Harry Potter: Five Reasons Why Lily Evans Does Not Like Sirius Black (And Five Reasons Why She Does)
Title: Five Reasons Why Lily Evans Does Not Like Sirius Black (And Five Reasons Why She Does)
Author: papered
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairing: Sirius/Lily
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3374
Summary: Sirius Black is infuriating in a way only he can be. And maybe that's why Lily Evans comes to like him.
Notes: Written for quidditchkiss for Christmas 2007, and I had a surprisingly enjoyable time writing a pairing I wouldn't usually write. :)
1.
Everyone thought Sirius Black was a charmer. Everyone but the Slytherins and Lily Evans, that is. But the problem was that everyone seemed to fall for him anyway. Ever since second year, he'd been able to charm any lady off their feet - the professors included. Lily had seen the exasperated but fond looks that Professor McGonagall had aimed at the Gryffindor last week after he’d set off yet another dungbomb in the Common Room. It was rather disgusting, really, the way everyone fell over their feet for him.
2.
She really didn’t understand why Alice put up with him. Sirius Black was conceited to the max, and he had an even bigger head than James Potter. Last Hogwarts weekend, she’d been coming out of The Three Broomsticks with her friend when they’d seen Black offering a rose and a kiss to Rosia Patil. Alice had been furious to catch her boyfriend with another girl, and Lily had strongly agreed - it was time someone showed the disrespectful simpleton that he wasn’t above the rules of life just because of a handsome face. Black had apologized later on, claiming that it had been a dare. Lily had scoffed and rolled her eyes, thinking that that was a likely explanation, all right. She couldn’t have been more shocked when Alice came out of the boys’ dorms the next morning with a silly smile, claiming that all was forgiven. Black had come down a few moments later with a smug look on his face, and Lily had barely managed to stop herself from hexing him. Merlin, the Gryffindor was infuriating.
3.
An explosion came from across the hall, and instantly, all of the Slytherins were covered in rather blinding and charmed-against-removal gold and red sparkles. Professor McGonagall had come down on the Marauders immediately, but even then, all they had gotten was ten points off and an evening of detention. Which was barely a punishment at all, considering that students more than fifteen minutes late to class usually received the same reprimand.
She’d shouted at Black later, back in the Common Room. He’d had the audacity to flash her a self-satisfied grin, showing off his white white teeth and dark features. You know you love me for it, Lily.
4.
She despised his arrogant attitude, but what she couldn’t stand the most of all was his bullying. Him and the rest of the Marauders treated the Slytherins like dirt, especially poor Severus (who, she imagined, would hate to be referred to as poor in any way, if he could hear her thoughts) who was at the target of endless pranks and taunts. His bark-like laugh was could be heard from miles away, and the rest of the Gryffindor girls always twittered at the sound like Black was some kind of deity.
Sometimes, she wondered if the rest of the Hogwarts female population was on some sort of drug.
5.
“Lily! Did you hear? Molly Prewett’s getting married in August to Arthur Weasley.”
“Oh really?” Lily looked up from the book she’d been focused on. “I’ll have to go congratulate her later.”
“Isn’t it so romantic? They’ve been dating for years. You can tell Arthur’s completely in love with her.” Alice sighed. “I just wish whoever I end up marrying is half as nice.”
“I’m glad some of the Gryffindor boys are still humble and considerate. We need more Arthur Weasleys in the world to make up for idiots like Black.”
Her friend suddenly laughed. “Oh, Lily, are you still going on about that?”
She frowned. “What are you talking about? You saw how he was flirting with Alicia Finnigan two weeks ago - and just a few days after you broke up with him!”
“Lily, I told you why we broke up. We weren’t that serious anyway, you know that.” She could hear the amusement in her friend’s voice. “Sometimes, I think you’re infatuated yourself, the way you go on about him.”
“What? That’s ridiculous!” Lily sat up, ready to defend herself. “How can you say that, Alice? You’ve seen what a pigheaded imbecile he is.”
“It’s just the way you go on about him sometimes. But whatever you say, Lily - I’m sure you know yourself best.” Alice suddenly sounded much too appeasing to her ears, as if she was just placating Lily. “Well, I’ve got to run - I promised Maria I’d meet her in the library for that Transfiguration project. I’ll see you later!”
