#jilyss

As queen, Lily Evans faces the suffocating weight of isolation and loneliness that comes with the crown. The only constant in her life is James Potter, her loyal and ever-watchful royal guard.

Lily Evans returns from an undercover assignment a different person. It almost killed her last time, but when Captain McGonagall asks her to go back into the field, she can't say no. Even though this time, she's working with a partner, pretending to be madly in love.

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Ava rolled her eyes and muttered something about ‘pretentious cousins’ and walked away, nearly colliding with a server. Sam turned back to them, hands in his pockets. “I need someone to take a shipment of artwork down to San Francisco overnight. It’d be a quick job, and I’d pay well. I would do it myself, but I’m gonna be out of town that night.”

Lily glanced up at James. “Do you need one or two people?” he asked. 

“Two preferably. It needs to be overnight, and I want to keep the stops to a minimum. They aren’t stolen, just counterfeit - no one should think twice about it.”

Lily shrugged, wrapping her hands around James’ waist. “If it’s just a one-time thing, we can do it.”

“Perfect,” Sam said, winking at her. He handed her a business card. “Text me, and I’ll call you with more details in a few days.” He said his goodbyes, shaking James’ hand and kissing Lily’s cheek.     

As he walked away, James let out a low growl, letting his fingers slide back to her waist. Lily let out a laugh and reached out for his hand. “Jealous?”

“No, not jealous, but he’s a slimy prick if he can’t even keep his hands to himself when you’re clearly with me.”

“Mmm. Not jealous at all?”

James rolled his eyes, shoving his free hand in his pocket. “How much longer do we have to stay? We met our guy, can we call it a day?”

Lily grabbed both his hands and pulled him down so that their faces were almost touching. She planted a kiss right next to his lips, and pulled away, laughing as he put on a dismayed look. “Relax, James, we’re trying to play the cheesy couple card, remember?” 

She flashed a cheeky smile at him in case anyone was watching, and then continued. “We’re here for information, which means we have to talk.”

Lily Evans returns from an undercover assignment a different person. It almost killed her last time, but when Captain McGonagall asks her to go back into the field, she can't say no. Even though this time, she's working with a partner, pretending to be madly in love.

read from the beginning

“Ms. Evans? Mr. Potter?”

Lily looked up from her work to see Captain McGonagall gesturing for the two of them to join her in her office. They stood in unison, each wondering if they’d done something wrong, but unwilling to talk to the other about it. 

She knew their argument three days previous still bothered her, and she guessed he felt the same. It wouldn’t have bothered her so much, except she had plenty of time to think about it over the weekend, and it didn’t take her long to realize it was her fault. She’d been rude and cold to all her friends when they were just trying to help her. But that didn’t mean that she was ready to apologize, especially to James.

He had been watching her closely all morning, as if she was about to explode at any moment again, and it was grating on her nerves. She didn’t need him constantly checking up on her, and honestly, it surprised her that he even wanted to be around her after the way she’d treated him since she returned from her undercover work.

As they walked into the office, Lily took in the unusual state of Captain McGonagall. Normally orderly and conscientious, today, McGonagall’s lips were pursed in a thin, tight line and strands of hair were falling into her face. Her desk, usually very tidy and neat, had post-it notes and spare papers scattered haphazardly across it. James and Lily shared a confused look as they stood down across from her. 

“Is something wrong?”

McGonagall sat down on the edge of her sheet and cut right to the chase, shuffling through a stack of manila folders. “Rosier escaped three nights ago.”

Lily Evans returns from an undercover assignment a different person. It almost killed her last time, but when Captain McGonagall asks her to go back into the field, she can’t say no. Even though this time, she’s working with a partner, pretending to be madly in love.

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That Friday night, Lily was halfway through a rerun of A Cinderella Story when her phone rang next to her. She paused the tv screen, not recognizing the caller id. “Hello?”

“Is this Lily Evans?” The voice was a soft, apologetic voice on the other end.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Are you sitting down right now?”

Lily sat up, now on edge. “Who is this?”

There was a pause, then the woman continued. “I’m sorry to inform you, Ms. Evans, but your father passed away twenty minutes ago in the hospital.”

Lily Evans returns from an undercover assignment a different person. It almost killed her last time, but when Captain McGonagall asks her to go back into the field, she can't say no. Even though this time, she's working with a partner, pretending to be madly in love.

read on ao3

It took her the entire drive home, plus an hour-long run and a cold smoothie before she had calmed down enough to call Marlene. Even then, she found herself shaking as she pressed the phone icon next to Marlene’s name.

“Hey Lils! What’s up?”

“I just got back from the hospital.”

“How’s your partner from hell doing?”

“I… Listen, Marlene, did you tell Potter about my family?”

Marlene groaned quietly. “I went to visit James, and I accidentally said your sister was a bitch. That’s all I told him, I swear. I didn’t say anything else. I’m really sorry Lily.”

She sighed into the phone, although she knew she’d overreacted once again. “I’m tired of having people worry about me. It’s just easier if… people don’t know,” she said, running her fingers through the knots in her ponytail.

“I’m sure he won’t use it against you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Lily took a shaky breath. That wasn’t what she was worried about. James might be a prick, but somehow she knew he was better than that. “When… dad dies, I don’t want a lot of people to know. It’ll be easier. The less sympathy I get, the easier it will be to move on.”

