#POV lily

[minoukwrites]

Stranger Days, Brighter Nights

the title of my WIP marauder's fic

[evaporatingvoid]

TW: blood

wanna share some cherry jam with him?

[yallthemwitches]

The Sound of Silence

Minerva always had a soft spot for Potter. Maybe that's why when it was time to choose a Head Boy alongside Lily Evans, he was was clearly the only option--- A series of vignettes of James and Lily's seventh year through McGonagall's POV.

AN: Posting this one a day early because I won't have time tomorrow (sorry) Written for Jily Week 2024, Day 5: Matchmaker (hosted by @kay-elle-cee and @sunshinemarauder)...Fully dedicate this one to the many teacher meetings I've sat through where we all devolve into gossiping about students. AO3 Link Here

I.

They sat around a circular table which always reminded Minerva of a story she heard as a child. Her colleagues had shuffled in slowly, still rosy with summer and the ever rejuvenating feeling of silence after a school years worth of endless noise. 

Filius sat next to her, pulling out a pipe and stoking it with a flame emitted from his short stubby finger. He sighed and a puff of smoke wafted into the middle of the table. 

“Here we are again—” he said to no one in particular. Minerva just clasped her hands on the table and waited for the final stragglers to trickle in.

Albus sat on the other side of the sphere and regarded his staff with half-amusement. Many of them had been long friends—giving centuries of their lives to the school. How many powerful witches and wizards had they watched slip out of these doors with their collective spirit within them? If the thought wasn’t so saccharine, Minerva would have perhaps felt a little proud. 

Albus cleared his throat and the staff settled. At this point they needed no commencement speech on why they all were called from their little parts of the castle to assemble, nor did they want one. The golden rule was short meetings were the best ones.

Horace spoke first. He always did. 

“Obviously I think there’s no arguing that Lily Evans should be the first pick.”

There was a rumble of agreement. Even Filius made a reluctant nod. He never willingly wanted to agree with Horace on much of anything.

“That’s a fine choice Horace, but are you not worried about the matter of her blood status? I’m sure you are not ignorant of the current news and I can imagine your house is quite…vocal about these happenings.”

McGonagall heard a snort from Filius which was hard to miss seeing as it bounced his whole body slightly off his chair. 

“Oh, Albus, must we always make these things so political,” Horace whined, “Evans is a brilliant witch…the best of her year—I’m sure we can—we can—” He teetered off, not knowing how to finish. It wasn’t a secret that despite his affinity for the muggleborn, his house was not so keen to accept her. They all would be idiots to disregard the dangers of putting someone of her status in charge in the current climate. 

But Albus didn’t press further. It was never his nature. “Then it’s settled. Lily Evans is Head Girl.” There was another mumbled agreement. Horace’s face was pink and slightly sweaty, but he nodded all the same.

“So onwards to—” 

There was a shuffle of teachers. Sybill spoke first:

“Oh, Oh! I choose the Delile boy. His tea leaves have always shown potential.” A couple seats down, Pomona snorted. 

“Colin Delile? That boy tried to eat a handful of nightshade thinking it was mint last year—”

“Well, I vote for Ambroise Cunningham: smart, good quidditch player (“mediocre quidditch player,” Minerva thought) and has a good head on his shoulders!” Interjected Rolanda.

There were some nods in agreement but Filius started to tut. 

“Are you all forgetting that Cunningham and Evans dated two years ago? They’ll kill each other!”

“Oh, I would hardly call that dating,” Horace scoffed.

“They certainly looked like they were dating when I found them in the charms broom closet that October!” Filius shot back. 

He had a point. She wouldn’t call Filius her friend per se but she had a fond appreciation for him being insightful when it came to the students’ lives. He was very discreet, perhaps with the help of his size, but he always was up to date on each of their lives. 

Minerva mulled a thought around for a minute while drowning out the verbal quidditch that was occurring for the rest of the staff. It was a gamble, certainly. But she had never been the one to shy away from a challenge. 

Raising her voice above the riffraff she called out, “I say James Potter should be Head Boy.”

The room went silent. Around the table, every set of eyes peered at her with mixtures of shock.

Chaos erupted. 

“Potter can’t keep himself out of detention to save his life,” screamed Aurora.

“That and his little group were growing muggle drugs in the west greenhouses!” Pomona chimed in. 

Albus didn’t even try to get order. He just continued to stare at her with an expression that twinkled beyond the room.

Minerva huffed. “Well, can any of you deny that he is brilliant?” Everyone paused. A wave of indecision rushed through the group. 

“And we know he’s a good leader. The Gryffindor team has won every year since he became captain.” Horace grumbled something under his breath but she ignored it. 

“---And, we are going to need someone who is willing to help, Hecate forbid, if there is an attack of some sort due to all this Dark Lord bunk. He might be scrappy and a fool sometimes, but he’d be able to hold his ground for the others.”

There was a hesitant noise of agreement around the table. People shifted in their seats, not able to find fault in her logic but also not enjoying its outcome. 

“And what about Evans then?” Horace had his arms crossed against his chest. “Potter has been tormenting the poor girl for years. They would be rubbish, absolute rubbish—”

“Ah, shut it Horace,” Filius scoffed, “We all know those two have been clouding up this school with sexual tension for a better half of a year now.” More nods all around. 

Minerva had hoped that no one would make the romance argument, but it couldn’t be helped. Potter and Evans had been making all of their lives unbearable, with their oblivious pining and rowing. It was like watching an ouroboros eat itself the way the two provoked each other. There was a small part of her that even hoped that matching the two together would end their purgatory. 

“Ah, the ancient magic of young love,” Albus mused to himself, stroking his beard. “I won’t deny that I like the idea. Are there…any others who seriously denounce the decision to make Potter Head Boy?”

Horace made a few grumbles, but ultimately kept quiet. He knew once Albus made a decision, he wasn’t easy to sway. 

“Then it’s settled, Lily Evans and James Potter.”

“Hecate help us,” Pomona mumbled under her breath. 

II. 

She watched as they shifted next to each other uncomfortably. Both of them dawned golden badges with encrusted initials on them that looked too heavy to be pinned to their robes. She had honestly expected more hiccups on the first day back, but something had already seemed to have shifted between them. Evans actually smiled when Potter offered her some dessert, took it from him and blushed when their hands grazed. She said something and James let out a laugh that made her smile as well. 

“Now, that’s interesting.” Filius whistled, sitting next to her at the great banquet. “Maybe your little matchmaking stunt was unneeded.” He side-eyed her and she didn’t entertain his amusement.

