Lily pov for :
In The Blink of an Eye
Please?
Or a sequel?
hey! Thanks for the ask, though In the blink of an eye is a fic I haven't thought about in quite a long time and I'm not sure this is going to satisfy what you were after... consider it a sequel, that is also Lily pov.
When Lily wakes the next morning it’s the first thing she thinks of, the look on James’ face, the flat tone of his voice.
He had said it didn't matter, said to move past it.
Lily isn't sure how long they’d sat on the sofa, side by side in silence. Long enough for her to dose, long enough for James to gently wake her and encourage her to go to bed.
Seeing her to the bottom of the girl's stairwell and offering her a hushed, “Sleep well”.
The dorm is empty when she finally rises, enough replaying of the evening memories, she needs to get on with her day.
“She lives!” Mary sends a bright smile her way from their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, “Tea?”
Offering her friend a nod as she stifles a yawn, Lily slips onto the bench opposite, feeling eyes from all directions focused on her.
Marlene unfolds the paper in front of them, seemingly drawing her attention to something on the page, “Ok, spill it, what happened last night? The men in your life are all acting weird”.
Tea splutters down her chin, “Excuse me, the men?”
“You know, Potter and the lads are all… disconcertingly quiet, Snape looks almost pleased with himself under his typical glare, oh yes, and Mr Ravenclaw beater is heading this way – he’s been watching for your arrival”.
“Oh god”
Looking up from the fast-forming tea stain on her white shirt, Lily trains her attention on the incomer in an effort to gauge his intention.
Dylan moves across the flagstones confidently, paying no mind to the scorn from the Slytherin table, or the looks passing between the seated Gryffindor seventh-years.
Mary turns in her seat at the sound of footsteps approaching, voice aimed low, “Guess we have to wait for the gossip”.
“Morning all, Lily, sleep well?” His blue eyes lock on hers, a smile tugging at his cheeks.
She knew she’d have to face him this morning, but his appearance only serves to remind her of her shame. A lapse in judgement in more ways than one and now to face it in front of her housemates, in front of James.
The table sits silently for a beat too long, the blonde releases a small laugh, leaning closer to her, “Can I walk you to class?”
“I– I have to run a few errands before lessons, Heads stuff, sorry”.
Dylan looks towards the cluster of boys farther down the table, and back to her again “Right, no worries… I’ll catch you lat–”
Before he can finish his retreat though, James stands, “No need, Heads stuff is… unimportant”.
Before Lily has a chance to process the dismissal, Sirius bangs an ungraceful fist on the table, jumping up to follow his best friend as he makes quick strides out of the hall.
Lily watches them retreat, he said to move past it, and she assumed that meant they were fine, still friends, but his exit leaves her unsettled.
The small smile offered to her by Remus only encourages her concern as he slips from the bench slowly. Peter and he exchange a silent conversation, the boy left sitting nods towards his full plate mumbling something about catching him up.
“You sure know how to scatter a crowd Hardwick”, Marlene lifts an incredulous brow.
“And I didn't even have to use my bat”, he smirks.
Peter coughs, spitting crumbs as his eyes water, grabbing pumpkin juice to swallow the lump in his throat, “That’s not what I heard”.
Laughter tumbles from Mary and Marlene, drawing eyes from surrounding tables, attention Lily would rather avoid.
=====
Lily and James share near identical schedules, so, that they don't cross paths or interact throughout a full day of classes can only be by design.
Snape, however, appears at the bottom of the main staircase as Lily and her friends make their way to the dining hall.
“Lily, Lily. Come on– five minutes”, his brow pulled tight.
“I have nothing to say to you”, she dismisses.
“Fine, so listen then. Look, I was wrong, I know you aren't falling for pompous Potter, and I’m not mad about Hardwick, we can–”
“You are delusional. There is no we, you and I aren't friends, we are barely classmates, if I never see or speak to you again that will be just fine with me, so stay the fuck away from me”.
“Lily”, her name spoken through clenched teeth sounds like nails on a chalkboard.
“And for your information, James Potter is one of the best people I know. He isn't the arrogant toerag he once was, he is so much more, and– and you could learn a thing or two from him”.
“Talk about delusional, it’ll be that much harder on his side”.
“Nothing worth having comes easy Sev, you should know that by now”, Lily pushes away from the wall, finished with the conversation.
“You don't have him you know, I saw how he looked last night, he won't be as forgiving of your indiscretions as me”.
She makes it two meters before his parting words land, she doesn't turn, won't give him the satisfaction of a response.
Taking a sharp left Lily decides against the dining hall, looping back to the entrance hall and slipping down the shadowed stairs to the kitchen.
She shouldn't be surprised to see the dark-haired boy reclined against the table where she planned to sit, after all, it was he that showed her how to access the space.
“For what it's worth, James is without a doubt the most forgiving person I know, but if you keep fucking with him I will be a brick wall between you”.
“Sirius– I– Do you know where he is?”
Retrieving a basket from the floor at his feet, he stands to his full height, “Of course I do”.
=====
It's almost curfew when James and Sirius reappear in the common room, looking as though they’ve been rolling in mud, eyes bright with exhilaration.
Sitting by the window with her friends, the pair haven't noticed them and she takes a moment to just enjoy seeing him having fun.
“James, I– Do you have a minute?”
Lily tells herself she is imagining the tightening of his shoulders, the dimming of his smile.
“Sure”, he hovers by the bottom of the boy's stairwell, sending Sirius on his way.
“I wanted to apologise again, and… I don't know, make sure we were ok? I know I messed up, by taking your help for granted and then with Dylan and–”
Holding up his left hand to stop her, James shuffles his feet, his eyes finally lifting to meet hers, no sign of their earlier brightness.
“I meant what I said last night, we don't have to talk about any of it, I– just move past it, move on…”
The expression on her face must display her confusion, his hand straying to his hair as he pushes on, “This thing we’ve been dancing around, it’s done, I thought it was something… but it doesn't— I’m done”.