Her, infatuated with Black? The mere thought was just… impossible. Why would anyone think she felt anything other than scorn for the Gryffindor? If she felt anything positive at all towards the Marauders, it would be towards Remus - quiet, studious Remus who tried so hard to reign in the rest of them. She’d never understood why someone like him would hang around with Sirius Black.
She wouldn’t give Black another glance if he was the only male left in the world. With another scoff, Lily dismissed the thought from her mind.
Clearly, Alice had been drinking something she shouldn’t have.
6.
“Oi, Lily!”
Lily purposefully kept her eyes on her homework.
“Come on, Lily, don’t be like that!”
She suppressed a groan. “It’s Evans to you, Potter. What do you want now?”
“You know what I want. For you to go to the next Hogsmeade weekend with me.”
“And what makes you think I’d want to go with you?”
“Who wouldn’t? Everyone’s dying to go out with me - and I’m asking you.” He grinned at her, as if he thought her amusing. “Besides, it’s not like you’re going with anyone else.”
She could take him being a jerk, but this was just going too far. Raising her face defiantly, Lily narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying I can’t get a date, Potter?”
He seemed to realize that he’d crossed some line. “No, no, not at all, Lily. I just meant -”
She’d show him. Cutting him off mid-sentence, she looked around the Common Room. The only fifth years around were the Marauders (minus Peter, who was in detention with Slughorn for exploding his potion yesterday), and Remus was much too nice for what she had in mind. (Besides, it would be too embarrassing to risk a refusal at this point.) Instead, she turned to Black, hardly daring to believe that she was doing this.
“Sirius. Want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?”
Potter sputtered, like he was choking.
It was strangely satisfying to see the momentary surprise on Black’s features. He seemed to hesitate before he responded. “Sure thing, Lily. I’ll meet you down here at ten o’clock?”
“Of course. It’s a date.” Gathering up her books, she went up to her dorm without a backward glance.
Thinking back, she wasn’t sure that she’d done the smartest thing, but the shock on Potter’s face made it well worth it.
7.
Black was an idiot, all right, but Lily had to admit that at least, he was a courteous idiot. The Slytherins called him an ill-mannered scoundrel, but clearly his pureblood family had managed to pound some sort of etiquette into his thick skull as a child.
She’d fully expected him to be late, but instead, he’d shown up right on time in a noticeably formal (Lily refused to call it “dashing”, even in her mind) dress shirt and a bouquet of flowers. She had no clue where he’d gotten the bouquet, and she’d set it aside, trying to look unimpressed, but some part of her was taken aback at Black’s consideration.
They had lunch at Madam Puddifoot’s, and if Lily hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed that Sirius Black could be courteous for more than five minutes at a time. There had been a few moments when he’d brought up James Potter, as if trying to convince her that really, he wasn’t a bad guy, but Lily had ignored his feeble comments. Finally, she’d asked him whether he’d come out to have lunch with her or to talk about James Potter, and that had been the end of the matter.
He had a surprisingly witty tongue when he wasn’t insulting Slytherins, and as much as she tried to tell herself that Black was surely acting, and there was no way he could be like this for real, Lily found herself enjoying the day.
As the carriage pulled back into Hogwarts, Lily sighed and turned to the Gryffindor. “Well, I’ll see you around, Black.”
“Oh, don’t be like that, Lily. Can’t you at least call me Sirius?”
She rolled her eyes. “It was one date, Black. Nothing more.”
“But come on! I know you enjoyed yourself - don’t try to deny it.” Black aimed puppy eyes at her (which was ridiculous, really, on a teenager. And she was completely unaffected by it, of course). “You’re not going to deny me a polite and harmless request, are you?”
Lily was hesitant, but after the nice afternoon, it couldn’t hurt, could it? “Fine, Sirius. Happy now?”
The first name felt odd on her tongue.
“Immensely.” The boy flashed a grin at her. “I’ll see you then, Lily! I said I’d meet James after I got back.”
Right, after all, she was doing this to annoy Potter. If she could get the infuriating boy out of her hair, life would be so much simpler. “If he asks, make sure you tell him I had very nice afternoon.”
He looked at her for a moment before laughing out loud and dashing off.
With a self-satisfied sigh, Lily started her walk back to the Common Room. That ought to take James Potter down a few pegs.
