♫'Tis the damn season♫

The embers were flickering, fanned ever so slightly by a fluttering breeze. The sky was still light, last days of summer still grasping at the sun for as long as they could. Branches of lilac flowers filled the air with their beautiful scent, twisting around the smoke of the fire as it climbed up to the crescent moon hanging over the sleepers on the ground.

Well — only one was still awake. A girl, with messy red braids draped over her shoulders, watching the flickering flames with drowsy eyes. Freckles were illuminated along her bare arms and face, and the flush of freedom was still lingering on the girl's cheeks.

She shifted slightly, drawing a faded rug over her. She looked tired, a sleepy smile softly playing on her lips. Her eyes betrayed her though, slipping again to the boy slumped against a tree stump, chaotic hair falling over his eyes, glasses forgotten on the ground beside him.

The girl shook her head sharply, rubbing her eyes with a frustrated sigh.

"Come on, Lily," She whispered to herself, "It's just Potter, just James, get a grip Lily! You're being ridiculous..."

Lily pushed the straggly strands of hair out of her face again, annoyance lighting her eyes up like a flaming forest.

"What the hell is wrong with me," She murmured into the empty air.

Giving up all attempts at sleep, Lily stood up, climbing carefully over her oblivious friends as she crept towards the small pile of bags.

She rummaged around for a bit in a battered red rucksack, cursing quietly as she pricked her finger on something sharp. Finally she drew out a slender wand, stuck it carefully behind her ear, and began to tiptoe away from the clearing in the trees towards a small brook that bubbled joyfully as it went.

Lily hesitated for a moment, then bent down and pulled off her shoes, leaving them on the bank as she stepped into the stream.

The water swirled around her slim ankles, glowing melted silver in the sliver of moonlight. The sky was almost fully dark now, pinprick stars clearer and brighter than they had been before.

Lily breathed deeply, a smile spreading over her beautiful face, eyes closed with peaceful content. And she took her wand out again, and with that serene smile not fading, she whispered, "Expecto Patronum."

And the most beautiful silver doe sprang from the end of her wand, feet barely brushing the ground as it leapt around her, coils of silvery mist sparking from her coat, and Lily laughed, the sound ringing through the trees like a bell in an empty chapel.

"Evans?"

Lily spun around. James was standing a few feet away, eyes wide as he watched the doe standing beside Lily.

"James," She said relieved. "You startled me there."

"Your patronus... she's beautiful," James said softly, awe still clear on his face.

"Thanks," Lily said, roses blushing on her cheeks before she could stop herself.

James slowly took his wand from his pocket and looked at Lily swiftly, his gaze searing through her like fire.

And a stag had leapt onto the grass, bounding over the brook with stars resting on his majestic antlers. A true king of the forest.

The two teenagers watched their patronuses walk round each other, admire each other for a second, before beginning to chase each other through the trees.

James looked at Lily, and Lily looked back at him... and they smiled.

♫Champagne problems♫

The leaf. She twirled it round, watching brown and gold merge into one as the tears seeped down her face, unable to tear her eyes away from the hypnotic spinning of the last autumn leaf.

Gone.

They were gone, and it was all her fault, and she'd never see them again, never hear their voices, never feel her mothers fingers comb her hair, never let her father pick her up like when she was little, never hug them again...

She broke again and again, like waves on a shore of jagged glass, shoulders heaving with the enormous sobs, because they were gone, and they were never coming back and she could do nothing—

A hand rested so, so gently on her fingers, making her stop the leaf's turning.

"Lily, look at me. Look at me, Lils."

She looked up. Worried hazel eyes looked into her tear-filled green ones.

"They're gone," she whispered.

"I know," James said, heart breaking for the lovely, shattered girl sitting before him. He wrapped a thin blanket around her shoulders, moving to sit next to her on the floor.

Lily leant into him, crying weakly, no strength left in her. James hugged her, letting her weep, not trying to tell her it would get better. He knew what loss was like. It had come knocking at his door only last year, bringing with it the difficulties of sorrow and grievance.