She looked back at the young couple. Potter had begun to explain something with extreme animation. He waved his hands around and Lily actually laughed at his antics. When he finally finished whatever he was saying, his hand rested on the bench between them and Minerva swore she saw Evans place hers on top of his.

“Oh Merlin, what have I done.”

III. 

“I think we have Miss Evans to thank for his rehabilitation. That girl can do anything,” Horace chortled at lunch a week later. 

“What are you talking about? He blew up the Slytherin bathroom just yesterday.”

“Well—he would have done it six more times already if it wasn’t for her influence!”

No one could argue that there was a great change between the two Heads. Horace wasn’t wrong, Potter was being better behaved this year and in turn Evans had started to cozy up to him more and more. Even at that moment, they entered the great hall together. Potter had both of their bags slung over his shoulder and his eyes were glued to her. As they sat, Evans pulled his glasses off in a fuss, cast a cleaning charm on them, then put them back on his face. Her hand lingered to push some of his unruly hair away and he made a dopey swooning smile. 

“It's like watching a dead body be reanimated,” Filius nodded towards the two. 

“You’re being dramatic.” 

“Don’t act like you aren’t seeing this. At this rate they’ll be married by graduation.”

She looked over again. They were sitting so close that their shoulders were touching. Black was engaging them in conversation with a lively reenactment of some muggle movie they had watched, but the couple seemed to be hardly listening. Slowly, like attempting to touch fire, Evans leaned her head onto James shoulder—slightly hovering it in indecision for a moment before putting her weight fully on his. Potter perked up, then dared to place an arm around her waist.

Filius let out a low whistle. Horace moaned.

“I was really hoping she would get with one of the Black boys..” Horace mumbled, “ blood purity aside, I do think they would be better suited…”

But he got cut off by Pomona who came half sprinting down the table. 

“Are you seeing this?? Potter! Evans!” 

VI. 

Christmas break was already upon them, which meant all of the professors were stretched too thin to think. Heads of house always had the worst of it. On one hand that meant she didn’t have to see Horace chortling around the castle half as much, but on the other she now had the Gryffindor house and the two Head students to preside over. As she walked, she mumbled to herself about how she would never offer up a Gryffindor into the Head position again. 

She mounted the stone steps towards the Heads’ office, trying to balance all the rolled parchments in her arms. Entering the small elaborate passage, she could see the light of the office was on. 

As she approached the image of them became more clear. Potter was elongated over the couch with his feet dangling lazily over the edge of the armrest. Evans laid between his splayed legs and over his torso. Using her forearms, she propped up on his chest and seemed to be drawing small circles into his shirt. Potter fiddled with her hair, twisting it through his fingers as though it was a snitch evading being caught. 

They spoke in low tones so she could hardly make out what they were saying. Potter said something to make her laugh tinkle into the cavernous room before tugging lightly on her to become eye level. Minerva watched with a sinking feeling as her two Head students locked lips, and proceeded to not break away from each other for a long time. 

She stood there in the passage, feeling a bit sorry for herself for being in this position: busy, overworked, trying to teach a class while helping Albus get a counterforce together...and now apparently being too sheepish to tell her Head Students to stop snogging long enough to take some of the work off her hands. 

With a little shriek from Evans, Potter flipped them over so he was now hovering over her while a hand disappeared somewhere Minerva did not want to guess. Admitting a sort of defeat, she spun on her heel and left the way she came. 

V.

The morning of the last day of school started like all of the other 200 times she’d done it. She woke up, made herself some tea, shifted into her cat form and curled around her bedroom window. 

A knock rattled the door. She lifted her head and hoped that whoever was bothering her would take the hint. Another set of knocks, and distinctly not Albus’ typical rap. She did a cat’s equivalent of a sigh and changed herself human again. 

She opened the door to find Potter looking out of breath and somewhat sheepish. Not a good start. 

“Good morning Minnie,” he beamed at her. 

“Mr. Potter, can I help you? It’s 6am…”

Potter ran a hand through his hair. On a glance over he looked suspiciously put together for the time of day. 

“Er, yes actually. I’m hoping I banked enough goodwill with you to ask for a favor?” Even he sounded unsure of himself. She didn’t know what it was about him, but he always knew how to hit her soft spot. 

“I don’t know about this goodwill, but I’m listening.”

He let out a relieved huff then suddenly became very animated. “Brilliant—ok. I can’t really tell you right now, because it's kind of a secret, but I would really really love it— and be forever grateful to you— if you kept students away from the lake this afternoon.”

Minerva blinked at him. There was no bone in his body that was not being sincere, she could see that, but how often had he looked the same when he wanted to do one of his little stunts. 

Seeing her pursed lips, he continued. “I swear. I solemnly swear it's not a prank. Just please.”

“Ok.” 

“Wait, what?” he blinked at her like she had grown two heads.

“Don't make me regret this decision Potter.”

“I won’t— would never. Ah, Thank you Minnie! You’re a doll!” He turned and bounded down the stairs.

XXX

It turned out to be quite difficult to keep students away from the lake, but she managed. The clock was ringing 3pm and she was starting to wonder how long she was supposed to keep things up when she spotted them. Potter and Evans were walking hand in hand. They both hadn’t changed into their regular clothes yet and Evans was talking softly. Potter looked like he wasn’t hearing a word of it. Honestly, he looked wrecked. Whatever was on his mind was clearly eating him alive—not at all the same collected boy that had knocked on her door that morning. 

The lakeside was cleared as promised and they walked beside it before stopping and looking out at the mountains far away. It struck Minerva this would be the last time she would see these two in this setting. The next time they would meet they would be equals, fighting what now felt like an impossible war. She savored the moment of seeing two people in love, unaffected for perhaps the final time by death and sadness. 

Potter turned to Evans looking like he was about to combust. Evans must have noticed because her brow furrowed and she placed a hand on his chest, which he immediately grabbed and held in both hands. Very shaky, he lowered himself onto one knee. 

She waited for noise. For some sort of big show that Potter and his mates set up for the occasion, for students to come bursting at the seams of the castle to ruin the moment, for even just the sound of a yes.

Instead, there was silence. A blissful, pure silence. She must have blinked and missed it because Potter’s arms were wrapped around her now, lifting her off the ground. Tears poured from both of their eyes as they in turn tried to wipe the other's face—opting finally for kissing each tear off each other’s cheeks. There was no noise—just sweet relief. 

