• A seventeen year old Gryffindor girl, sitting at the breakfast table in the Great Hall, got a navy-blue letter from a pitch black raven. Before it landed, the girl crossed her fingers and closed her eyes, hoping it wasn’t for her, as she had done every day of the last week. To her horror, it landed directly in front of her, and made a soft cry to get her to open her eyes. She took a deep breath and grabbed the letter, and watched the bird slowly fly away; out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy from the other end of the table get one too.

    The girl tried to open her letter, with trembling hands, but found it refused to open. She excused herself from the table and calmly walked out of the Great Hall. As soon as she was out of the vision range of any students, she ran, as quickly as she could, to her dorm, so she could read the letter in privacy. She glanced down at the blue envelope, and saw that the wax seal was a teardrop. ‘How fitting,’ she thought. Opening the letter, she saw the first few lines, then collapsed into sobs.

    Dear Miss Evans,

    We regret to inform you that Cindy and Jack Evans have been killed in a massive Death Eater attack on the 2nd of September. The Aurors --

    Lily Evans lay back on the pillows of her four-poster in a state of shock. What was supposed to be one of the best days in her Hogwarts career had turned into the worst of her life. She had been named Head Girl, and made it official only hours before. She had made truce with Potter- I mean James, who had been named Head Boy, then this.

    She lazily lifted one hand into the air above her, as if testing it for something. It dropped limply back to her side.

    "It's raining." Lily thought aloud. Rain was always comforting to her, ever since she was six. She pulled herself off of her bed and took a few deep steadying breaths. She wiped her eyes and walked out of the dorm, through the Common Room.

    As she walked towards the portrait hole, she was stopped by someone. She turned around slowly to see that it was the only one of the ‘Infamous Marauders’ that she had any true patience for: Remus Lupin.

    "Sorry to bother you Lily, but have you seen the ‘Arrogant Toerag’ anywhere?" he asked. A weak smile pulled at her lips, but her face remained frozen as ever. When she didn’t laugh, or even smile, worry was shining in his eyes. He tried reading her expression, but years of living with the Gossip Queens had made her a master at hiding her feelings, so as not to give them something to talk about every time something happened.

    "No Remus, I haven't seen him. But if you do, please tell him not to bother me tonight. I- I don't think I'd be able to handle it." She said in a voice just above a whisper. She walked quickly out the portrait hole, not looking at anybody.

    "I wonder what's wrong. She looked like somebody died." Sirius said jokingly, yet there was a hint of worry evident.

    "Open your eyes man!!" Remus said exasperatedly. "Somebody probably DID die."

    Lily opened her eyes and saw herself standing in front of the huge Oak doors in the Entrance Hall. She glanced up and found that it was still raining. She slipped out the heavy doors before the caretaker, Mr. Bullstrode, could catch her out of bed again.

    As soon as she stepped into the rain, an indescribable warmth fell over her and every inch of skin tingled; the exact feeling she needed in a time like this. Before she knew what was going on, tears were falling from her eyes faster than she could control.

    She wandered slowly over to the lake, and sat on one of her favorite benches: the one with a perfect view of the entire lake. She focused on one point of the water’s surface, as if there were something interesting about it. The sun hadn’t set completely yet, so there was a bit of a glow around her.

    "How could this happen to them?" She spoke for the first time since coming outside, and it was completely dark. She sat in silence again for a long while. She still hadn’t realized that she wasn’t the only one on that bench.

    "Lily, I'm here for you." A low, kind voice said, putting a soft hand on her shoulder. Lily looked over, curious, and saw pain reflected in James Potter's hazel eyes. He answered the silent question she dare not ask aloud.

    "It was a double attack. My parents went to try and fend them off. So I guess we're kinda in the same boat." he quietly explained. Lily wiped her eyes. She quickly glanced over his face and saw the scars of past shed tears.

    "I-I'm sorry. I should've been more prepared. I should've expected it." she whispered.

    "We did expect it. My parents volunteered to keep watch over your house during term. Any sign of danger would alert them. That's how they knew something was wrong. If anything were to happen to either of them, we would be notified immediately." He looked down as a fresh tear rolled down his cheek.

    "That's how you got the letter." He felt Lily wrap her arms around him and bury her head in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her in return, and they sat in the pouring rain, silently pouring their hearts out.

    After what felt like hours, the pair slowly returned to reality, neither of them wanting to break the peaceful silence that encompassed them.

    "How long have we been out here?" Lily asked quietly, part of her not wanting to know the answer, as she lifted her head and looked out at the glowing full moon.

    "Long enough for the Gossip Queens to realize we’re both missing and make up I some I sort of story." he answered humorlessly. They reluctantly got off the bench, feeling much more content than when they first came outside. They walked in total silence up to the castle, though Lily’s heart was beating loudly enough for anyone on the grounds to hear. She forgot that she wasn’t supposed to show any of her feelings for James, and grabbed his hand. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

    "I love you James," she whispered into the slight breeze, confidant he wouldn't hear her, yet part of her hoping he would.

    James thought he heard Lily say something, but he couldn't be sure. He had a strange feeling all throughout him. "I love you too Lily." he said into the slight mist, realizing what she had said, hoping against all odds that she would believe him this time.