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It was a normal Wednesday when it happened. Mary and Lily had just survived the most boring lesson of History of Magic and were packing up their things.
“I need to ask Professor Binns a question about the homework and how it will be graded. I’ll be with you in a minute,“ Mary said while throwing her bag over her shoulder.
Lily nodded and exited the classroom to wait outside for her friend. After a while, Mary joined her and they started walking to their next lesson, which was Transfiguration.
While they were walking, Mary noticed a person following them but thought nothing of it- it was probably just another student walking to their classes.
But then the curly headed girl noticed how he put out his wand and pointed it to Lily. The other girl hadn’t noticed anything and was talking to Mary about how she was going to get her new camera and take a few pictures of the landscape. Mary knew what she needed to do. She couldn’t let Lily get injured. She would never be able to forgive herself if anything were to happen to the other girl.
So she did the only thing she could think of- jumping in front of her best friend and taking a blasting curse to the shoulder.
Mary cried out in pain and stumbled to the wall which she then leaned on for support. Her shoulder was pulsing with pain and she was sure that something was broken. Mary focused on her breathing and tried not to fall unconscious.
Meanwhile Lily had disarmed and stunned the Ravenclaw and quickly wrapped one of her hands around Mary’s waist and her other hand was on her shoulder.
Mary forced herself to not acknowledge the feeling in her stomach and instead leaned on Lily for support.
Moving slowly, the pair made their way to the Hospital Wing. Once they arrived, Madam Pomfrey lead them to the nearest bed and helped Mary sit down. Quickly after that, the girl passed out. After getting an explanation about what happened, she shooed Lily out of the Hospital Wing and told her to go to her classes and to check on her friend later.
Lily nodded and left the room, but instead of turning right to the Transfiguration room, she turned left and walked into the corridor where the attack happened, lifted up the body of who she now recognized as Bertram Aubrey, a 6th year Ravenclaw, and headed to the Headmaster’s office.
The ginger girl had been shaking with rage since the curse had hit her best friend and she could finally do something to let it out.
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Mary could smell the scent of fresh flowers and feel the sunshine on her skin. She was laying in a soft bed and the sheets reached up to her waist. Someone was sitting next to her and was probably reading a book. She could hear the soft sound of pages turning.
This moment was so peaceful that she didn’t want to disrupt it, but before she could go back to sleep, a sudden wave of pain washed over her shoulder and she groaned before she could stop herself. The person next to her shut her book and grabbed her hand.
“Mary? Are you awake?” a voice said. Mary knew that voice. The voice she loved to listen to while it was talking about books, her future, the children and grandchildren she hoped to one day have, the things that she loved and the things that she hated. This was the voice she could listen to all day without ever feeling sick of it. The sound of the voice was one she fell asleep thinking of and it returned in her dreams with a feeling of being home to accompany it.
This was Lily’s voice.
As soon as that realization hit her, she opened her eyes so fast that they water and she had to blink a couple of times. As soon as her vision was clear, she focused on the worried face in front of her and took in the beautiful sight of glistening green eyes surrounded by freckles which seem to have been painted by the greatest artist one by one. The wavy, red hair framing the face is art in itself. Everything about the girl sitting in front of her was mesmerising.
Mary could smell the scent of fresh flowers and feel the sunshine on her skin. She was laying in a soft bed and the sheets reached up to her waist. Someone was sitting next to her and was probably reading a book. She could hear the soft sound of pages turning.
This moment was so peaceful that she didn’t want to disrupt it, but before she could go back to sleep, a sudden wave of pain washed over her shoulder and she groaned before she could stop herself. The person next to her shut her book and grabbed her hand.
“Mary? Are you awake?,” a voice said. Mary knew that voice. The voice she loved to listen to while it was talking about books, her future, the children and grandchildren she hoped to one day have, the things that she loved and the things that she hated. This was the voice she could listen to all day without ever feeling sick of it. The sound of the voice was one she fell asleep thinking of and it returned in her dreams with a feeling of being home to accompany it.
This was Lily’s voice.
As soon as that realization hit her, she opened her eyes so fast that they water and she had to blink a couple of times. As soon as her vision was clear, she focused on the worried face in front of her and took in the beautiful sight of glistening green eyes surrounded by freckles which seem to have been painted by the greatest artist one by one. The wavy, red hair framing the face is art in itself. Everything about the girl sitting in front of her was mesmerising.
This is the most beautiful person she had ever seen.
And Mary wanted her to know it. She wanted Lily to know how much she cherished her and all of the time they spend together. She wanted to tell her how she absolutely loves every second they spend together, even when they’re just sitting in silence next to each other, doing their own thing. She wanted Lily to know that she wants to be the person she makes a family with and the person who watches her accomplish her dreams and become everything she always dreamed to be. She wanted to tell her how much she loves her.
Mary loves her.
And somehow that didn’t scare her. Deep down, she knew the moment she started to feel a different way about Lily than about any of her friends that it wasn’t just being best friends. It was something deeper. Something that she hasn’t ever felt for anyone that way. The small crushes Mary has had in the past are nothing compared to this.
This was love.
Mary realized that she should probably answer Lily’s question before she worried and quickly squeezed her hand to let her know she’s alright. Her throat felt dry and Mary wasn’t sure if she can even talk.
Mary’s eyes flickered to the glass filled with water on the bedside table out of reach and Lily seemed to get the hint. She got the glass and let Mary’s hand go so she could use it.