For a split second, the two reverted back into their eleventh year selves. Small, unsure, and holding onto each other tightly against the weight of a world still unknown to them. It was the first time in a long time she wanted to cradle something in her arms. To tell them it was going to be alright; to keep them whole.

[chdarling]

Hi hello, thank you for all the kind messages, sorry I haven't been responding. In the midst of a brief little 'hello darkness my old friend' moment. I'll be back but I need a minute. Thank you for understanding. <3

[t1oui]

@rosekillermicrofic | prompt: losing | word count: 83 | t/cw: guns

Barty cradles Evan in his arms, rocking him gently back and forth. 

“Shh,” he whispers, cocking his gun with one hand. He leans down to kiss Evan’s forehead. “It’s alright, my love.” Evan’s breathing is uneven and ragged. His eyes stare up into Barty’s, and Barty can sense his fear. He hears shouting getting closer. “It’s okay, darling,” he says, hugging Evan to his chest and pointing his gun at the door. “We’ll get you out of here. I’m not losing you tonight.”

[merlinsbbookshelf]

Fic Rec: Head Over Handlebars

A modern Muggle-Jily fic by @practicecourts

The very fortunate James Potter fears his luck has run out when he has an accident in Amsterdam. The less-than-fortunate Lily Evans falls head over feet for the stranger she fished out of the canal. Or Once upon a time, Lily Evans finds herself alone in the streets of Amsterdam. James Potter is in Amsterdam to ride a bike. Of course, they meet. It ain't pretty. Geese are angry. This is the story of what happens before they live happily ever after.

Completed Words: 137k Chapters: 33 Rating: Mature

AO3

[missmoonfrost]

James' realisation - a wolfstar microfic

@wolfstarmicrofic July 5 - whump Words: 580 Warnings: Blood, injuries, swearing

It was warm, they had exams they should be revising for, and Lily Evans was within watching distance with her usual group of girls on their usual bench. How she could look so cute in her floral sunhat and at the same time so sophisticated with her pile of open books, was a mystery James could not explain. What he did know, was that he was bored and needed something to happen.

He nudged Sirius. “If we flew on our brooms, do you think we could hit the knot on the Whomping Willow with a pebble?”

Sirius smiled in a way that showed he was already convinced.

Remus, however, grumpily looked up from his Transfigurations book. “That was the stupidest idea I have ever heard.”

That, of course, made Sirius smile even wider and nudge James back. “Let’s see which one of us can do it first.”

Remus rolled his eyes and returned to his book. “Don’t blame me when you fall off and break your necks.”

James jumped to his feet and started running towards the castle after his broom, with Sirius following closely.

James' first thought was to stay well clear of the dangerous branches and simply drop the pebbles from above. But when he without success had to return to the ground to grab a new handful of pebbles he realised he had to come closer.

Sirius was already swishing fearlessly in and out of the tree’s reach, face deep in concentration. James flew a circle and calculated the angle, then went in for a try and was scraped on his arm by the absolute tip of a twig. He dived in for another attempt and crashed head-on into Sirius, coming out of nowhere. They both tumbled towards the ground.

A whack straight in James' face made a sharp pain spread through his nose and had him flip through the air. Somehow, he managed to land on both feet and, with the help of Remus, pull Sirius with him out of the tree’s reach before any more harm was done.

“Are you ok?” Remus pressed.

James pointed at his nose, but Remus wasn’t even looking. He was examining Sirius with a worried expression that only softened slightly when Sirius nodded.

“You fucking idiots! Next time you try to kill yourselves, remind me not to look.”

James pressed his hands to his bleeding nose and listened half-heartedly to Remus scolding. At least Lily was watching. Her expression was hard to make out through his tears, but possibly smiling. Or scowling.

Remus eventually run out of insults to call them and cast a healing-spell on his nose. “You should go see Madam Pomfrey just to be on the safe side.”

“Nah. No need.” He nudged Sirius again. “It’s no fun if it’s no risk, eh?”

Sirius only winced slightly. Actually, he looked awfully pale.

“Sirius?” Remus asked and tried to catch Sirius gaze, but he wouldn’t look up from the ground. Just clutched one arm close to his body with the other.

“You are hurt. Fuck! Look at your arm.” Remus gently touched Sirius' shoulder and his voice grew softer than James had ever heard it. “Why didn’t you say something?”

His empathetic face turned to livid in an instant when he addressed James. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

He then proceeded to swoop Sirius in his arms and carry him up the stairs and inside the castle, deaf to his protests.

James stared after them and came to a sudden realisation. Maybe he wasn’t the only one of them madly in love?

[jaylienpotter]

Conceited

Jegulus one-shot

Warning: Lily Evans bashing (kinda)

"Why don't you give me a chance? Even to be friends?!"

Regulus turned around and walked towards the source of the noise. He knew that voice very well.

"I hate you, Potter!"

Seemed like Black's crush was getting rejected again. Part of him was sad for his brother's best friend, another, more selfish side of him, was relieved.

"Why?! What did I ever do to you? I know I was a prick to Snape sometimes-"

"You're a bully!"

"I'm not a bully! Snape isn't stupid, nor weak, nor innocent. He does the exact same thing we did to him! He's not a victim." He wasn't wrong, to be a bully meant it was one-sided. Snape and Potter were more like mortal enemies.

"Even then, you're still a rich, obnoxious, arrogant, selfish prat who doesn't shut up about himself! You're so bloody conceited!"

That hit. He could see the hurt in those dark brown eyes. People didn't know the effort the tanned skinned boy put into helping others, making sure everyone is happy, included, safe. He could have all eyes on him yet no one noticed. Except Reg. He noticed James.

"That's not true." The pair turned to him in surprise, pale hands becoming fidgety with the sudden notion of being watched. He kind of regretted speaking up.

"James doesn't talk about himself. Yes, he's sometimes a bit obnoxious and loud, and he does talk a lot but it's never centered around himself. You're getting confused with my brother, Evans."

"Oh, please. Those two are the same. You're not in Gryffindor, you don't hear them all the time." Right, but he did hear from the boy in private. In their late night talks that started after Sirius ran away. Because James didn't want Reg to feel alone. He noticed. He cared. He helped.

"What does he say then? About himself. Not about his friends. Or the stupid pranks they all pull." He dragged the word 'all', making it a point that it didn't count.

"Do you know his favourite colour? Favourite animal? Favourite classes and professors? His grades? How many people he's dated? Anything about his home life? His life goals and dreams?" It was too late to back out, the rant had begun, and you bet Blacks finish what they start.

