out of the woods | jily

you need to calm down

give a little – maggie rogers

"if you would open up your heart
drop your weapons, drop your guard
just a little trust is all it takes."

♥

Friday
8:53pm

They were not back in no time. And Lily was really starting to get frustrated. "We are never going to get back." She tried to keep her voice steady but it cracked at the very end.

James stopped in front of her, holding her by the shoulders so she'd look at him. "We'll be fine, Lily. It's not like they'll leave without us."

Lily's eyes widened. Her chest started constricting painfully. "Won't they though? Won't they leave without us?" She felt short of breath. "I mean... I told my friends I was going to the train early and that I didn't want to talk to anyone. And I don't mean to sound rude but none of your friends are here so, will anyone actively notice you're gone?"

James thought for a second, and Lily could see the exact moment he realised they were fucked. He hid it well though, which Lily appreciated. "Kettleburn will notice."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him, trying to gauge whether he was serious. Weirdly enough, it kind of seemed like he was. "Seriously? You think Kettleburn will notice?"

Lily liked her Magical Creatures professor just fine and he was a pretty good teacher, but he was far from the most attentive man ever. He was the kind of person who constantly lost his glasses only to find them perched on his lapel.

James exhaled sharply. He let go of Lily to run his hands through his hair. "Maybe... maybe Galchenyuk will do something."

Professor Galchenyuk had had to leave early that day because she had a family commitment. She'd trusted Kettleburn enough to get everyone back to Hogwarts safely. And she had trusted that having the Head Boy and Girl there would make things even easier for the old man.

But now the Head Boy and Girl were completely lost in the fucking woods.

"Yeah, they're leaving without us," James concluded, running a hand through his hair. "They've got to realise we're gone at some point though. It's a ten-hour trip back to the castle."

Lily couldn't breathe. "Yeah, and everyone will be asleep for at least eight hours! Oh god, why did anyone think it was a good idea to get us to and from the castle like Muggles? I know Galchenyuk was insistent but we should've fought her harder. At least let us innocent Magical Creatures students Apparate or something. Why is Kettleburn such a pushover? How did Dumbledore even let him be responsible for the safety of almost thirty students? Even if it was just for getting everyone onto the train? He clearly cannot be trusted—"

"Lily!" James cut her off. "You need to breathe."

Lily frowned. He was right. She could feel the need for oxygen in her lungs, but she couldn't quite remember how to breathe at the present moment.

"Lily!"

She looked up into James's eyes. His gaze bore into hers. He grasped her arms tightly and ran his thumbs over them. "Come on, Lily. Breathe. Breathe with me. There you go."

Slowly, Lily's breaths started to get deeper and longer, until they started getting more regular.

James didn't let go of her, his arms grounding Lily. "It'll be fine, Lily. We have your stuff. We'll just camp for one more night. That will definitely be enough time for them to come back for us."

Lily nodded. Still not quite trusting herself to speak.

James let go of her.

Lily set her backpack down and opened it. The blue pack seemed inconspicuously at first glance, but it had been magically altered by Lily so that it could hold around ten times more than usual, and weigh next to nothing. "I only have one of the tents I lent you guys though. It's tiny." The magical tent she'd shared with a few of her friends had been packed into Mary's bag. All she had was a small Muggle tent she'd lent to the Muggle Studies class.