8.
“I love Christmas!” Alice bounced at her side as Lily hurried into Honeydukes, her final stop, to grab something for Petunia. She didn’t understand how her friend could be so energetic - she herself was shivering. Hogsmeade was freezing in the wintertime, even with the many layers of sweaters she had on.
“Are you getting anything for Sirius?”
“Sirius? Why would I get anything for him?”
“Well, you did go on that date with him. And besides, he defended you from Malfoy last week, didn’t he?”
Alice had gone on and on about that one date after she’d heard about it, and Lily had just about been ready to explode. But the part about Malfoy made her pause. It was true - she’s messed up in her Arithmancy calculation in class when Lucius Malfoy had made some snide comment about Mudbloods not being smart enough to count properly. She’d barely had time to react before Sirius had jumped up, a hex already out of his mouth. He’d gotten ten points off and two detentions.
She didn’t agree with his methods, but she had to admit that she did appreciate the sentiment. Maybe a gift would be a good idea.
But then again, knowing Sirius, he’d probably take a Christmas present as some sign of her liking him, or something equally ridiculous.
With a sigh, she shook her head. “No, Alice, I’m not getting him anything, and that’s final.” She crossed the last item off her list. “Are you done with your shopping?”
“I finished with mine last week!”
“Good, then we can head back to Hogwarts now. It’s freezing out here.”
As they headed towards the carriages, Lily heard a bark-like laugh from back behind her. Turning, she saw that Remus and Sirius were rolling on the ground, stuffing snow down each other’s shirt. Both Potter and Pettigrew had gone home for the holiday break, and so it left just the two of them. They both looked thoroughly soaked.
“Lily? Are you okay?”
Suppressing an amused smile, she nodded at Alice. “It’s nothing. Come on, let’s go. I’ll race you!”
9.
Lily couldn’t have been more surprised when she’d opened her package on Christmas morning to find an ornamental glass flower. It wasn’t even so much the fact that Sirius Black had thought to get her a gift, but more that Sirius was even capable of selecting something nice. If you’d asked her a week ago, she would have told you that you were better off not opening a gift from Sirius at all, as it was likely to turn your skin permanently orange or something equally unappreciated.
Of course, afterwards, she’d been wracked with guilt that she hadn’t followed Alice’s advice and gotten him something in return. Sirius had insisted that it was all right, and that he hadn’t expected a present anyway, but his reassurances had only made her feel worse. For all the work he’d put into her gift, he should have been able to expect something in return. But she’s proven him exactly right by being paranoid enough to talk herself out of getting anything.
But Lily Evans had always prided herself on fixing her mistakes as soon as she realized them. And so it was just that evening that she found herself running onto the grounds with a package in hand.
Hogwarts was breathtaking in the winter. Fresh snow had fallen during the day, and now it covered everything, from the Gameskeeper’s hut to the Forbidden Forest. Somewhere off in the distance, she could hear owls hooting to each other.
“Sirius!” She noted the lone figure down by the lake with some surprise. Remus had told her that Sirius would be down there, but she’d been slightly disbelieving. Sirius had never hit her as the sit-by-the-lake sort. It looked like she’d had a lot more misconceptions than she’d previously believed.
“Lily?” The figure turned at her approach, and Sirius greeted her with his typical grin. “What are you doing down here?”
“I have your gift.” She thrust out the package.
He laughed. “Lily, I was serious when I said you didn’t need to get me anything. Well, I’m always Sirius. But really, you didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.” She looked up and met his eyes almost defiantly.
Looking amused, he finally grabbed the gift and proceeded to unwrap it.
Ever since she’d come to Hogwarts, Lily had been collecting photos. The majority of them were of the Marauders when pranks had gone wrong or backfired. She’d always thought they would make nice blackmail pieces for the future, but she supposed this was a better use, really.
And the time she’d spent putting it together was well-worth Sirius’ surprised expression. One didn’t see Sirius Black shocked very often.
“How did you get these?” He flipped through the pages of the book she’d bound, laughing as he remembered some moment or another. “I’ve always wished one of us had taken pictures of all our pranks.”
“I like photography. I’ve been taking pictures since first year - and well, I’ve always thought they would make good blackmail material one day,” she admitted.