"Because I don't think so. He might talk a shit lot, but it's about his group plans, his friends, making jokes, making others laugh when feeling like shit as so many do nowadays," himself included. "It takes a lot to get him to talk about himself as an individual, actually. You would know if you gave him a chance. But for someone so against judgemental people, you really do focus on his appearance." Green eyes wide, pink lips shut tight. Regulus contained his smirk.

"He's a good person. A great friend. Selfless and caring despite being from an old pureblood family. And he fights for what he thinks is right. He fights for others. With his big personality comes a big heart. So if you don't make space for the love he has to offer just because you think you don't believe he has it in him, he's not the conceited one." Red hair nearly flew with Lily's stormed exit. She hadn't liked their interaction in the slightest. It was better that way. She wasn't deserving.

Piercing dark eyes were burning a whole through black curls. Reg avoided James's gaze, afraid of what he'd say. He only faced him when he felt the boy closer, and he could swear Potter's eyes were sparkling.

"You meant that...?"

"Of course. You care so much about everyone else that you forget yourself. You couldn't tell me what you wanted to do in the future because it would depend on what your friends decided to do with their lives. You're the most selfless person I know, and if she thinks otherwise, she doesn't deserve your love or friendship."

Silence. He really wanted the older boy to say something, but he just stared, lips slightly parted. Icy blue eyes looked away, shoulders tensing from the attention.

Warm strong arms surrounded his small figure, nearly making him halt. But Potter's sweet, intoxicating smell had him relax and melt in his arms, wrapping his much slimmer ones around his tanned waist.

"Thanks, Reggie." His heart skipped a beat at the nickname and he hoped James didn't feel it against his own chest. He was also thankful to have his face covered, absolutely certain that his white cheeks had turned fully pink.

[lilyrizzy]

continuation of this silly little fic...have more silly maxiel hunger games au fic bc I recently read the new book and got obsessed again, oops. cw: everything you'd expect with a hunger games au, death, torture & forced prostitution mentions.

Alex stares down at his meal. Lumpy porridge sprinkled with what District Thirteen likes to call ‘nutritional powder,’ orange juice, and an apple that looks far too green to have been grown underground. In three weeks, he hasn’t seen sunshine, real or otherwise.

“You aren’t going to get anything else,” George reminds him, and in front of where he’s shovelling food into his mouth at an alarming pace, his tray is already three-quarters empty. Gone is the good boy routine, vanished along with the Capitol cameras the moment Charles blew up the dome sky of the arena with a good shot and the reel of wire Seb spent all games carrying around.

Alex hasn’t seen either of them since that moment, Charles dead the moment the sky lit up, and Seb still in District Thirteen’s medical wing. There are rumours he’ll never walk again.

Max, who fought off the Capitol mutts in an attempt to keep the rest of them alive that night is their only other living ally. Right now he’s sat at the next table alone, his food tray also full. He’s drawing patterns in the sludge with his spoon, and mumbling to himself the way he used to, in the games. Talking to ghosts, or talking to his- To Daniel, maybe. By now, that probably means the same thing.

“Are you going to-“ George interrupts his thoughts, gesturing to Alex’s tray. He shoves it towards him, standing as he does.

“Go wild, Georgie,” he half mutters, meaning to walk back to his room, or to Toto’s to beg for something, anything to do to help him stop thinking.

Instead, he finds himself standing over Max, only with no real plan of what to say. Hello, I’m sorry your boyfriend is probably dead, but so is my girlfriend. Want to talk rebellion strategy? Yeah, right. Alex has a feeling that Max is as much an unwilling participant in this uprising as he is, or at the very least an accidental one.

You fucking promised me, you- You swore he’d be okay, that you’d protect him, you promised.

Alex had watched Max howl it all at Horner in the hovercraft as it took them thousands of miles away from the remains of the arena. Right before Max punched Horner in the face and ended up sedated for the remainder of the journey. The yellow-orange traces of the shiner Max gave him still give Alex a strange sense of satisfaction to see every time Horner calls him to the command room to ask him to star in more propaganda videos.

“Hi,” is all he says to Max now, shifting from foot to foot in front of him, as Max continues to mumble into his food.

“I’d need a gun for that, or at least a knife. Of course, these are too blunt, and-“

“Max,” Alex tries again, and that gets his head snapping up, as though woken from a trance. His eyes dart around before settling all the way on Alex.

“Oh,” he says like he’s assessing a threat and finding there to be none, “it’s you. What do you want, twelve?”

In the arena, Max had called him Alex. Maybe, like George’s gentlemen act, it had been something designed to please the cameras, or more likely, to forge allies. Allies they apparently needed to get this show on the road. Toto had explained this to him, that it was important to have as many districts as possible represented in the uprising victors. That way, their homes would have a reason to believe that they too can rebel.

“Nothing,” Alex says hastily, putting up his hands. “Nothing, I- I wondered if you wanted some company.”

Max glances from Alex to the side, where he can no doubt see George still filling his belly with Alex’s unfinished meal.

“Pretty boy is winding you up already?” Max asks, something almost teasing on his lips.

Alex flushes. There was no way Max could know about the night before, George’s warm body slipping into his bed, and his warmer hands finding Alex’s skin under the scratchy, military issue blankets. Clinging onto each other, the only piece of home they’d likely see again. Except, maybe Max can know all about it, maybe that was how he’d found his way to Daniel.

Max raises his eyebrows, and Alex choses to believe he’s just expecting an answer rather than recognising Alex's guilt. Even though Lily was likely killed right after his unconscious body was airlifted from the arena as a warning to any who sympathises or dares to love a rebel, there was still a small voice in him that warned that if she had survived, he would always have betrayed her.

“A little,” he says, half the truth and half a total lie. If he didn’t have George, he’d be like Max. Alone, and half mad.

Max smirks, but gestures to the bench opposite him. Alex sits, trying to think of something else to say.

“What, uh. What are you talking about?” It’s all he can come up with, and internally he groans. He doesn’t need to get roped into Max’s crazy. He cocks his head at Alex, like he doesn’t know what he is talking about, only affirming Alex’s belief that he's securely in cuckoo land, but it’s too late to go back now. “The guns, or the- The knife?”

“Oh,” Max says, nodding like this is perfectly sane. “I am trying to think of some way to the Capitol.”

“The Capitol?” Alex repeats, dumbfounded, because that is where they’ve just been rescued from. But- Realisation dawns on him, slow and then all at once, like the sun he used to get to see every morning.

“It’s where Daniel will be, probably,” Max confirms.

Alex tries to nod earnestly like this isn’t the worst idea he’s ever heard.

