Mornings were always Lilyâs least favourite part of the day, and despite having buffet of home cooked breakfasts and magically delivered mail every morning, Hogwarts did not do much to change that.
Taking a sip of her tea and blinking blearily, Lily internally cursed the chattering of the students far more energetic and enthusiastic than she. Really, she was glad that there was still laughter in the halls in the wake of You-Know-Whoâs rise in power, but her exhausted state of mind simply felt disgruntled at the noise. She wished she could be back in bed.
An arm slid around her shoulders, jostling her half empty cup slightly, and she grumbled, the smell of leather and coffee telling her it wasnât her boyfriend but rather her boyfriendâs boyfriend (as she usually called himâmostly jokingly) that greeted her.
âMorning, love. You look particularly charming this morning.â
Lily sipped her tea without an answer and silently flicked her wand. The arm on her shoulders fell away as, with a yelp, the owner of the arm in question slid three feet down the bench. âI have barely slept in the last two days, Sirius, and I need at least twenty more minutes before I speak to anyone civilly.â She took another pointed sip of her tea.
Remus and Peter sat down as Sirius harumphed, tossing his head of silky black hair with an elegance that only members of his family seemed to have mastered. âAnd here I was, trying to be friendly.â He shook his head as a blonde girl sat at the table across from him. âA word of caution, McKinnon, it seems that the lady has woken on the wrong side of the bed this morning.â
Marlene cast a glance at Lily and scoffed. âShe wouldâve had to be in her bed last night to wake up on the wrong side of it.â
If Lily could have mustered up the energy to curse Marlene at that moment, she would have. As it were, she only managed a scowl in her general direction, while Siriusâ entire face lit up in utter delight. âWhat?â
âYou didnât have to say it like that, now heâs going toââ
Sirius disregarded her and leaned forward, smirking. âEvans, you sly vixen, you!â
âI was in the library working on the potions essay, you pile of hippogriff droppings.â Lily cut him off with a scowl. Remus smothered a laugh and Marlene snorted into her cup of pumpkin juice.
âSays, you,â Sirius shot back. âYouâve been spending an awful lot of time with our darling Head Boy and Quidditch captain though, soââ
âBut, Sirius,â Peter spoke up through a mouthful of sausage. âJames was in the dormitory all night, and we didnât see Lily there. She couldnât have been with him.â
âHeâs got you there, Padfoot,â said a warm, laughing voice and Lily felt a wave of something like relief wash over her. A hand settled on her shoulder, and squeezed.Â
Lily vaguely heard Sirius say âPeter, weâve talked about this, play along when weâre taking the mickey out of her,â but Lily stopped paying attention as her boyfriend settled down next to her, not so slyly separating her and Sirius. Hazel eyes shone through wire rims and Lily couldnât help but reach up and stroke a few strands of messy black hair away from them. âMorning, Evans.â James said gently.
âSomeone was running late this morning,â Lily noted, setting her tea down. She ignored Sirius making a gagging sound in the background.
âRan into Kinnard outside the hall,â he said, referring to the fourth year Gryffindor seeker. âHad to answer a few questions he had about the play for the Hufflepuff game.â
âRun those by me again later,â Lily yawned as James began to soothingly rub his hand down her back and neck. âIâve kept notes on Hufflepuffâs offensive strategy in the last two matches.â
âAh, my two favourite thingsâ Lily Evans and Quidditch,â James sighed dramatically. Lily rolled her eyes. He always said that Lily was a Quidditch natural. Heâd been trying to get her to try out for the team, but she had refused, claiming unathleticism. In reality, it wasnât so much that she thought she was a bad flyer, but that she preferred watching it, especially being a muggle born and being raised on non-magical sports. She actually felt that if they had children, they would be gifted at the game.
Hm. Children. With James. There was an idea.
Lily tuned out the conversation between the others as she enjoyed Jamesâ hand kneading out the tension in her shoulders. What would they look like, she wondered. She had a feeling that Jamesâ genes would beat her genes up and take their lunch money. She rather hoped they would get her eyes though. Not that Jamesâ werenât lovely. She would be happy waking up to their sparkling hazel every morning. Oh, hopefully they would be slightly more levelheaded than their father. She would scold them severely if they had even half of his ego.
She and James would have very attracted children, she concluded. Sheâd have to make sure they didnât allow that to go to their heads.
At that moment, one of the fifth year beaters called out from the end of the Gryffindor table. âOi, Potter!â
Without thinking, Lilyâs eyes snapped open. âYes?â She and James responded at the same time. Everyone around them fell silent.
Lily practically felt her face inflame to the same dark red colour as her hair as the others looked at her. Marlene had an expression on her face like Dumbledore had just canceled final exams. Remus was openly grinning now, Peter was gaping with his mouth hanging open, toast half chewed. Sirius was eerily blank faced.
And James just stared at her, eyes as wide as quaffles. Lily wanted to sink through the floor and never come back. She wondered if Hagrid would bury her in his vegetable patch.
âWell,â Remus broke the silence, standing up and walking towards the exit, grabbing Sirius by the collar and yanking him up as he went along. âIâll get this one out for you before heâ" Sirius suddenly roared with laughter, gripping Remusâ shoulder as he held on for support. Remus hurried him out, his own shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth. Marlene cast the couple her own ecstatic beam as she, too, got up, pulling Peter behind her and ignoring his protests at his unfinished breakfast. James was still staring at her wordlessly. Lily began internally reciting her will.
âErm,â She began, wishing the colour in her face would recede at least slightly so she could at least attempt to play it off. âIââ But she didnât finish her sentence, because James was suddenly dragging her out of the hall.
In the end, all of the Gryffindor table and some of the Hufflepuffs had heard Lilyâs mishap, but Lily, pressed against the wall of a broom closet by a very eager and overjoyed boyfriend, didnât care.