Someone's Sun

The sky was crystal clear from the top of the Astronomy Tower. It was one of those nights where the air was so crisp that the stars seemed like tiny pinpricks of light that twinkled down to illuminate the snow that lay on the ground far below. There was no moon to drown out the fainter stars and the sheer number of stars that could be seen was mind-boggling.

James was half-convinced that if Sirius was there, he would be counting them, one by one. Once he was sure he had both James and Lily peeved at him, he would then tell them that they both had no sense of humor before flouncing off like an old lady, muttering about how 'kids these days have no respect.' He found himself rather glad to be spared that tonight.

No, tonight the only occupants of the tower were Lily and himself. Lily had received special permission from the Astronomy professor for them to observe the meteor shower that was supposed to occur. James wasn't quite sure how she'd managed that but he'd long ago concluded that his girlfriend was amazing. That was how he and his amazing girlfriend were now laying side by side on a blanket on the floor of the top of Astronomy Tower, another blanket pulled over them as they stared up into the boundless heavens above.

James reconsidered his assessment of his girlfriend - one of his best friends - as they lay there under the stars. She was more than amazing; she was the most wonderful creature on Earth, with the starlight glinting off her hair and the reflection of the stars in her eyes...

"Do you ever feel small when you look at the stars?" Lily's voice broke him out of his reverie.

James thought for a moment before answering. "Sometimes. Why?" He shifted himself over to be closer to her while she closed her eyes in thought, in part because he wanted to be there to comfort her if she needed in and in part because her side of the blanket was feeling distinctly warmer than his and he was freezing. 'Good thing she remembered the blanket to put underneath us or I would have given up and gone inside by now, extra credit or no.'

"Sometimes I look up there and wonder why. Why we think we can make a difference in things or why we think anything we do matters. The sky will always be the same; we don't make any difference in the big picture. So why do we do it?" Lily fell silent and James pulled her close, not entirely sure what to say. Lily was normally the optimistic one. It wasn't a role he was used to playing.

"Well, umm, it's kind of like this." James fumbled around a bit for words before finding the ones he wanted. "The sun's a star, right?" Lily nodded. "And if the sun decided to blow up one day, we'd certainly notice it, right?" Lily nodded again and giggled a bit. "But it probably wouldn't make that big a difference in the big picture. I mean, what's one star - one teensy little average star - when you try and pick it out from the millions up there?"

"It's not much." Lily sounded a bit happier than she had before but James still wasn't satisfied.

"So even though it doesn't make much of a difference if the sun disappears from the big picture, it still makes a difference to us, because we'd be dead without it. That's the same reason we do things, Lily. Even if it doesn't make a difference in the big picture, it still makes a difference to us here and now. You matter, Lily. Everything you do matters." He pulled her in closer for a hug. "You're my sun, Lily, and if you ever doubt that you make a difference in someone's life all you have to do is look at mine."

Lily's breath caught in her throat for a moment and James knew that he'd said the right thing. A warm glow spread inside of him as he just held her close, relishing the perfection of the moment. Softly, even though it seemed loud in the stillness of the night, he heard Lily murmer, "I love you, James."

"I love you too, Lily," He whispered back, kissing the top of her head and playing his hand through the silky strands. "Look! A shooting star!" Sure enough, a trail of light shot itself across the sky, quickly followed by two more.

He could hear the grin in Lily's voice. "They're meteorites, James." He grinned back, even though she couldn't see him.

"I'll make a wish anyway." For the longest time, the two of them lay there, content in each other's presence as they watched the shower fall around them. Eventually, though, the shower began to die down. James rubbed Lily's cheek. "Wake up, sleepy."

Lily landed a quick kiss on his palm before sitting up. "So what did you wish for?"

James grinned at her again. "I can't tell you that! My wish won't come true otherwise!" Lily mock-pouted.

"I suppose I'll have to live with that." Lily paused for a moment while gathering up the blankets. "Thank you, James, for listening."

James reached out and caught her hand with his. "For you, Lily, it was nothing." Raising her hand to his lips, he kissed her glove, all while looking her in the eyes. She smiled and blushed and looked away before reclaiming her hand. "Now, considering we both have double Potions tomorrow, I think some real sleep is in order..."

Lily just tossed another grin towards him as she carried her share of the blankets through the door. James took one last glance up. 'If I'd doubted it before, Lily, I never could doubt it now. Tonight was perfect. I love you.' Shaking his head and promising to remember it forever, James followed his girlfriend down the stairs, hoping she wasn't too far ahead since she was the one with the scroll.

***

McGonagall didn't change back until she was back in her own rooms, where things were much warmer than they'd been on top of the Astronomy Tower. A teacher had to be there as a chaperone, of course, whenever any of the students were up there, but she had to wonder if Lily and James had known she was there.

She doubted they had.

The two of them reminded her of a real life fairytale, wrapped up in a reality no one wanted to live in. It was unfair to see them going through so much together, and yet in some ways they were luckier than most. They had someone to turn to.

Feeling slightly depressed, she dug out one of her Harlequin Wizard romances. 'There's always a tomorrow. And I'll be able to tell Albus what I heard. That will make him happy - so little makes him happy these days.'

Her last thought before drifting off into a world of fairy tale wizards and the witches who loved them was that it was worth the cold if it would make Albus happy.