“I don’t think that will help,” Marlene said.

“I know, but… it’s the only… only thing I know how to do.” 

Lily Evans returns from an undercover assignment a different person. It almost killed her last time, but when Captain McGonagall asks her to go back into the field, she can't say no. Even though this time, she's working with a partner, pretending to be madly in love.

read on ao3

Three days after returning from her undercover assignment, Lily walked into the New York FBI department, wearing a blazer and a blue shirt, her police badge proudly hanging from her neck. It had been a long time since she walked freely while wearing her uniform, and in truth, she had missed the sense of pride and security it gave her. 

She walked towards Minerva McGonagall’s office with her back straight and head held high. She knocked gently and opened the door at the brief “come in.”

McGonagall had her head bent over a file, pen in hand, when Lily entered. Lily approached the desk as the captain looked up, surprised.

“Miss Evans! I wasn’t expecting you for a few more days, at least! Are you sure you have recovered?” Lily nodded. To be honest, she wasn’t sure if she was, but after months of nonstop action, sitting in her unfamiliar apartment wasn’t what she wanted. “Very well. For now, I will only expect you to do paperwork until you pass your physical and psych evaluation again.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. I’m in excellent condition.” 

McGonagall lowered her head to look over her glasses at Lily. “I am no therapist, Miss. Evans, but I am well aware of what time undercover can do.” 

Lily forced a smile on her face. She hoped it looked genuine, because at the moment, it certainly didn’t feel like it. “I’m ok. It may take me a bit to readjust, but I really am all right.”

“Ms. Evans, many agents return and take a while to pass the psych evaluation. If you don’t pass at first, don’t worry.”

Lily broke in quickly before McGonagall could continue. “I’m fine, Captain. Really, I am.”

When the Order of the Phoenix falls, James Potter and Lily Evans are stuck in hiding together after not talking to each other since their 7th year. They're just kids, but sometimes, Lily feels like she's much, much older.

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“What the fuck happened?”

Lily’s hands were on her hips as she gagged, trying to fight down the nausea that was threatening to overwhelm her.

“What the fuck happened?” James repeated, twisting around to face her. He spat on the ground and swiped at his mouth angrily. Her throat constricted and she quickly spun away, putting her hands on her knees. From behind her, James groaned as she heaved up the contents of her stomach. Thankfully, she had hardly eaten in the last twenty-four hours, and a few seconds later was able to straighten up, using the hem of her shirt to wipe her mouth.

There was a loud bang behind her, she spun back around, throwing up a shield instantly. A wave of heat washed over as she tried to get her bearings, fully expecting another attacker. Her stomach was still heaving, and the taste in her mouth made her want to gag again. Instead of an attacker, she saw James firing spell after spell into the forest surrounding them. His entire body was covered in sweat, and he was using his entire body to cast spells, grunting with the effort. She was too tired to stop him, knowing full well how stubborn he was, but the death eaters would find them soon if he kept it up.

Grabbing his hand tightly despite his protests, she twisted on her heel, apparating them to a beach, where a gust of wet wind greeted them. Dropping his hand, she twisted on her heel again and returned to the forest. The sucking sensation of the double apparation made her heave again, emptying out anything else that might have been in there. When she finally recovered, she restored the forest to its original state - dousing fires, transfiguring a boulder back into a bunny, and filling in a crater from a particularly strong ‘reducto’ spell. It took her a few minutes, but when she had done the best she could, she twisted on her heel again and arrived back at the beach.

James was sitting on a piece of driftwood a few meters away, but Lily didn’t move to join him. They were both in a state of shock, and she was in no mood to talk. Not even an hour ago, they had been talking to Peter about his upcoming birthday. There wasn’t much time to celebrate, but James had planned on throwing a small party with everyone who could make it. And then, not even ten minutes later, Peter had betrayed them. Death eaters had shown up at the Order of the Phoenix’s headquarters, Alice was dead, and the Order was finished.

Despite the temperature, Lily slipped her shoes off and rolled up her leggings enough to walk out into the ocean. The freezing water was biting, but it seemed to numb the pain and pull her out of her head, at least for a moment.

When the death eaters had arrived, Lily couldn’t believe her eyes. The order had various hideouts scattered about, and members knew about only a few at a time. The location of the headquarters was one of the more carefully kept secrets, and Lily had only been told about it three months ago. A few weeks later, Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter had all joined her. It wasn’t so much that they were all the Order’s best - they were young, and made lots of mistakes, but there were now fewer and fewer members.

Lily glanced down at her hands, finally noticing the various scraps she’d gotten. She took care of them in a few seconds, then glanced over at James. Earlier, she’d noticed a large cut above his eye, and now, she could see that he’d thrown a shabby patch over it. But it needed to be fixed, and James was shit at healing charms. Grudgingly, she made her way over to him.

He was seated in the same position, uncharacteristically still and staring at the ocean. Lily didn’t even say a word at him, jutting her chin towards his head and pulling out her wand. She removed his patch within a few seconds, and then slowly moved her wand over the wound as the skin stitched itself back together. When she was done, her hands dropped to her sides, and she moved a few steps away, sitting down heavily on the sand.

There was a gruff “thanks”, from behind her, but Lily didn’t even acknowledge it.

“The order is finished.” James’ voice was hollow and hoarse.