Sirius laughed out loud. “Oh, Lily. I never knew you had it in you.” His eyes were dancing as he looked up at her. “But thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Turning, she cleared off the snow and settled down on one of the rocks on the side of the lake. “I was surprised to hear from Remus that you were down here.”
He gave a shrug. “I always come down here on Christmas night. Regulus and I used to do this when we were kids. Of course, he hates me now, but it’s sort of a tradition for me.” He settled down on another rock adjacent to hers. “There, see that star?” He gestured at a glowing point in the sky. “That’s Sirius.”
Lily vaguely remembered reading something in a text somewhere. “Isn’t Sirius the brightest star in the night sky?”
“It’s the Dog Star - the brightest after the sun. You can even see it in the day, sometimes.” He sounded a little nostalgic to Lily’s ears, before he visibly shook himself. “I come here on Christmas just to make sure I haven’t forgotten where it is. It’s kind of nice, actually.”
And it was. For a while, they sat there, just looking up at the sky. Lily had never had much interest in Astrology, and other than the mandatory lessons, she’d never really taken the time to look up. Now though, she wondered why she hadn’t. Seeing the dotted stars spread out over her, it felt like there was something magical about the Christmas sky. Absentmindedly, she blew on her stiff fingers. She’d forgotten to bring something warm with her in her hurry to find Sirius.
The next thing she knew, she was enveloped in something heavy. Turning, she was surprised to see that Sirius had given her his cloak.
“Why don’t you have a scarf on, Lily? It’s freezing out here. I thought you were the sensible one.” He shot her one of those typical Sirius Black-style grins. One that he usually used to sweep the ladies off their feet. To her surprise, Lily wasn’t too irritated by the expression.
“Are you sure?” she asked, gesturing to the cloak. “What about you?”
“Don’t you worry about me, Lily. I’m fine.”
She gave him a slightly forced smile, the simple act of him giving her his cloak feeling surprisingly personal. She wracked her brain, tried to find something casual to say, but failing.
There was an unexpectedly awkward silence; a sudden tension in the air. Lily was abruptly aware of what she’d done. Instead of just giving him the package and leaving Sirius alone with his Christmas tradition, she’d stayed and monopolized his time.
“I should go,” she said, pulling the cloak off and trying to hand it back. “You’ll need this more than I do.”
“I told you already, Lily - I’m fine. And you’ll need it on the way back.”
She gave in and stood up, giving Sirius a small smile as she turned to leave. It was getting dark anyway, and she could use a hot chocolate from the kitchens after she got back.
She’d barely taken two steps when her sneakers - worn from many years of use - slid on a piece of ice. Suddenly off balance, she threw her arms out to try and catch herself, and towards the ground she fell -
… right into a pair of arms that caught her around the waist.
“Are you alright?” The voice against her ear was strangely husky.
“I’m fine.” Suddenly breathless, she turned, only to find herself unexpectedly close to the other Gryffindor. Sirius hadn’t let her go.
She looked up to ask him to release her, but her request died on her lips as she saw his face. His expression was oddly intent, his features knitted in concentration. And there was something odd about the way he was looking at her. As if he was seeing her for the first time.
She leaned forward.
Seeing what she was doing, Sirius feebly tried to step back, but without much conviction. “Lily - I… we shouldn’t.”
“No, we really shouldn’t,” she agreed. Her feet were moving without her permission.
“Really, we can’t… I mean, James -”
She wasn’t even conscious of the fact that she was stepping closer. “But let’s not talk about James right now.”
His black hair had fallen carelessly around his face, framing his features. In that moment, Lily understood why everyone else seemed to act the fool when they were near the Gryffindor.
His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them.
She leaned even closer.
He was still for another moment, but in the end, the tension drain out of him. As if giving in, he lowered his face towards her.
Her last thought before she launched herself at him was that this had to be insanity. But if it was, she couldn’t say she cared.
Closing her eyes, she finally pressed her lips to his.
10.
If anyone had been looking out the window at the moment, they would have seen a surprising sight. Lily Evans and Sirius Black were rolling in the snow, kissing, any sign of restraint gone. Her arms were thrown around his neck, and his, circling her waist.
“Need air,” she finally gasped, pulling her face back.
His eyes were dancing at her. “Everyone knows oxygen is overrated.” Without waiting to hear her reply, he pulled her face to his again.