“Of course, Christian promises me that they are going to rescue them, but only when it is safe,” Max is continuing, hands suddenly animated in front of him. It’s the liveliest Alex has seen him since the games. “I cannot wait until it is safe, because what if it never is? What if they are- I can’t leave him there. I need to get to him.”

Alex tries to listen, but his brain stalls on one word, making the rest almost obsolete.

Them.

“Who else are the Capitol holding?” He asks, knowing as he does that the spark of hope Max’s answer lights might be the thing to tip him over the deep end too. Max’s answering look tells Alex that he thinks his question is very stupid.

“Well,” he says with a bitter laugh, “I did not exactly get the list, but I would imagine it includes yours and Georgie’s families-“ He waves his spoon in George’s direction- “along with maybe the rest of the victors. Your girlfriend, your childhood best friend. Fuck, maybe someone you sat next to in math class, Alex. Anyone they think they can use against you.”

Alex's head begins to spin. Of all the propaganda videos from the Capitol that had made their way to them here in Thirteen, Daniel and Lily hadn’t been mentioned or seen once. Alex had assumed this meant they were long gone, but what if they were only waiting for the right time to reveal their captives? Max is right, after all, they’d be more use to the Capitol alive. As bait, or maybe just to torture them with the idea of ‘what if.’

He thinks back to Daniel’s screams in the arena, calling for Max over and over to help him. Max curled on the ground like a child, his fingers stuffed into his ears.

“What about your family?” Alex asks, stomach turning at the thought of how much blood he would have on his hands at the end of all this. “What-“

“Daniel is my family,” Max interrupts him bluntly. Then, maybe because he senses the cold coil of fear his words help to settle in Alex’s stomach, he continues. “I had a sister when this all- But I told her to run. She had two small babies, and I couldn’t- There was nothing I could do to protect them if they stayed.”

Alex’s eyes widen. Running was almost unheard of. Growing up, he’d only known two people to try it, the wife and child of a rebel who had been hanged the day before. Peacekeepers put a round of bullets into their bodies just five miles past the fence.

“Did they-“ He asks, and Max shakes his head.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I like to think that because I never heard, it means-“ He shrugs.

Alex would want to think that as well, but the chances of Max’s sister running around the wilderness of Panem with two little kids, not only undetected but thriving, is- It’s hard to believe. To be kind, he nods like it’s not.

“I wish I’d told Lily to run,” he practically whispers because even though he doesn’t think she’d have made it either, it would likely be a quicker death than whatever the Capitol have in store for her now. Like Max, he doesn’t have much faith in Horner’s plans to rescue whoever they may still have, and unlike Max, there’s no way he has faith in himself either to make up for that shortcoming.

Max nods, his mouth a wonky line that in any other circumstances might be considered a smile. He reaches across the table and shocks Alex by touching his shoulder gently.

“If I make it there, to Daniel-“ He looks to the side, like his mind is still halfway elsewhere, formulating his plan- “I promise I will look for her, also.”

Alex closes his eyes, startled by the sudden compassion in Max’s voice.

“Thank you,” he whispers, but to be honest, Max’s words do very little to bring him any comfort.

Toto had made Alex promises too, like Horner to Max. It seemed this war was built upon the breaking of them.

—

“Tell me something about Daniel.”

Max looks up at Alex from where he’d been staring down at the same photograph Alex has seen stuck on his bunkroom wall. Something he must have grabbed when the bombing siren started to sound, before they all filed down into the shelter. In it, Alex can see Daniel’s curly hair, his well fitted suit. A Capitol propaganda photo, likely, that Max had swipped from some magazine.

The moment Horner and Toto called them into the control room to detail their scheme- sneak a craft out during the next air strike on Thirteen, when the Capitol is distracted to retrieve the hostages- the fight Alex was used to seeing in Max had almost completely diminished. Looking at him now, he looks- Well, a little pathetic.

Come on, Max, he thinks but doesn’t say, weren’t you supposed to be some bloody murderer?

Max is the deadliest victor in Panem’s history, a reputation that had followed him into his post-games life as a victor. Seb had told Alex stories in the arena, of how the people of the Capitol requested for Max to sit in cages at the edges of their dinner parties, the ultimate display of power.

“Why?” Is all that same man asks now, and it’s as if he’s too weak to even seem guarded anymore.

Alex sits down on the bed beside him. Around them, the metal frames shake, clanging together in the dimly lit bunker. Dust and dirt fall from the ceiling. Maybe the mission will succeed, only for Daniel and Lily to arrive at District 13 and find them all dead and buried under rubble.

“Because it seems like a better plan than waiting in miserable silence?” Alex offers, tucking his legs up to rest his chin on his knees. “Come on,” he prompts, when Max still seems hesitant, “there must be one thing you love about him that you’re not too stoic to share.”

Max laughs, despite their situation, and mouthes the word, stoic, shaking his head a little. Then-

“Everybody loves his big smile,” Max offers, finger tracing over the shape of Daniel’s lips on the photo, “the tributes we would mentor, the other victors. The people of the Capitol, who paid enough to have it, and much more, thrown in their direction, but- But I like it better when it is smaller. Softer. Just-”

Just for you, Alex thinks, but Max doesn’t finish his sentence.

“What about you?” He asks instead, offering Alex a small smile of his own, “What makes Lily so special?”

Alex laughs, because what doesn’t make her special?

“She’s like, the smartest person ever,” he says, because throughout all this he has wondered over and over what she would do in his place, and tried to follow that course of action. “I keep thinking how she’d have the Districts liberated by now if she was here.”

Max nods, lips quirking upwards again.

“Let’s hope she makes it then,” is all he offers, eyes back on his picture. It’s then Alex notices the expression Daniel is wearing, the soft smile Max was talking about. Maybe not a Capitol promo photo after all.

“Did you two-“ He starts, but stops himself, aware he is treading on shaky ground now. Another explosion sounds somewhere above ground, with the vibration taking a few beats longer to travel to them. Somewhere near them, a baby begins to wail, as the ground both above and beneath their feet trembles.

“Did we what?” Max asks, looking at Alex again.

“Did you, uh. Did you fall in love before or after your games?” It isn’t what he was going to ask.

“That is not what you were going to ask,” Max says. Alex flushes, but Max answers anyway. “For me, yes. For Daniel, he says it was after.” Alex nods. Max’s answer is the only clear confirmation he’s gotten since hearing the jabberjays wail that Daniel and Max are lovers. “Now ask me what you were really going to ask.”