They sat there for hours on the floor, watching the shadows lengthen as the rain beat steadily on the glass.

"Tell me about them."

Lily turned to him slightly. The tears had stopped by now, dried like empty river beds on her cheeks.

"My- my parents?"

James nodded. "You don't have to at all, I just thought..."

"My mum had dark hair," Lily interrupted him quietly, "Like Tuney, only she dyed it blonde. My dad was the one with red hair. No one knows where my green eyes comes from though. Tuney always hated her freckles, she uses makeup to cover them up. Mum used to bake with me, we'd make pies and cakes and tarts and bread. Her favourite thing to make was pastry, she loved the layers of delicate butter and sugar. My dad taught me to ride my bike, he'd play football and superheroes and tea parties with me. We used to all play monopoly in the kitchen on Saturday nights. Tuney loved it so much, she'd always win, and she and mum and I would team up against dad. They'd sing us to sleep, tell us stories, make up games. On our birthdays we were the queens of the house for the day - we'd have cake for breakfast, chips for lunch, and a special meal out for dinner. Mum helped us paint mood walls in our bedroom when we were nine - Tuney painted hers light purply-blue, I painted mine red. Those were our walls, we could do whatever we liked on them. I pinned up my pictures, my birthday polaroid camera had it's own special shelf. There was a window in the wall, I put cushions there so I could sit there to read. We were the best family ever..."

The tears couldn't come now. They were all used up. She'd been cracked open, like a vase smashed onto the floor, and now she only watched the pieces of herself lie on the floor, fading into nothingness.

James pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He'd stay there forever if she asked him to.

♫willow♫

"Catch me if you can!"

Godric's Hollow was cold, flakes of snow rifting absently towards the streets, landing like icing sugar on houses made of gingerbread. The wind was howling fiercely around the chimneys.

A boy and a girl were running through the street, the one leading out of the village to the fields and woods surrounding it. The boy wore a scarf of red striped with gold, and the girl's dress was bright, bright blue. Like a blot of coloured ink in the black and white illustration.

The boy was faster than the girl, but only slightly. Her strong legs sprinted across the cobbled road, scarlet hair flying behind her.

They ran, past the signposts and into the frosted fields, leaping over the ditches and skirting round gates. They scrambled over a low, barbed wire fence, the girl inches away from grabbing the boy's scarf.

"Damnit — JAMES!"

The boy skidded to a halt, looking behind him quickly to where the girl had stopped at the fence.

"My dress got caught, I can't get it off..." she said, tugging angrily at the hem of her dress.

"Hang on Lils," James called. He jogged back, throwing his scarf over his shoulder. He examined the caught skirt solemnly. "That's caught badly, I'm going to have to rip it off... I'll mend it when we get back, Lily, my wand's at the house."

Carefully, he grasped the material, and yanked at it. It tore away, leaving only a scrap of bright blue fabric clinging stubbornly to the wire.

"Thanks," Lily said, a touch breathlessly, adjusting her dress self consciously.

"No problem," James said, almost nervously. They were standing so close together now, he thought she'd step away...

She didn't. Lily stepped forwards slightly, blushing furiously as she readjusted his scarf.

"It was crooked," She explained unnecessarily.

James brushed a lock of hair away from her face. Her eyes were so bright, like stars he thought. Only stars could never outshine her.

"Lily," He breathed.

"James," She said softly, and then he was kissing her, Lily's hands tangling in his hair and they were drinking each other in like never before. The wind seemed to quieten for them, and soon they were walking home, hands clasped together in blissful silence.

The only remembrance of them being there was a slight flash of blue on the fence. Blink, and it was gone.

♫Happiness♫

She was always there.

Waiting for him, a hand resting on the gently rounded belly. He would sink into the chair, face in his hands, and she would kneel next to him, folding her arms round him. He melted in her arms, feeling safe, like a small child again.

Her eyes had lost their emerald sheen - now they were forests, misted over with the sorrow of seeing too much. Gone were the days of endless love and laughter. The bitter crumbs of war were all that were left on the plate now.

