that sofa again, unwilling to renounce her prize. Lily’s supposed homework prevented her from engaging in any real conversation, but she was just enjoying people-watching, soaking in the atmosphere that united her to everyone else here, without even having to try. This was their place and everyone was glad to be back again. It was tangible in the air and the sounds to her. 

He jogged down the stairs, rose in hand and a smirk already playing across his lips. He didn't know for a fact that Evans would be down here, but there was a decent enough chance. Everyone spent time in the common room. If she wasn't there now, she would be eventually, and that's all that mattered. James was patient. He could very easily wait.

As usual, the common room was bustling. James strode into the middle of it and glanced around, taking in the height of the fire, the first years chatting animatedly about Charms work, the seventh years that seemed more invested in the Prophet than any textbook, the fourth years that thought life was about flirting. James would have laughed to himself if he thought it'd be socially graceful. Actually, when his eyes landed upon Evans, a small chortle did slip through his lips. Perfect.