Her other hand was lying uselessly at her side since she wasn’t sure if she should move it because of the sling on her shoulder. Better to be safe than have to explain to Madam Pomfrey why her shoulder was still messed up. That woman could be terrifying when she wanted to be.
At that moment said woman pulled the curtain around Mary’s bed back and walked in.
“How is your shoulder, dear?” the medic asked. She had a potion in her hand that she handed to Mary.
“It’s alright. It still hurts, but it isn’t the unbearable pain it used to be anymore,” Mary answered with a smile. Lily had grabbed her hand again.
“That’s very good. Drink the potion in your hand and you should be able to go to dinner without any problems,” the older witch said with a reassuring smile and then left.
Mary downed the potion quickly, not wanting to put something that she needs to do anyways off and cringed at the taste. It tasted the way she imagined dirty socks to taste.
The girl then turned to Lily and all thoughts about dirty socks were washed away. The look of adoration in Lily’s eyes was probably mirrored in her own and Mary would give anything for Lily to mean it in the same way she meant it.
“Why did you do that?” Lily asked. She was grateful that Mary had done what she had done for her, but she couldn’t help but be angry at her. The curse had been directed at her. There was no need for Mary to injure herself like that. She couldn’t stand to look at Mary while she was sleeping in the bed. She looked almost…dead.
Lily banished that thought quickly and then made a promise to herself. She wouldn’t let Mary die young if she could help it. She would do anything to protect her family. And Mary was a big part of that family. Maybe not just in the form of being a friend.
“Because you were in danger. I couldn’t just stay there and look at you getting injured,” Mary replied as if it was obvious.
“But you got injured which is even worse. Don’t ever do that again please. If you see danger just yell something, but don’t try to save someone pain when you know you’ll have to endure it instead. You’re worth more than them,” Lily told her in a serious tone. She didn’t want Mary to unnecessarily put herself in danger.
Mary’s heart felt like it would burst when Lily told her that. She was worried about her.
Mary did take Lily’s words seriously, but she would have still done the same. She would take a curse ten times if it meant that Lily would be safe.
But she didn’t tell her that, choosing to not cause a fight between them with her words and nodded instead. She would still protect Lily with everything she had.
At that moment, Lily shivered. She had been cold but she didn’t want to leave Mary alone in the infirmary, so she just endured it.
Mary looked at her and noticed how thin her clothes actually were and tapped the space next to her. Lily was confused and looked at her with a questioning look in her eyes.
“You’re cold and I have a warm bed with sheets. Come here,” Mary explained.
A slight blush covered Lily’s cheeks when she got up and layed down next to Mary. She was like a human heater and Lily snuggled into her side. This wasn’t something she expected to happen, but you wouldn’t find her complaining. This moment was like all of her dreams combined. But maybe it didn’t mean anything. Yeah, this is normal for best friends. It doesn’t mean that Mary sees her the same way she sees her.
As the two girls were lying there, their hands somehow ended up together again and their legs were intertwined. The girlfriends talked about everything and nothing at the same time. It was a nice moment for both of them.
After a while though, Mary remembered something. “What happened to the guy who attacked you?” she asked and looked Lily over for any injuries.
“I dealt with him,” Lily said.
“I’m scared of the way you phrased that. What, did hou kill him or something?” Mary laughed. But Lily didn’t laugh with her.
“Lily? What did you do?”
“I may not have done something as extreme as killing him, but I protected my family,” the girl answered without elaborating further. Mary pushed a bit more, but eventually decided that she would find out anyways and left that be.
After a couple more minutes the pair made their way into the Great Hall to have dinner with their friends. Everyone was overjoyed to see that Mary was alright after what had happened and dinner was a nice and mostly calm affair.
But that changed when Dumbledore stood up and asked for everyone’s attention. “I would like to inform you all of something that happened today. Today two students were attacked by another student who was aiming at one of them with the intention to kill. His reasoning behind this was blood purity. He used a curse that can be deadly, fully knowing the consequences of it. Luckily, only one student was harmed and is on the way to recovery without any problems. But the behaviour of the attacking student was unacceptable, which is why he was expelled. Using lethal spells with such intentions is not something that will be taken lightly in this school. I wish you all a nice evening and a good night.”
Everybody was quiet for a couple of seconds before the hall erupted into loud chatter.
“Who do you think was it?”
“Who do you think was attacked?”
“Evans and Macdonald weren’t in all of their classes except their morning one.”
“Macdonald has a sling on her shoulder.”
“Blood purity? Who would do something so severe for something that stupid?”
Lily noticed the way Mary grew uncomfortable with all this attention on her, so she took her hand and they exited the Grand Hall. They were done wirh eating anyways.
The two girls wandered around aimlessly and somehow ended up at the Astronomy Tower.
Mary sat down first, being exhausted from the day and everything that happened. Lily followed her example and sat down next to her, taking her hand again.
“So you dealt with him? By getting him expelled after he only had a year of school left? Remind me to never make you angry,” Mary said and looked at Lily with amusement in her eyes.
“He had it coming. And you could never make me angry, don’t worry,” she stated and smiled.
Mary laughed and leaned her head on Lily’s shoulder. Lily switched hands and put one of hers around Mary’s waist, careful not to touch her injured shoulder.
They stayed like that for a long while, just admiring the stars and each other.