Alex hesitates, but another shockwave of the bombing has him throwing caution to the wind. By morning, they might be dead anyway.

“Did you like, live together and stuff?” He finally asks, and it’s a watered down version, and Max sees through that too.

“You mean, why did we not hide it better, from the Capitol?” He asks, head tilted to one side in a gesture that Alex has since learned means he’s considering how to dumb down a very easy concept to someone he thinks is very stupid.

It’s half of what Alex had wondered, along with how they worked, given the entire country knew the rumours of how Daniel spent his time when he was in the Capitol, how he got so many of the jewels he seemed to proudly wear at every year’s games coverage.

He shrugs.

“We tried,” Max says, “for a while. Of course, people do not like- Well.” Alex feels himself flush again. “But it got very hard.”

“The logistics?” Alex asks, surprised by the flimsy sounding excuse, but Max shakes his head.

“No, the-“ He breaks off to chew his lip, clearly debating how honest he wants to be. One of the cats Max told him Thirteen only had to keep the mice away appears as though from nowhere, winding itself around Max’s legs. Max hunches over with a cautious hand to pet it, and it lets him, where with Alex it would show its teeth and claws. Eventually, he continues.

“My sister, when I came back from the games, she did not look at me the same way,” he explains, tucking the photograph of Daniel carefully back into his pocket. “The Capitol paraded me around like one of their muts, like I was some kind of bedtime terror meant to scare their naughty children, as well as the people from my own home.”

You used to terrify me, Alex agrees internally, but he knows better than to say anything. The cat between Max’s feet begins to pur.

“The only time I really felt like a person anymore was with Daniel,” Max says, like it explains everything and in a way, it does. “It was too hard, to go for such long times feeling like a monster, too easy to start to believe that you are. When we are together, we can just- I can just-“

Max breaks off, putting his head into his hands. As his shoulders start to shake, Alex realises that Max is doing something Alex has never seen him do before.

He’s starting to cry.

[1doesnotsimplyhavejust1fandam]

Imagine being such close besties with someone that your entire world knows about it. Just. Sirius Black and James Potter being so close that literally nobody questions that Sirius was the Potters’ Secret Keeper, even when he immediately went after Peter in a very public way, instead of laying low like any sane person would do after they were just revealed a traitor and their precious Lord died (although, they did think Sirius went mad, so it makes sense in a way). But of everyone in the Order, no one once questioned the Potters making Sirius their Secret Keeper, despite his prejudiced family, despite the Prank, despite any number of ways in which Sirius wasn’t perfect. Everyone in the Wizarding World still saw Sirius and James, and thought, “yeah, there’s no way it was anyone else, even if the betrayal makes their friendship seem so much less deep”. There was no reason for Remus to question it because he watched James and Sirius be the best of friends for a decade, he knew Sirius was Harry’s godfather, he knew James would have trusted no one more, that Lily loved Sirius and thought the world of him. There really was no other choice for the Potters, to anyone.

Which makes Peter being Secret Keeper that much more awful because it was such a genius move! Sirius was actually so smart to try this twist, to suggest making Peter the Secret Keeper. He knew everyone knew how close him and James were, how close he’d always been to the Potter family, he knew they’d come after him and Sirius would’ve DIED rather than betray his friends, his godson. He would’ve died to protect Peter too, so that nobody would know who the Secret Keeper really was. There was no reason to suspect Peter when there was Sirius Black, known Death Eater hater and unendingly loyal to his friends, RIGHT THERE. If Sirius really HAD died, he would’ve gone out thinking his friends would still be safe bc once Voldemort discovered he wasn’t the Secret Keeper, it would’ve jumped to Remus or even an older Light member like Moody or Dumbledore. Sirius damned himself knowingly, before ever finding out that Peter had gotten the Potters killed.

Sometimes I think about how Sirius managed to convince James and Lily to use Peter instead of him. They both must’ve known that Sirius would be killed immediately once it was determined that he didn’t know the Secret, so Sirius must have used Harry against them, said that they needed to do ANYTHING to keep their little boy safe, even if it meant Sirius offering himself up as a target, a sacrifice for their safety. Sirius must have thought he was so smart, because he found a way to keep his friends and godson safe, even though he wasn’t the Secret Keeper, and he didn’t put them at risk by trusting “potential spy: Remus Lupin”. He must have argued with James and Lily for ages about it, convincing them that it was the right decision, some misdirection to keep them safer for longer, another line of defense between their little Harry and the monster who wanted to destroy him.

It’s already wild to me that Sirius even held enough power/voice in this discussion to even suggest Peter as Secret Keeper. Like, the level of trust James and Lily must’ve had in him, to entrust their lives AND their son’s in Sirius’ plan? Nobody can ever say that Sirius wasn’t loved and trusted to the ends of the earth by James and Lily. They wanted HIM because there was nobody they trusted more, even with how reckless Sirius is shown to be, even years later. Trying to imagine Sirius in Azkaban all those years, knowing he basically handed his best friends over to Voldemort with that plan? Hell on earth, literally. He speaks on it maybe once to Harry in the entirety of the series, and it’s so clear that he is completely derisive about the plan. He despises the fact that it was his plan that got his best friends killed, that caused Harry to lose his parents. He blames himself (and Peter), but he had over a decade to sit in prison and think about the what ifs of that plan, to remember that it was his idea that killed James and Lily.

[shootingthe-stars]

JILY ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE AU IS HERE!!

as the world falls down (falling in love)

Eight months ago, the world collapsed due to a parasite that drives the living to tear each other apart. Now, the Evans-Potters are in the middle of Nebraska in hiding until they encounter a pair that take them across the states.

Or,

There are many rules of meeting strangers in the apocalypse, James and Lily break all of them.

chapter one!

art

[i-am-church-the-cat]

i am so full of emotions about that soulmate piece. it is just so perfect. the idea of oscar and logan being platnoic soulmates but oscar *chooses* lily. and the implications. poor sweet lily sad and alone because she has no letters over her heart. only to have oscar choose her, fall in love with her, want to be with her, even though the letters over his heart say LS and not LZ. in a way, truer soulmates. i am all weepy sobby about this. i love it so so much. i love your brain. pls share more

this interpretation got me clutching my fucking chest, so in honor of that, a drabble for your perusal

--

25% of the world's population was born without a soulmark. A kid with non-soulmate parents was likely to be part of that 25%. Lily Zneimer is part of that 25%.

It never bothered her until secondary school, when everyone started talking about marrying their soulmates and finding their "true love". No one knew that Lily didn't have a soulmark but she knows what they'd say if they did. That she wasn't meant to be loved like that. That there was no one else on the entire planet that would fit just right with her.

