Mischief Managed!

22.

James darted out of bed, hastily pulling on a pair of jeans. The scrapbook must have been left in the Room of Requirement, which left James with a rather large predicament. He wasn't sure whether the Room would have vanished; and this left two problems. What if someone wandered into the Room and found the book?

Alternatively - What if the room had absorbed the book with it?

Halfway down the stairs, James paused. Something was moving around the common room.

Leaning forward just slightly, he peered around the corner of the stairwell, and a familiar site caught his eyes – a mass of straight, wine-red hair.

What was Lily doing awake at this hour?

With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, James listened intently. And there it was – a sob. James thought he was going to throw up.

Making the rest of his way down the stairs quietly, he rounded the corner and paused. There was Lily, sitting in front of the fire, her dressing gown secured firmly around her. Beside her sat a handsomely carved wooden box: the lid was open, and the contents appeared to be sprawled across the hearthrug. James watched, confused, as Lily selected an object at random and tossed it into the fire, muffling another sob. James' eyes wandered over the various objects: a bundle of letters, what appeared to be a few photographs, some pressed flowers… His eyes lit on the coffee table and James' worst fears were confirmed. For there sat that dratted Rita's Book of Evidence. James felt, for a book, it appeared to be presiding over this scene of chaos with some satisfaction.

"Lily?"

He called her name tentatively, reluctant to make his presence known, but even more reluctant to remain a silent observer. The wretched girl turned to gaze at him: her almond shaped eyes fixed upon his own, and James startled to see the depth of pain that lay within them. Which was exactly why he hadn't planned on telling her at all!

"Lily, what are you doing?"

He knelt beside her on the hearthrug, and hesitantly stretched an arm across her shoulders, pulling her to him. The girl sniffed delicately.

"S-spring cleaning," she managed to mumble, tossing the bundle of letters in her hand into the flames.

James bit back the obvious reply of 'But it's Autumn!'

They sat together; his arm curled around her waist, watching the flames lick at the paper, slowly disintegrating it.

"He – he cheated on me!" the girl finally expelled, her voice wobbling.

Lily turned to him, eyes wide. "Did you know?" she demanded quietly. "Did you know, that he was…?"

Unwilling and unable to lie to her directly, James gave a short nod. Lily watched him solemnly, as if struggling to come to a decision, and for several minutes, James expected her to scream at him. Instead, much to his surprise, she nodded, and settled her head back against his shoulder.

James regarded her crown of hair, confused. Lily shouldhave thrown at least three good hexes at him by now, and instead, she remained on the hearthrug beside him, leaning against him. Allowing him to support her.

James allowed himself a small, shortly lived smile. Perhaps Lily was starting to realize he wasn't so bad after all?

Lily leant away from him again, tucking her knees up to her chest. "I think I'd like to be alone, please, Potter."

James frowned. Somehow, he didn't think alone was such a good idea. He watched her stare determinedly into the fire, before sighing.

"I didn't want you to get hurt," he told her, the sincerity in his voice a sharp pain to her ears.