Above them, the stars were spread out like a banner in the sky.
Finis
written 12/01/2007
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Author: papered
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairing: Sirius/Lily
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3374
Summary: Sirius Black is infuriating in a way only he can be. And maybe that's why Lily Evans comes to like him.
Notes: Written for quidditchkiss for Christmas 2007, and I had a surprisingly enjoyable time writing a pairing I wouldn't usually write. :)
1.
Everyone thought Sirius Black was a charmer. Everyone but the Slytherins and Lily Evans, that is. But the problem was that everyone seemed to fall for him anyway. Ever since second year, he'd been able to charm any lady off their feet - the professors included. Lily had seen the exasperated but fond looks that Professor McGonagall had aimed at the Gryffindor last week after he’d set off yet another dungbomb in the Common Room. It was rather disgusting, really, the way everyone fell over their feet for him.
2.
She really didn’t understand why Alice put up with him. Sirius Black was conceited to the max, and he had an even bigger head than James Potter. Last Hogwarts weekend, she’d been coming out of The Three Broomsticks with her friend when they’d seen Black offering a rose and a kiss to Rosia Patil. Alice had been furious to catch her boyfriend with another girl, and Lily had strongly agreed - it was time someone showed the disrespectful simpleton that he wasn’t above the rules of life just because of a handsome face. Black had apologized later on, claiming that it had been a dare. Lily had scoffed and rolled her eyes, thinking that that was a likely explanation, all right. She couldn’t have been more shocked when Alice came out of the boys’ dorms the next morning with a silly smile, claiming that all was forgiven. Black had come down a few moments later with a smug look on his face, and Lily had barely managed to stop herself from hexing him. Merlin, the Gryffindor was infuriating.
3.
An explosion came from across the hall, and instantly, all of the Slytherins were covered in rather blinding and charmed-against-removal gold and red sparkles. Professor McGonagall had come down on the Marauders immediately, but even then, all they had gotten was ten points off and an evening of detention. Which was barely a punishment at all, considering that students more than fifteen minutes late to class usually received the same reprimand.
She’d shouted at Black later, back in the Common Room. He’d had the audacity to flash her a self-satisfied grin, showing off his white white teeth and dark features. You know you love me for it, Lily.
4.
She despised his arrogant attitude, but what she couldn’t stand the most of all was his bullying. Him and the rest of the Marauders treated the Slytherins like dirt, especially poor Severus (who, she imagined, would hate to be referred to as poor in any way, if he could hear her thoughts) who was at the target of endless pranks and taunts. His bark-like laugh was could be heard from miles away, and the rest of the Gryffindor girls always twittered at the sound like Black was some kind of deity.
Sometimes, she wondered if the rest of the Hogwarts female population was on some sort of drug.
5.
“Lily! Did you hear? Molly Prewett’s getting married in August to Arthur Weasley.”
“Oh really?” Lily looked up from the book she’d been focused on. “I’ll have to go congratulate her later.”
“Isn’t it so romantic? They’ve been dating for years. You can tell Arthur’s completely in love with her.” Alice sighed. “I just wish whoever I end up marrying is half as nice.”
“I’m glad some of the Gryffindor boys are still humble and considerate. We need more Arthur Weasleys in the world to make up for idiots like Black.”
Her friend suddenly laughed. “Oh, Lily, are you still going on about that?”
She frowned. “What are you talking about? You saw how he was flirting with Alicia Finnigan two weeks ago - and just a few days after you broke up with him!”
“Lily, I told you why we broke up. We weren’t that serious anyway, you know that.” She could hear the amusement in her friend’s voice. “Sometimes, I think you’re infatuated yourself, the way you go on about him.”
“What? That’s ridiculous!” Lily sat up, ready to defend herself. “How can you say that, Alice? You’ve seen what a pigheaded imbecile he is.”
“It’s just the way you go on about him sometimes. But whatever you say, Lily - I’m sure you know yourself best.” Alice suddenly sounded much too appeasing to her ears, as if she was just placating Lily. “Well, I’ve got to run - I promised Maria I’d meet her in the library for that Transfiguration project. I’ll see you later!”