That's not what she believed. Her friends who had already had soulmates said it felt like they had been incomplete, but Lily was already complete. She didn't need another half to a whole because she was already whole.

When Oscar asked her out for the first time, she assumed he either hadn't met his soulmate yet or was soulmark-less, like her. She agreed because he was cute and funny and sincere. She got tired of trying to figure out what people were thinking but Oscar always told her.

She didn't feel completed by Oscar because she was already complete by herself. But her day was always better when Oscar was in it.

They weren't soulmates. Their lives didn't automatically fit together. They made each other fit because it's what they wanted. Oscar fit himself to her and Lily fit herself to him.

When she first met Logan, she wouldn't have know they were soulmates if she didn't know Oscar so well already. Oscar talked about Logan like he was any other friend. But when they were together, they moved around each other in sync. Oscar was already passing the salt before Logan had even asked, Logan had known exactly what Oscar was planning to order. They didn't quite finish each other's sentences but they spoke in half-words and unfinished thoughts sometimes, not realizing Lily couldn't understand them.

They never excluded Lily or made her feel like the outside looking in. But if Lily and Oscar were the Earth and the Moon, a symbiotic relationship that happened to find each other, Oscar and Logan were twin stars, born of the same cosmic dust.

When Oscar had walked her home, she asked about it.

"I had just assumed that you didn't have a soulmate," she said, not meeting his eye. She knew he'd be able to see all the fear and uncertainty on her face if she did. "But it's Logan isn't it?"

She could feel when Oscar's gaze fell away from her face and she glanced over to see him nod.

"We met at a karting event in 2015," he said, which Lily had already known. "I thought it was weird that the initials on my chest matched his name but it had happened before. But then he told me straight away that my initials were on his chest. And that was that."

Lily was shocked. Most people met their soulmate as adults, some never met them, but Oscar and Logan had met at 14 after being born across the world from each other. Fate had clearly had plans for them.

"Then why aren't you two, you know, together?" She asked, sounding completely bewildered. Even though she didn't subscribe to the view that soulmates were the most important thing in the world, it was just common knowledge that 70% of marriages were between soulmate pairs, either by choice or by force.

Oscar shrugged. "We never felt that way about each other. We met before everyone started talking about dating and soulmates so all we knew is that we were supposed to know each other. He's my best friend but I don't feel any desire to date him."

"And what about Logan?" She asks, still not believing they could just never give it a chance. "Does he feel the same way?"

Oscar does something then that truly surprises her. He laughs. Like full-bodied, caught-off-guard chuckles.

"Logan isn't- well, I'll let him tell you if he wants, but I can promise that Logan doesn't feel attracted to me either. To anyone, really."

That statement was confusing for a few different reasons but it sounded like if she wanted more information, she'd have to ask Logan. They continue to walk in silence for a while before she brings up what she actually wants to talk about.

"Why date me then?"

Oscar stopped and turned to her, forcing her to do the same. He's not smiling anymore but his expression isn't less kind or sincere.

"I asked you out because I like you, Lily. You're smart and beautiful and nice. I'll never date my soulmate which means I'm free to date whoever I want. And who I want is you."

Oscar barely finishes his last few words before Lily is reaching up to hug him. They stand there in the street for a while, just holding each other, Lily basking in the feeling of truly being chosen, maybe for the first time in her life.

"I want you, too, Oscar. Even if I don't have your initials on me."

[lolathestoryteller]

Until the end, i’ll stay by your side (May 22 prompt; Undercover) @jilymicrofics

“Hold on,” James raises his hand, effectively stopping Harry from further explaining this, admittedly quite brilliant, yet ridiculous plan to the entire Order of the Phoenix. “You want to just stride into Hogwarts, where Voldemort’s men—”

“Don’t say his name!” Arthur Weasley interrupts sharply, and James sighs, raising his hands apologetically.

“Dad.” Harry says, drawing James’s attention back to him — his son.

His son whom he has not seen in months. Now sat before him, as though he hadn’t ran off to search for Horcruxes without ever telling them.

“This is our only chance. We have to do it tonight. Aberforth will send you all through the secret passageway right into the room of requirement and then—“

“Us?” Lily asks, her eyes set on their son as well, though her fingers squeeze his under the table with a painful amount of force. “What about you?”

Harry looks to Ron, then Hermione, before meeting her eyes. “We’ll go ahead, undercover. There’s…still a hidden Horcrux somewhere inside the castle.” he explains, though James can already feel Lily’s disapproval radiating off of her before she even speaks.

“No.” she replies, and it isn’t a suggestion.

Though, Harry seems to either not notice, or he doesn’t care. “Yes.” he insists, his green eyes filled with a fire so familiar, James would only have to look to his left, to Lily, to see it reflected. “Mum, I have to find it.”

“We’ll come with you.” she replies in a heartbeat, and James can only nod along fervently.

Harry looks like he would love to grant them their request, but James already knows they can’t. It’s something Harry and his mates have to do by themselves. It kills him that he cannot find that bloody Horcrux himself…anything so Harry wouldn’t have to.

“Alright,” he concedes, looking at Harry intently. “We’ll meet you in the great hall, just like you planned.”

“James—“ Lily looks to him in appall, but he takes her hands both in his to hush her.

“Lil, he’s right. We’ve got to let them do it. They’ve been looking for these Horcruxes for months…and…the castle will be full with his people. They need us for distraction.” he says calmly, despite the worry eating at his insides.

She looks like she’s about to cry, or scream, and he understands— never would he have imagined them sending Harry off into Voldemort’s lair by himself…but Harry isn’t a little boy anymore. “Lily, let him go.” he whispers, only for her to hear.

She blinks against the subtle, yet stubborn glimmer of tears, bravely swallowing them until, at last, she gives in. “Alright,” she resides, her voice not as convincing as he’d hoped— for Harry’s sake— though, who could blame her?

“But,” she turns back to look at their son, reaching across the table to take his hand into hers. “Promise to meet us in the great hall.”

Harry smiles ever so slightly, despite how utterly exhausted he must be. “I promise.”

“And if anything goes wrong—“

“Mum,” he interrupts Lily’s ramble with a shake of his head. “It’ll be fine.”

James wraps an arm around Lily’s shoulders, letting her fall against his side as they both stare at their grown up boy. “We’ll wait for you there, yeah?” he asks, taking Harry’s other hand into his.

