#jameslily

Sirius's nightmare when he started officially dating Sonia.

"I've turned into James."

jilytober: the only ship that matters

but when you’re gone, who remembers your NAME?

lily gets james a valentine’s day card in fourth year for the first time

they’re standing the middle of the great hall at breakfast - the tables would be straining under the weight of all the fluffy sweets with hearts if it wasn’t magic - and he’s got his mates around him laughing at something peter’s just said about helena hornby’s awful new haircut

it’s one of those “i like you because” checklist cards with a bunch of boxes with things like “you have a nice butt” and “you give me goosebumps” and “you’re my best friend” and “you’re my one and only” written beside them. none of them are checked. after he gushes about it for thirty minutes he pauses and blinks. “er, wait, evans, none of these are checked”

“exactly” she says “because i don’t fucking like you, potter”

peter, the traitor, high-fives her as she leaves while sirius falls to the floor laughing his arse off between calls of “brilliant”

“close your gob prongs” remus says, grinning broadly “you’ll catch flies”

..

lily gets james a valentine’s day card in fifth year

he’s definitely scared because only four months ago he hung her ex-best-friend by his ankles and started a chain of events that led to snape becoming her ex-best-friend (though, he thought, in his defense snape was a death eater in training and it wasn’t like james made him say that awful thing to evans either but still he felt bad because evans was heartbroken for weeks afterwards and he didn’t much like to see evans sad) and it wasn’t like she was keen on him before

plus they’re alone in a hallway which is the perfect place to exact revenge in his very vengeance-adept mind

to call it a card would be generous, as it’s mostly a small piece of parchment potentially ripped off of an assignment in haste but on it, in unmistakably messy Lily handwriting, are six words:

you think we could be friends?

just before the next class he walks up to her, grinning as he slouches on top of her desk “y’know i think minnie’s got a pop quiz planned for us today”

“and how did you come by that information?” lily asks, audibly relaxed but physically tensed

“got a good gut on me evans” he responds “you should learn to trust it if we’re gonna do this friend thing”

“i’m sure i’ll figure it out, potter” she says as black takes a seat beside her

“good, marie” black grins, slinging an arm around her shoulder “cause now you’ve got all of us to put up with”

lily groans but if james is being honest she doesn’t look all that bothered by it

dorcas comes in later and shoves sirius out of the seat with a sharp “oi, she was my mate first so get in line, black” making lily laugh as her best mate squabbles with her new one

it’s only after class that james realizes that was the first time he’d heard lily laugh in weeks. quietly he vows to make it happen as often as possible.

.

lily gets james a valentine’s card in seventh year

it’s simultaneously been the best year and the worst year of his life, the war is looming overhead and he’s not going to admit it to anyone but himself but he’s shitting himself over it; merlin he’s only eighteen how the bloody hell is he supposed to fight a war with a grave as wide as this one? between classes he’s been practicing his defense spells, honing his reflexes with the snitch more often because he’ll be fucked by the giant squid before he’s too slow to save someone he loves

his mates are scared too and it’s getting harder to pretend they're invincible when vera macmillan and her whole family were killed only three months ago in an attack that nearly decimated the muggle neighborhood they lived in. sirius is fighting with slytherins like they’re already on the battlefield while remus worries himself out of his skin with what’s going to happen after hogwarts with rumors of werewolves being rounded up to fight for voldemort or killed otherwise. poor peter is barely focusing on anything except protecting himself in the halls ever since avery has found him to be a good plaything during particularly bored periods in the slytherin’s life

lily tells him she’s going to protect her family with the fidelius charm as soon as she figures out how to work it and as much as it stings it’ll be best if she cannot find them either. she’ll ask dorcas to be the secret keeper, she says. her parents will be safe and petunia already hates her so she’ll likely never associate with her ever again; that might keep her safe for a while

but between those terrible moments they try to be as carefree as they can be. sirius lets slip that he’s never used a crayon (”that is a fucking TRAVESTY black!”) so he and lily spend weeks hunting down a box and writing letters to each other using only crayons. remus and pete develop a new shampoo that turns the unfortunate wearer’s head green which sirius uses deliberately over christmas so “me and marie can be christmas twins” (lily’s ensuing punch lacks force as she’s laughing too hard). dorcas, mary, lily, and marley get punch-drunk behind the greenhouses on halloween staring up at the stars talking about their dreams instead of attending the marauders’ party (”talk about a fucking travesty, lil” “we’ll invite you next time, remus” “that’s all i ask”)

and one day by the lake lily is lying her head on james’ chest, her wiry red hair spilling all over the ground like wine and james definitely feels drunk on it. they’ve been talking about quidditch for twenty minutes when lily suddenly looks up at him, eyes bright, and stops james’ breath in its tracks.

“go out with me potter” she says, grinning toothily

“yeah, okay” he says casually “on one condition”

“what’s that?”

“you kiss me”

“i can do that” she says crawling up to face him, her chest half on on his, her waist under his hands, and her heart spilling on her sleeve “i can definitely do that”

it’s, quite simply, the best kiss in the history of kisses. he’ll have to thank her later for doing such a tremendous job of kissing him, hoping that she’ll be so grateful for the compliment that she’ll keep doing it

for the rest of their lives, ideally

"oh” she says pulling away “i have a card for you”

“was i supposed to get you a card?” james asks suddenly nervous “we’ve only just kissed but i can get you one right now if you want”

lily only laughs handing him a crumpled piece of paper. when he unfurls it he laughs as she jumps to her feet and starts darting back towards the castle. he gives chase as he’s meant to, catching her on the top of the hill and spinning her until they’re both dizzy. the card flutters to the ground

REASONS I LOVE YOU it says at the top

for @valiantlyangryfoxblr

The rain pounded down on the roof, a steady droning that would have been enough to lull him to sleep if he wasn’t currently wrapped around Lily.  James found it difficult to sleep when she stayed over.  

Her fingers dragged slowly up his spine, continuing up his neck and into his hair.  “Penny for your thoughts?”  

He chuckled.  “I’d have to make change…”  

“I’ve got the time.”  

He turned over to tuck his head down beside hers.  “Just thinking about how I could be sleeping, but your bony arse is keeping me awake, Evans…”  

i found myself looking through your de tag and this happened :’)

(by @ephemeren // @sweetlesslyy)

(REN PLS I’M IN T E A R S)

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James didn’t think he could get any happier than this.

It was his first date with Evans –

Sonia and Sirius out for a stroll together during the autumnal season.

They begrudgingly agreed to go on a double date with Lily and James -- Sonia to ease Lily's nerves; Sirius to prevent things from getting too awkward.

Once Sonia noticed Lily becoming more comfortable, she demanded that Sirius buy her some chocolate frogs from Honeyduke's, like a good date should. He tried to argue, but Sonia grabbed his hand and dragged him away.