Part three- Muggle University

This continues right after the last one left off, so maybe if you can't totally remember it you should go back and re-read the last few paragraphs!

Lily turned away from the door and saw James' face. It was like someone had drawn something over his eyes.

Normally she could read his emotions like she could read a book, but now...

Now he was as unfamiliar to her as a stranger.

'I didn't know you knew Severus Snape,' he said quietly.

'Yeah,' Lily breathed. 'I'm starting to feel like I don't know him at all.'

I'm feeling like I never really knew him.

'He's not a nice guy, Lily,' James continued, stepping closer to her in the dimly lit hallway. She could barely make anything out in the half light, could barely see anything at all.

The only light was from the moon shining through a window and the soft light from the TV filtering through an open door. His features were shrouded, covered in shadow. 'Seriously.'

'I know.' Lily bit her lip anxiously. 'But he's an old friend, and I think- I think it would hurt him if I stopped talking to him. It's more bother than it's worth.'

'Does he make you happy?' James asked softly.

Lily frowned. 'What?'

'It's my policy in life to never be friends with anyone who doesn't make me happy,' James said, blinking. 'You, for example. You make me happy.'

A blush warmed Lily's cheeks as he continued.

'Sirius makes me happy, Remus makes me happy, Peter makes me happy. But people like Snape... he just makes me angry, and upset, and tired.' James shook his head, and Lily tried to ignore the lock of hair that fell into his face. 'If people don't make you happy, there's no point hanging around them, right?'

Lily blinked slowly. 'Well... Yes, I guess.'

'Does he make you happy, then?' James asked, then stopped himself. 'You don't have to tell me, but just... Think on it, for me?'

Lily nodded, and he smiled, that irresistible James Potter smile.

I'm in trouble, she thought, but she didn't find herself minding it at all.

'Now,' James grinned. 'Let's finish Star Wars before midnight. I'm pretty sure Luke's about to die. His future's looking pretty bleak.'

'He's the main character of the entire franchise,' Lily told James, laughing, as the walked back to the living room. 'They can't just kill him off in the second film just because you don't like him!'

'Yeah, but...' James began, and Lily laughed.

James makes me happy, Lily thought, the realisation making her stomach twist. He makes me happy in a way Severus never did.

****

Does Severus make me happy?

The question floated around Lily's head all the time for the next week or two.

In the shower, when she was trying to study, when she was listening to music...

It wasn't really a simple yes or no answer. There were things to factor into it, right?

Like the fact she'd known him for years, like the fact that he'd helped her out all through her first years at Hogwarts...

Lily knew what her friends thought. Marlene was of the opinion that Snape was, as she put it, a 'lying, snivelling piece of trash' and Alice was only a little bit more gentle with her viewpoint.

'He seems like he really cares for you,' she told Lily as they sat watching Frank, her boyfriend, try and play table tennis against Marlene in Alice and Frank's backyard. Marlene was winning, 20-1.

'But...' Alice hesitated.

'But?' Lily prompted.

'He never really does anything for you, if you catch my drift,' she said. 'He just seems to enjoy caring about you, but he hasn't exactly done much since about our fourth year. Besides, I've heard about all the things he says about Muggle-borns.'

Lily took a sip of her lemonade and watched as Frank almost hit himself with his table tennis bat.

'Like what?' She asked carefully. ' I mean, James said something about it, but...' she shrugged.

Alice's eyes lit up, and she sat up in her deckchair. They were lying on deckchairs so they could 'get tanned,' although Lily had tried to explain that she didn't 'get tanned', she just burnt. It was a sunny day, and already Lily could feel herself starting to go pink despite the large amounts of sun cream she'd put on.

'James? James Potter?'

'Alice,' Lily said gently. 'Stick on topic, please, and then we'll talk about James Potter all you like.'

There was a cry of triumph from the table tennis table- Marlene had scored another point. Frank fanned himself with the bat and kept going.

Points for persistence, Lily supposed.

'Well,' Alice said hesitantly, running a hand through her dark brown hair and reminding Lily of James. 'He used to say- you know-' she lowered her voice. 'Mudblood. He used to call people that a lot, although he never said that about you.'