Harry looks back at them with a raw, unbreakable determination. “I won’t let him win.” he promises— James doesn’t know how his son could make such a promise, when his enemy is so powerful, yet…something about the way Harry says it makes him believe it too.

“When…he comes…” Harry barely whispers, his hand now cold in James’s. “You’ll stay with me?”

It doesn’t take either of them even a second to answer;

“Until the end.” James replies, squeezing Harry’s fingers.

“Always.” Lily promises.

[yallthemwitches]

Simple Math

Remus notices something is off about James and Lily at the Prefect's meeting.Written for Jily Week 2024, Day 1: Hair

Thank you @sunshinemarauder and @kay-elle-cee for hosting the event :) AO3 Link Here

Remus walked his way to McGonagall’s office feeling every footfall as he went. He was already knackered from the full moon earlier that week, but on top of things Sirius and Peter had thrown a bender the night before, importing as much contraband firewhiskey they could supply in order to turn the Gryffindor common room into a disco dance hall. 

Their prefect meeting couldn't be helped, if not now transformed into its own mode of punishment as it was McGonagall herself who had to break up the party, padding her way into the common room in her night robes. Even Sirius cowered as she laid eyes on her very own Head Boy and Girl in the middle of the dance floor grinding away like it was some wizarding Studio 54. 

Remus lit a cigarette and took a few drags as he approached the second floor. A group of prefects stood idly by the door, talking amongst themselves and looking rather irritated. 

“All right?” Remus called to Cornelia, a Hufflepuff prefect who was eyeing the door with frustration.

“The door’s locked—that or it’s been enchanted, I think everyone has given a go at unlocking it.”

Remus pulled out his wand and did a half hearted flourish. Alohomora

Instead of the lock popping open, a sound that resembled a muggle game show buzzer went off. 

Remus snuffed out his cigarette.

“D’you know if Lily and James have arrived yet?” He asked.

“I haven’t seen them, but Trevor said he saw them at breakfast. They told him they had to prepare some things before the meeting.”

Uh huh. 

Remus sighed deeply. 

“Alright then, uh, can everyone just humor me and stand back for a second.” All of the younger prefects who had nervously crowded the door moved without hesitation. 

Bombarda. The young prefects instinctively covered their ears and faces, expecting the door to blast open. Instead, the door remained very much intact, instead making the same buzzing noise as before. 

Ah christ. The other prefects started to whisper. He heard a fourth year asking someone if they should be worried about a death eater attack. While Remus could admit that that would be certainly worse, he still wasn’t too pleased with what was actually happening. 

There was some scuffling noise behind the door and the prefect’s chatter dissipated. The door lurched open and James stood in the doorway. 

“Oi, Which one of you is trying to destroy Hogwarts’ property?” he barked out. Behind him, Lily was already leaning on McGonagall's desk. 

“I realize that punctuality is key around these circles, but patience is a virtue,” James tutted, opening the door further to let the stream of prefects enter. 

Remus gave James a one over. His hair was messy–ok that's a given, but his shirt was looking rather creased. It stuck out of his pants in a clearly haphazard attempt to tuck in. To an untrained eye, this wouldn’t be so suspicious—James was often looking a bit rugged when he came to class. 

The real tip off was Lily. Even as the prefects took their seats, she ran her hand through her hair, attempting to smooth the ruffled parts. Her uniform was unbuttoned two buttons lower than her usual fit, and her tie looked off kilter. 

It was simple math really, but perhaps because Remus was feeling charitable, he assumed better for the Head Boy and Girl. Afterall, he had first-hand witnessed the two at the party last night, a couple fire whiskeys deep and not shying away from the powdery muggle drug that Sirius was passing through the crowd. (“When I do a themed party, Moony, I do the fuck out of it”) 

Remus sat in the front row and watched James join Lily at the front of the classroom. James started off with the newest patrol round schedules, while Lily continued to comb at her hair, catching little knots and picking them apart with her fingers. Her eyes focused on James’ speaking with such intensity, Remus felt like he was witnessing something private. Her mouth parted a bit and Remus took note that her lips were looking more plump and swollen than usual….

They must be bloody fucking joking.

Remus tried to focus instead on James who was garbling his way through the most boring information imaginable. On second inspection, his hair was sticking out much farther than usual—not in the way that resembled getting off his broomstick, but rather like if someone stood over him and tugged furiously upwards. James turned to Lily who had been maintaining her gaze, all the while still attempting to tame her hair. He stumbled a bit on his words; then miraculously forgot what he was saying entirely. 

Of all days, they picked the one where he was too hungover to even enjoy their embarrassment. 

After the meeting, Remus didn’t even wait for Lily and James. He went straight back to the boys’ dorm and threw himself on his bed. A muffled groan came in the direction of Sirius’ bed. 

“What time is it mate?” Sirius sounded completely wrecked. 

“Almost noon.”

“Merlin’s tits. That was some party. I feel like death.”

The door opened and James entered and collapsed on his bed, face first, his glasses skewed on his face. 

“Fuck yes. Bed,” he spoke into the mattress.

“How was your meeting, darling,” Sirius cooed at James, still appearing comatose from his own bed.

Remus found his in. “Don’t worry, he had a real swell time. Our noble Head Boy and Girl made sure to be perfectly satisfied before their meeting.”

Sirius’ head shot up from the pillow. “Woah Woah, Jamsie….you know better than to shag on the job tsk tsk.” 

James propped himself up on his arms. “What were we supposed to do? The whole tower was crawling with people last night. Can’t a loving couple get thie—”

Sirius threw a pillow at James' head, which James was too hungover to dodge. “You looked pretty well taken care of while dancing last night. Half expected you both to just lay right down and go at it in front of everyone.”

James mumbled something sounding like a half-hearted dissent. From the other side of the room Peter’s cracked voice spoke up.

“I heard them in here too…I came up here to sleep and they forgot to close the curtains…”

James made a loud groan. 

“I hope you're proud of yourself,” Sirius tutted, mimicking James’ mom’s tone.

There was a silence. 

“---Was it really that obvious—at the meeting I mean?”

Remus lit a cigarette and leaned back.

“James, let me put it this way. I know exactly where your hands have been from the look of Lily’s hair alone.”

[muqingapologist]

it’s always crazy to me when i meet somebody who has only watched the heaven official’s blessing donghua, and sometimes they don’t even know there’s a novel. im just like, do you know?? how much you’re missing out on?? do you know?? let me help you. here’s a 2000-page pdf of the entire story. or would you rather an epub? what’s your email?

[misclogarts]

flowers bloom in secret - a harumiyu playlist

alt versions under cut