Her hands trembled as she turned the tap, letting water splash into the kettle with a last defeated look at the clock. It never relented, and she more than most understood the significance of a second wasted.

He wished she'd smile more - he missed the soft dimples and gold flecks in her irises. Now there were only the ashes of a better life.

He was always there.

Stumbling through the door with shattered glasses and a broken soul. She waited for him every time, watching the door with a heavy heart until she heard the click of the gate.

She'd run to the door, wand grasped in her hand - just in case - but it was always him. He'd live another day, he'd see the sunrise again at least one more time.

His eyes were dull, their hazel glints washed away by too many tears. He'd attempt a smile, try to crack a joke, but they both knew his heart wasn't in it.

She cupped his face in her hands, making his eyes meet hers, and the words would trickle out, like a steady ripple of water, holding the names, the damage, the owls holding apologies for their loss.

The tears - when would they ever cease to fall? - would run down his face, and she captured his lips with her own, salt on their mouths and tongues, desperate for any comfort they could reach.

They were always there. Two adults, thrown together into a world that tried to rip them apart, a world that seemed to hate their every breath. But they kept on fighting, the energy draining from their limbs until they could only crawl towards the light.

It had to be enough. Had to for their child, for their friends, for the ones who's ticking had stopped. Run down. Dead.

They were always there, but it could never stop the others from leaving them.

♫Ivy♫

One year.

It had been a year since that night. The night no one could forget. Well, they could, but most didn't.

This year had been... almost peaceful. There was rebuilding of course, and the reconstruction of the wizarding world in general. Now there wasn't an evil wizard attacking them every day, there was time for the smaller projects. The magical charities and local projects thrived. A wizarding library was founded, holding many of the ancient texts that had been dug up during the aftermath.

Halloween was suitably stormy, thunder echoing through the small town of Godric's Hollow like drumbeats, rain lashing down to whip the houses, lightening hands reaching down to caress the clouds.

The house hadn't been touched. It was still in ruins, splintered planks of wood starting to show signs of weathering. The oak tree still stood tall and proud in the front garden, a guardian of the small cottage.

The gate had become something of a memorial. Ivy crept up the posts, and the wood was covered in scribbles, signatures, good luck wishes. So many people had come to pay respects to Lily, James and Harry.

At this moment in time however, only one man stood by the gate. His face was covered in taunting, horrible scars, and his eyes were filled with shadows. Regret lined every crevice of his skin.

He looked at the broken windows, door flung aside like it was made of paper. Derelict. Like him, now.

The man moved on, walking through the streets, blowing on his hands to try and warm them slightly as his coat began to soak in the rain.

He stopped at another gate - the local cemetery. This place was better looked after, the paths tidy, leaves in soggy piles. Many of the graves had bunches of wilted roses on them, maybe an unlighted candle. The one he was looking for was right at the end, with no flowers. No candles. A plain, stone grave, where his two best friends slept beneath the ground.

Remus stood at the grave, permitting a few icy tears to drop onto the ground. He laid a small collection of wildflowers down onto the stone.

"I know it's not much," Remus whispered, "But it's all I could manage."

He forced himself to wait for a minute more, before his control gave out, and he hurried away into the swirling mist.

Hundreds of miles away, Harry was crying as his scar ached, and his aunt for once did not scream at him. Instead, she picked him up, hugging him close, trying to soothe his sobbing as her husband set up Halloween fireworks in the garden for their son who was gnawing on a lollipop.

The world may have been happy peace had come back.

It definitely was, actually.

But when some of your world is missing, how can peace truly be there?

So... I combined two prompts, one I found on Pinterest, and the other my favourite songs from ♫Evermore♫ (it's incredible go listen to it), merged it with Lily and here's what came out! I really hope you like it, I wrote it in under 24 hours and I'm very attached to this lil one shot <3

This is also my entry for arnoldthe-pygmypuff 's oneshot contest ❤️

Your craving-oreos girl, Mel xxx