Lily flinched. She'd always known it, she supposed, but she'd never really wanted to believe it... 'Carry on,' Lily told Alice. 'I need to know this.'

Alice's dark eyes were worried. 'Fine. He used to have a gang of people he hung around with. They all shared his views, you know, Muggles are inferior and all that. They called themselves Death Eaters and followed this guy called Tom Riddle- he had some ridiculous name for himself, but I can't remember it now. Anyway, it all died down a couple years back. It never amounted to anything. You know what teenage boys are like,' she added. 'Reckless and stupid.'

'But Frank wasn't like that,' Lily said sharply. 'Gideon Prewitt wasn't like that. James Potter wasn't like that.'

Alice shrugged. 'Well, they're all-' then she broke off.

'All what, Alice?' Lily asked. 'All what?'

'I don't want to influence your decision,' she mumbled.

'Tell me, Alice.'

'I was going to say they're all good people,' Alice said, staring straight ahead at the ping pong table, where Frank had managed to claw himself a second point. The score, which Marlene had proudly displayed on a small chalkboard, now read 2-24.

Lily closed her eyes. Does he make me happy?

****

She texted him that night, asking if he had minded seeing James with her.

No. Was the short reply. Then:

What was he even doing at your apartment, anyway?

Does he make me happy? Lily wondered. She scrolled past a few of their past conversations. They didn't text much, certainly not as much as Lily texted Alice and Marlene and Frank and Gideon and even James, who she'd only known a few weeks (more like a few months, now, actually, but still). And James didn't even like to text that much. His answers consisted mainly of what is this emoji thing whale whale whale I don't lick it Lily help how do elephants press snap or the fighter jet button haha Lily help and Lily please help me o keep on pressuring the wtaf buttocks

She texted James.

L: How do I know if he makes me happy or not?

J: I'm gone carry you my pillow keeps automobile everywhere I type

Her phone rang a few seconds later.

'Hey, Lily,' he said softly. She could almost picture him, picture the way he ran a hand through his hair, picture his smile.

'Hi, James.'

There was a pause, and then James started to speak. 'Do you want to be with him? Do you text him and wait for an answer? Do you try and start conversations with him, just so you can hear his voice?'

'No,' Lily whispered. 'But there aren't that many people who make me feel that way.'

You make me feel like that. That's everything that I do with you.

'No.' He paused, and she heard the caution in his voice as he asked: 'Are you at home? Can I come over?'

'Yeah, sure,' she replied, trying to sound like his question hadn't bothered her. Act normal, Lily.

'I'll be there in ten minutes,' James said, and hung up.

****

When he arrived, she had barely opened the door before he enveloped her in a huge hug. 'You deserve so much better than Snape,' he said breathlessly, and Lily smiled into his hoodie.

He smelt wonderful, like butterbeer and Quidditch brooms and, strangely, mint. It shouldn't have worked, but it did.

'Unless, of course, you want Snape,' he added. 'Then I'll try not to hold it against you.'

Lily laughed, a little shakily, and pulled her face away from his chest. 'I bet you're not used to giving guy advice to a girl.'

'Yup.' He nodded solemnly. 'You're incredibly special, Lily Evans.'

His eyes held hers for a second too long, and she felt a blush warm her cheeks as she realised he was still holding her, and their faces seemed to have suddenly gotten very very close.

Oh.

It suddenly seemed incredibly obvious to Lily what had happened.

He liked her. That was why he was being so lovely to her, why he was giving her all that advice about Snape...

She liked him, too. She'd been giving him those Muggle lessons, and sitting on her old sofa in her apartment with him, watching old films, laughing as he yelled at the screen.

Fuck, Lily thought. This is going to get me in a lot of trouble.

But when he kissed her- or she kissed him- or they kissed each other- it was funny, because he didn't feel like trouble at all.

She felt like coming home.

Part 4 or nah?

Word count- 1606

This was longer than most, because I have so many ideas from this prompt! I really want to do a part 4 but I feel like you guys might be getting bored of this one shot, since all parts are 1000+ words and there are 3 already!

Thanks again to whoever gave me this idea, I can't remember  your username but I love you, this prompt gives me life.