#ginemrys

James wasn’t the only student that Minerva had noticed from the class of ‘72. No, the red-headed, quiet, muggleborn girl that had stood so close beside a sallow faced boy at the Sorting Ceremony had caught her eye. Maybe it was the slight disappointment on her face when her friend was sorted into a different house to her, or the interest that she had put into her studies. Whatever it had been, she had spotted Lily Evans. 

She had noticed the soft smile that pulled at the girl’s lips when Lily thought no one was watching, as Potter cracked jokes and pulled pranks in class. Had seen her sitting with Severus Snape at lunch and dinner despite the stares that she received from the Slytherins around her. Had seen her smile fading when reading the Daily Prophet and seeing about more and more attacks on muggles. 

Minerva had seen the kindness of Lily Evans, had seen her generosity, her spirit. And she spotted the looks she often shot towards James Potter, sometimes irritable, sometimes softer. 

And she had been watching during a lesson on human transformation in their fourth year, when she had partnered Potter and Evans together to Transfigure each other’s hair colour. Of course the two had decided to argue through the lesson rather than work cooperatively to achieve the task. Two of the most intelligent students in the year should have been able to work quickly to perform such simple magic. But their bickering had put them behind others in the class, even Peter Pettigrew had managed to slightly lighten Mary Macdonald’s mousy brown hair. 

Yet Potter and Evans were glaring at each other, wands gripped tightly in hands as they stared each other down without even having attempted to start casting any sort of magic. It seemed to be a battle of wills, that one of them would eventually have to break. Well, if Minerva didn’t get there first.

“Almost, Pettigrew!” she called out, trying to catch one of the two fourteen year olds’ attention. 

It had clearly worked; both heads whipped in the direction of Pettigrew, whose cheeks had bloomed red with embarrassment. Neither of the pair wanting to be beaten to success by Pettigrew, they finally seemed to get over their childish dispute and actually focus on their work. 

Minerva watched from a distance as they glanced down at their books to look over the incantation that they were supposed to be working on. Potter ran a hand through his hair, chewing on his lip a little as he glanced at Evans. A small smirk appeared on his lips, one not full of arrogance but of genuine respect. 

“Okay, let’s give this a try.” Lily said, sucking in a deep breath as she turned to James, her wand pointing towards his hair. 

James closed his eyes, scrunching up his face nervously. He was proud of his hair; Minerva had noticed that he could never leave it alone, resulting in it forever being messy. She watched with an intrigued eye as Evans murmured the incantation and the black of Potter’s hair gradually shifted to a bright red. Much to Minerva’s surprise, the change in colour was mirrored in the green of Evans’ irises. That flash of colour, the red replacing the green. They were soulmates. 

Minerva pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile as Lily’s eyes changed back to their normal emerald before James opened his own eyes, the usual hazel reappearing. He looked at Evans, seemingly worried. 

“Don’t worry, Potter.” Lily rolled her eyes, unaware of what the Transfiguration teacher had just witnessed. “Your hair is fine, I only changed the colour.” 

Potter turned to look in the window before shouting out loudly over the murmuring voices of students trying to do their work. “You’ve made me a bloody ginger, Evans!”

---

“You know, Potter, you really are just insufferable sometimes!” 

Minerva sighed deeply, looking up from the essays that she was marking as the voices echoed in from her open office window. The hour was growing late, the sun already mostly set. Orange rays of light streamed in through the window, signalling the end of day. And of course the two Head students had decided that such a lovely moment was the perfect time for an argument in the grounds as the sun set behind them. Their voices carried up to Minerva’s office window, catching her attention so that she could watch the two students on the grass below her.

Lily had her hands on her hips, her eyes blazing as she looked at the boy in front of her, the boy who had shot up over the last couple of years and now towered over her. He looked sheepish, a hand in his hair as usual. But he also looked incredibly nervous. It had become obvious to Minerva that the relationship between the two had shifted in recent years. First a tentative friendship had formed, then something closer. And now, they were ridiculously close. Working together had been a good choice. Minerva had smiled smugly to Albus when he’d thanked her for her recommendation of making the two of them the Head students.

But they still bickered, of course they did. And here was a prime example of it, taking place outside of Minerva’s window on a warm October evening. 

“I’m sorry, Evans, I just… I thought it would make you laugh!” James replied, he seemed almost taken aback that Lily was shouting at him. 

“Charming a second year’s hair to turn blue?” Lily shook her head, her voice reaching a higher pitch than Minerva had heard in a long while. “What in Merlin’s name made you think I would laugh at that?” 

“I…” James blushed a deep red, so deep that even the tips of his ears turned pink. “I don’t know… I just like making you laugh.” 

They were quiet for a while, only the sound of Lily sighing as she dropped her head, her long red hair covering her face for a few moments. 

“James, I… I’m sorry for yelling.” 

That surprised Minerva, to say the least. She had almost been about to turn away from the window when Lily’s words made her eyes snap back to the pair. In all of her years of teaching the two of them, she wasn’t sure if she had ever heard Lily Evans apologise for shouting at James Potter. 