Her, infatuated with Black? The mere thought was just… impossible. Why would anyone think she felt anything other than scorn for the Gryffindor? If she felt anything positive at all towards the Marauders, it would be towards Remus - quiet, studious Remus who tried so hard to reign in the rest of them. She’d never understood why someone like him would hang around with Sirius Black.
She wouldn’t give Black another glance if he was the only male left in the world. With another scoff, Lily dismissed the thought from her mind.
Clearly, Alice had been drinking something she shouldn’t have.
6.
“Oi, Lily!”
Lily purposefully kept her eyes on her homework.
“Come on, Lily, don’t be like that!”
She suppressed a groan. “It’s Evans to you, Potter. What do you want now?”
“You know what I want. For you to go to the next Hogsmeade weekend with me.”
“And what makes you think I’d want to go with you?”
“Who wouldn’t? Everyone’s dying to go out with me - and I’m asking you.” He grinned at her, as if he thought her amusing. “Besides, it’s not like you’re going with anyone else.”
She could take him being a jerk, but this was just going too far. Raising her face defiantly, Lily narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying I can’t get a date, Potter?”
He seemed to realize that he’d crossed some line. “No, no, not at all, Lily. I just meant -”
She’d show him. Cutting him off mid-sentence, she looked around the Common Room. The only fifth years around were the Marauders (minus Peter, who was in detention with Slughorn for exploding his potion yesterday), and Remus was much too nice for what she had in mind. (Besides, it would be too embarrassing to risk a refusal at this point.) Instead, she turned to Black, hardly daring to believe that she was doing this.
“Sirius. Want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?”
Potter sputtered, like he was choking.
It was strangely satisfying to see the momentary surprise on Black’s features. He seemed to hesitate before he responded. “Sure thing, Lily. I’ll meet you down here at ten o’clock?”
“Of course. It’s a date.” Gathering up her books, she went up to her dorm without a backward glance.
Thinking back, she wasn’t sure that she’d done the smartest thing, but the shock on Potter’s face made it well worth it.
7.
Black was an idiot, all right, but Lily had to admit that at least, he was a courteous idiot. The Slytherins called him an ill-mannered scoundrel, but clearly his pureblood family had managed to pound some sort of etiquette into his thick skull as a child.
She’d fully expected him to be late, but instead, he’d shown up right on time in a noticeably formal (Lily refused to call it “dashing”, even in her mind) dress shirt and a bouquet of flowers. She had no clue where he’d gotten the bouquet, and she’d set it aside, trying to look unimpressed, but some part of her was taken aback at Black’s consideration.
They had lunch at Madam Puddifoot’s, and if Lily hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed that Sirius Black could be courteous for more than five minutes at a time. There had been a few moments when he’d brought up James Potter, as if trying to convince her that really, he wasn’t a bad guy, but Lily had ignored his feeble comments. Finally, she’d asked him whether he’d come out to have lunch with her or to talk about James Potter, and that had been the end of the matter.
He had a surprisingly witty tongue when he wasn’t insulting Slytherins, and as much as she tried to tell herself that Black was surely acting, and there was no way he could be like this for real, Lily found herself enjoying the day.
As the carriage pulled back into Hogwarts, Lily sighed and turned to the Gryffindor. “Well, I’ll see you around, Black.”
“Oh, don’t be like that, Lily. Can’t you at least call me Sirius?”
She rolled her eyes. “It was one date, Black. Nothing more.”
“But come on! I know you enjoyed yourself - don’t try to deny it.” Black aimed puppy eyes at her (which was ridiculous, really, on a teenager. And she was completely unaffected by it, of course). “You’re not going to deny me a polite and harmless request, are you?”
Lily was hesitant, but after the nice afternoon, it couldn’t hurt, could it? “Fine, Sirius. Happy now?”
The first name felt odd on her tongue.
“Immensely.” The boy flashed a grin at her. “I’ll see you then, Lily! I said I’d meet James after I got back.”
Right, after all, she was doing this to annoy Potter. If she could get the infuriating boy out of her hair, life would be so much simpler. “If he asks, make sure you tell him I had very nice afternoon.”
He looked at her for a moment before laughing out loud and dashing off.
With a self-satisfied sigh, Lily started her walk back to the Common Room. That ought to take James Potter down a few pegs.
8.
