[On Hiatus] It Was Meant to Be (A James and Lily Story)

Chapter 18

James was just putting the finishing touches on his Astronomy chart when he heard the portrait hole open. He assumed it was just Lily turning in for the night, so he didn't really pay much attention to it.

However, when he heard Remus' voice in the distance, James knew something was up. He pushed his chart into his bag and headed down the stairs into the common area.

"Remus?" he called uncertainly.

Remus' head popped out around the corner, his eyes widening when he saw James. "James! You're here! Come quick, Lily needs you."

James could feel his heart speed up, assuming the worst when he followed Remus into the sitting room. He saw Lily huddled around the fire, her back to him. Alice was sitting next to her, murmuring something under her breath. James gave Remus a confused look, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, Lily stood up and shook her head. "I'm fine, Al! Nothing happened. He just wanted to talk."

"It didn't sound like that when I found you," Remus said to her, still standing next to James.

Lily turned around to retort but stopped short when her eyes landed on James. James' mouth dropped open as he took a good look at her. Her eyes were rimmed with red and he could make out the dried tracks of tears along her cheeks. His heart constricted as he roved his eyes over her mussed hair, strands of it falling onto her face. Her shoulders slumped and her brows were furrowed.

"James," she breathed and James felt his heart beat faster. All he wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay.

"What happened?"

Lily's face twisted into a frown. "It's nothing..." she trailed off.

"It was not 'nothing', Lily. You looked like you were about to hex him into next year. You were yelling so loudly I was surprised half the school couldn't hear you," Remus said, sitting down on a chair.

Lily scowled at him. Before she could open her mouth, James interrupted, his mind spinning from confusion.

"Can someone please tell me what the bloody hell is going on?!" he asked, exasperated.

"Lily had a confrontation with Snape today," Alice said quietly.

Lily snorted. "More like he ambushed me."

"What?" James demanded, his hands forming fists.

Lily stepped towards him, tentatively. She placed her hands on his forearms and ignoring the fluttering of her heart, eased him into a chair. "Listen, James, everything's fine. We had a small disagreement, that's it."

Remus arched an eyebrow at her from across the room. "Mhmm, small disagreement. I guess that's what we're calling it now."

Lily glared daggers at him, but James was still distracted by Lily's hands gripping his arms. James awkwardly cleared his throat and Lily looked back at him, confused. He gestured towards her hands and Lily quickly removed them, a blush rising through her cheeks.

"Erm, sorry."

James sat up straighter and looked at Alice, Remus, and Lily in turn. "So, can someone start from the beginning? The last I saw you, you were getting ready to go to your Slug Club meeting. What happened?"

"I don't even know how everything escalated so quickly. One moment, I'm talking to David Carter and the next-"

"You were talking with Carter?" James interrupted, unable to stop himself.

"Yes," Lily replied, through gritted teeth. "Anyways-"

"What for?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It doesn't matter! Can I continue now?"