“I just- I remember what it was like being a second year, being so intimidated by the bigger kids that I would try to shrink myself down to look as small as possible in the corridors to avoid being picked on,” Lily explained, her voice patient and calm. “I- I feel for them, I know what it’s like to be them.” 

“Shit- Lily-” James sucked in a deep breath. “I guess I never thought about things that way when I was in second year, Sirius and I were so busy-”

“-So busy running around as if you owned the school.” Lily laughed, which clearly eased the tension in James’ shoulders. “Yeah, I remember.” 

He chuckled too, his face no longer red, though his cheeks were still tinged with pink. “I know I was a right tosser back then. But I promise you I’ve changed. You know that I have. I…” 

“James…” All of a sudden, Lily was a step closer to him, her hand resting on his cheek. Minerva edged closer to the window to watch, unable to look away. “I know. I know you’ve changed. I have too. You’re- Honestly, you’ve become one of my favourite people in the whole world. You’ve shown me the person beyond the bravado and the cockiness. You’re kind. You’re caring. You’re gentle and you’re sweet.

You’re also intelligent, so ridiculously intelligent that it drives me insane how easy it is for you to learn. You’re talented and spirited and one of the most beautiful souls that I’ve ever-” 

Minerva pressed a hand to her mouth as James tugged Lily towards him by the edge of her robe, his lips covering hers in a gentle kiss. She watched as Lily’s eyes widened for a moment before they closed and she sunk into the kiss. Her hand slid into his hair, her fingers gripping at the messy strands as she kissed him back. 

The two teams stepped together to form huddles, discussing strategies and tactics. More than half of the football team were on James’ side, which worked out perfectly for him. As a natural born leader, though being captain of the team certainly didn’t hurt, James easily adopted the role of Field Marshal in the war against the other team. The team listened to his plan, nodding along, and looking excited.

A whistle was blown; the huddles separated once more.

Instructions, rules, and everything in between were called out by Ms McGonagall, the stern woman not even needing to borrow Mr Flitwick’s megaphone to be heard. Catapults were loaded, water balloons at the ready.

Another whistle. Hell was unleashed.

It was intense, chaotic, and possibly the most fun James had ever had in his life. Students were pelted with balloons; the thin plastic splitting on impact and drenching the victim’s clothes in surprisingly cold water given the summer heat. Screams and gasps filled the air alongside the balloon, but laughter rang loudest.

And James couldn’t help his eyes from drifting to the girl who, like he, manned the helm of the catapult. Their eyes met again; green hitting hazel. The base of James’ catapult slipped beneath his fingers, firing too early before Sirius had loaded in another balloon.

“What the hell, Prongs?”

Oh god, focus, James, he berated himself for getting distracted by the cute redhead that he never quite managed to get out of his mind. Not that he had long to regret his mistake, not when a well aimed water balloon landed directly on the top of his head, drenching him.

“I guess being a football captain isn’t all it’s cut out to be, huh?” A soft, though slightly taunting voice spoke, one James instantly recognised as belonging to Lily Evans.

Everyone had managed to dry off, taking turns to use the awful showers at the campsite before changing into warmer clothes. Groups were gathered around campfires, mugs of hot chocolate clutched in cold hands. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were leading a group in a jaunty sing-a-long of Drunken Sailor, much to Ms McGonagall’s chagrin (though Sirius would swear later that he’d seen her tapping her toes). But James had opted to sit alone, always a bit of a sore loser. It worked out though, as Lily Evans swung her legs over the log he was seated on and sat beside him.

“I had a strategy, my team just didn’t pull through,” James replied, glancing at her before sipping his hot chocolate to hide the blush on his cheeks. She had a thick woollen blanket draped over her shoulder. Her hair was neatly braided down either side of her head into two plaits, the fire highlighting the freckles across her nose. She was so pretty, it was almost unfair.

“Sure, your team didn’t pull through,” Lily laughed, sending a jolt running through James’ stomach at the sound. The feeling was made worse when she plucked the mug out of his hands and took a sip, humming as the chocolate coated her tongue. “I’m pretty sure I saw you get distracted for a moment there, Potter. Or did I imagine that you fired an empty catapult?”

“No, you’re right,” James managed a soft smile, watching her. She was so more at ease now that exams were over, the usually constant strain on her face having vanished. “I got distracted.”

Lily hummed again, shifting a little closer to him on the log. Was he imagining it, or was she blushing?

“Distracted by what, exactly?”

“I think you know.”

“I think I know too.”

The singing grew louder and louder as more classmates started to join in, the kids all dancing around the campfire like they were in a scene from Peter Pan. Even the teachers were clapping along. But two figures sat together, away from the group, oblivious to their classmates. They were smiling softly at each other, hands intertwined beneath the blanket Lily had been wearing which was now tucked neatly over their laps. Unnoticed by most of their friends, the two spoke quietly to one another, leaning close.