“I love Christmas!” Alice bounced at her side as Lily hurried into Honeydukes, her final stop, to grab something for Petunia. She didn’t understand how her friend could be so energetic - she herself was shivering. Hogsmeade was freezing in the wintertime, even with the many layers of sweaters she had on.
“Are you getting anything for Sirius?”
“Sirius? Why would I get anything for him?”
“Well, you did go on that date with him. And besides, he defended you from Malfoy last week, didn’t he?”
Alice had gone on and on about that one date after she’d heard about it, and Lily had just about been ready to explode. But the part about Malfoy made her pause. It was true - she’s messed up in her Arithmancy calculation in class when Lucius Malfoy had made some snide comment about Mudbloods not being smart enough to count properly. She’d barely had time to react before Sirius had jumped up, a hex already out of his mouth. He’d gotten ten points off and two detentions.
She didn’t agree with his methods, but she had to admit that she did appreciate the sentiment. Maybe a gift would be a good idea.
But then again, knowing Sirius, he’d probably take a Christmas present as some sign of her liking him, or something equally ridiculous.
With a sigh, she shook her head. “No, Alice, I’m not getting him anything, and that’s final.” She crossed the last item off her list. “Are you done with your shopping?”
“I finished with mine last week!”
“Good, then we can head back to Hogwarts now. It’s freezing out here.”
As they headed towards the carriages, Lily heard a bark-like laugh from back behind her. Turning, she saw that Remus and Sirius were rolling on the ground, stuffing snow down each other’s shirt. Both Potter and Pettigrew had gone home for the holiday break, and so it left just the two of them. They both looked thoroughly soaked.
“Lily? Are you okay?”
Suppressing an amused smile, she nodded at Alice. “It’s nothing. Come on, let’s go. I’ll race you!”
9.
Lily couldn’t have been more surprised when she’d opened her package on Christmas morning to find an ornamental glass flower. It wasn’t even so much the fact that Sirius Black had thought to get her a gift, but more that Sirius was even capable of selecting something nice. If you’d asked her a week ago, she would have told you that you were better off not opening a gift from Sirius at all, as it was likely to turn your skin permanently orange or something equally unappreciated.
Of course, afterwards, she’d been wracked with guilt that she hadn’t followed Alice’s advice and gotten him something in return. Sirius had insisted that it was all right, and that he hadn’t expected a present anyway, but his reassurances had only made her feel worse. For all the work he’d put into her gift, he should have been able to expect something in return. But she’s proven him exactly right by being paranoid enough to talk herself out of getting anything.
But Lily Evans had always prided herself on fixing her mistakes as soon as she realized them. And so it was just that evening that she found herself running onto the grounds with a package in hand.
Hogwarts was breathtaking in the winter. Fresh snow had fallen during the day, and now it covered everything, from the Gameskeeper’s hut to the Forbidden Forest. Somewhere off in the distance, she could hear owls hooting to each other.
“Sirius!” She noted the lone figure down by the lake with some surprise. Remus had told her that Sirius would be down there, but she’d been slightly disbelieving. Sirius had never hit her as the sit-by-the-lake sort. It looked like she’d had a lot more misconceptions than she’d previously believed.
“Lily?” The figure turned at her approach, and Sirius greeted her with his typical grin. “What are you doing down here?”
“I have your gift.” She thrust out the package.
He laughed. “Lily, I was serious when I said you didn’t need to get me anything. Well, I’m always Sirius. But really, you didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.” She looked up and met his eyes almost defiantly.
Looking amused, he finally grabbed the gift and proceeded to unwrap it.
Ever since she’d come to Hogwarts, Lily had been collecting photos. The majority of them were of the Marauders when pranks had gone wrong or backfired. She’d always thought they would make nice blackmail pieces for the future, but she supposed this was a better use, really.
And the time she’d spent putting it together was well-worth Sirius’ surprised expression. One didn’t see Sirius Black shocked very often.
“How did you get these?” He flipped through the pages of the book she’d bound, laughing as he remembered some moment or another. “I’ve always wished one of us had taken pictures of all our pranks.”
“I like photography. I’ve been taking pictures since first year - and well, I’ve always thought they would make good blackmail material one day,” she admitted.
Sirius laughed out loud. “Oh, Lily. I never knew you had it in you.” His eyes were dancing as he looked up at her. “But thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Turning, she cleared off the snow and settled down on one of the rocks on the side of the lake. “I was surprised to hear from Remus that you were down here.”
He gave a shrug. “I always come down here on Christmas night. Regulus and I used to do this when we were kids. Of course, he hates me now, but it’s sort of a tradition for me.” He settled down on another rock adjacent to hers. “There, see that star?” He gestured at a glowing point in the sky. “That’s Sirius.”
Lily vaguely remembered reading something in a text somewhere. “Isn’t Sirius the brightest star in the night sky?”
“It’s the Dog Star - the brightest after the sun. You can even see it in the day, sometimes.” He sounded a little nostalgic to Lily’s ears, before he visibly shook himself. “I come here on Christmas just to make sure I haven’t forgotten where it is. It’s kind of nice, actually.”
And it was. For a while, they sat there, just looking up at the sky. Lily had never had much interest in Astrology, and other than the mandatory lessons, she’d never really taken the time to look up. Now though, she wondered why she hadn’t. Seeing the dotted stars spread out over her, it felt like there was something magical about the Christmas sky. Absentmindedly, she blew on her stiff fingers. She’d forgotten to bring something warm with her in her hurry to find Sirius.
The next thing she knew, she was enveloped in something heavy. Turning, she was surprised to see that Sirius had given her his cloak.
“Why don’t you have a scarf on, Lily? It’s freezing out here. I thought you were the sensible one.” He shot her one of those typical Sirius Black-style grins. One that he usually used to sweep the ladies off their feet. To her surprise, Lily wasn’t too irritated by the expression.
“Are you sure?” she asked, gesturing to the cloak. “What about you?”
“Don’t you worry about me, Lily. I’m fine.”
She gave him a slightly forced smile, the simple act of him giving her his cloak feeling surprisingly personal. She wracked her brain, tried to find something casual to say, but failing.
There was an unexpectedly awkward silence; a sudden tension in the air. Lily was abruptly aware of what she’d done. Instead of just giving him the package and leaving Sirius alone with his Christmas tradition, she’d stayed and monopolized his time.
“I should go,” she said, pulling the cloak off and trying to hand it back. “You’ll need this more than I do.”
“I told you already, Lily - I’m fine. And you’ll need it on the way back.”
She gave in and stood up, giving Sirius a small smile as she turned to leave. It was getting dark anyway, and she could use a hot chocolate from the kitchens after she got back.
She’d barely taken two steps when her sneakers - worn from many years of use - slid on a piece of ice. Suddenly off balance, she threw her arms out to try and catch herself, and towards the ground she fell -
… right into a pair of arms that caught her around the waist.
“Are you alright?” The voice against her ear was strangely husky.
“I’m fine.” Suddenly breathless, she turned, only to find herself unexpectedly close to the other Gryffindor. Sirius hadn’t let her go.
She looked up to ask him to release her, but her request died on her lips as she saw his face. His expression was oddly intent, his features knitted in concentration. And there was something odd about the way he was looking at her. As if he was seeing her for the first time.
She leaned forward.
Seeing what she was doing, Sirius feebly tried to step back, but without much conviction. “Lily - I… we shouldn’t.”
“No, we really shouldn’t,” she agreed. Her feet were moving without her permission.
“Really, we can’t… I mean, James -”
She wasn’t even conscious of the fact that she was stepping closer. “But let’s not talk about James right now.”
His black hair had fallen carelessly around his face, framing his features. In that moment, Lily understood why everyone else seemed to act the fool when they were near the Gryffindor.
His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them.
She leaned even closer.
He was still for another moment, but in the end, the tension drain out of him. As if giving in, he lowered his face towards her.
Her last thought before she launched herself at him was that this had to be insanity. But if it was, she couldn’t say she cared.
Closing her eyes, she finally pressed her lips to his.
10.
If anyone had been looking out the window at the moment, they would have seen a surprising sight. Lily Evans and Sirius Black were rolling in the snow, kissing, any sign of restraint gone. Her arms were thrown around his neck, and his, circling her waist.
“Need air,” she finally gasped, pulling her face back.
His eyes were dancing at her. “Everyone knows oxygen is overrated.” Without waiting to hear her reply, he pulled her face to his again.
Above them, the stars were spread out like a banner in the sky.
Finis
written 12/01/2007
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