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Lily loved the feeling of Mary’s fingers running through her hair. It was something they’d started doing the year before when Lily had hurt her hands during an accident in potions class. Mary would brush and braid her hair at night. Even once her hands had fully healed, Mary insisted on it.
She had the sneaking suspicion that it was somewhat of a stress release for Mary. They’d sit on one of their beds for hours at a time as Mary formed intricate designs with the plaits in Lily’s hair. Lily would read a book aloud most nights, sometimes pausing just to enjoy the feeling of Mary’s fingers carting through her hair.
Unfortunately, the absolutely stunning buns and braids Mary would construct weren’t very comfortable to sleep in, and Lily would end up going to bed with a simple three strand plait in her long, copper hair. They never had enough time in the mornings for Mary to do them—especially with her quidditch practice—but on the weekends, Lily would walk around with the most beautifully done styles.
Mostly, Lily just liked sitting between Mary’s legs and the gentle tug of her hair as Mary pulled it taut. Mary was thoughtful and gentle as she sectioned and brushed Lily’s hair, making sure not to hurt her.
“That's the end?” Mary asked, looking over Lily’s shoulder to see the book in her hands.
“Yeah, there's another one, though. I’ll check out the Odyssey tomorrow.” She said, placing the Iliad on the sheets next to her.
“Good. I’ll go mad not knowing what happens to Achilles.” Mary said. Lily was tempted to tell her, but honestly she was excited to see Mary’s reaction. She might mention that the Odyssey will follow Odysseus, not Achilles, but she’d do that later.
“I told you, you’d like muggle books.” She said, matter-of-factly. Mary had been apprehensive at first, but she was enraptured by the Iliad almost immediately.
“Can’t believe it was in the library here.” Mary awed. Lily agreed. There were very few muggle texts, much less entertaining ones, “Turn around for me?” Mary asked, nudging Lily’s shoulders.
“It was in the muggle studies section.” She explained as she turned to face Mary. Her breath caught at how close they were. Lily was practically sitting in Mary’s lap while only wearing a nightie. It made her heart race.
“That actually happened?” Mary asked, pulling strands of hair out to frame Lily’s face, gently grazing Lily’s temples and cheeks with the back of her fingers.
“It might have, we don’t really know.” Lily explained, voice slightly trembling. If Mary noticed, she was kind enough not to mention it.
“I feel bad for Marlene, she didn’t get to hear the end. Where is she anyway?” Mary asked, looking over to the third bed in the room. Lily watched Mary’s lips form the words, and wanted the attention back on her.
“Probably causing trouble with Dorcas somewhere.” Lily guessed. Without her permission, Lily’s hand moved on its own and reached up and touched Mary’s chin lightly, pulling Mary’s attention back to her.
They were so much closer now. Lily could feel Mary’s breath ghost over her lips, and saw when her deep brown eyes darted down to look at Lily’s lips. Lily needed more—just one thing more. She moved her hand to hold the nape of Mary’s neck and drew her even closer. Not close enough to touch, but almost. Lily couldn’t do it on her own. She needed to know Mary wanted it too.
Mary must have read her mind. She closed the gap between them and pressed their lips lightly together. It was just for a moment, then Mary pulled back and asked, “That’s what you wanted, right? To kiss me?” Her voice was dripping with worry.
“Yes, I wanted to kiss you.” Lily let out a playful giggle at Mary’s relieved face, “I’d really like to do it again, if that’s alright.” Lily said, already leaning back in. Just as the word yes passed Mary’s lips, Lily was kissing her again. She could taste the lingering taste of Mary’s lip gloss, and it made butterflies erupt inside her. Lily felt giddy, especially when Mary brought her hands up to cup Lily’s face and drew her in closer.
Lily wanted to be even closer to Mary, but that would have been hard without actually climbing into her lap. But, maybe Mary would like that. She took a chance and shifted, not breaking their gentle kiss, until Lily was on top of Mary’s thighs. The kiss got deeper than as Mary licked Lily’s bottom lip and Lily opened for her.
She’d imagined this before, even though she’d never admitted it—even to herself. Lily had once thought of what Mary’s soft looking lips would feel like on her own. And now she knew. They felt like heaven.
“Oh!” They jumped apart at the sound of Marlene’s voice at the dorm door.
“Marls, it’s not—”
“We weren’t—”
“I won’t tell anyone, promise. And trust me, I’m not judging.” Marlene said, and that’s when Lily noticed her disheveled hair and smudged lipstick. Neither Mary nor Lily said anything as they kept looking at Marlene, which made the other girl shift from foot to foot uncomfortably, “I like the hair, too. Looks good.” she said before awkwardly ducking into the bathroom.
Mary started to shake beside Lily. At first, Lily was afraid she had begun to cry, but she realized she was laughing. She didn’t quite know why but Lily started to laugh quietly too. The relief that flooded her body was overwhelming. She’d finally kissed Mary, and it hadn’t ended poorly, even when Marlene caught them. As the tension left her body, the laughter tapered off.
“This weekend, do you want to get drinks with me at Hogsmeade?” Lily asked, hopefully.
“Absolutely.” Mary’s smile was bright and beautiful as she gazed at Lily.
“Thank Merlin,” Lily said before placing another gentle kiss on Mary’s lips.
“Let me take your hair down.” Mary said, and Lily turned once again to sit between her legs. There was something even more intimate about Mary taking her braids down. The tug of her fingers through Lily’s hair made her shiver a bit. Mary was taking her time and not so subtly running her fingers over Lily’s back and shoulders.
She felt disappointed when all of her hair was released, but then she felt Mary shift her hair out of the way and place a soft kiss on the back of her neck. Lily smiled and blushed before she got off the bed and moved to her own for the night, comforted by the knowledge that Mary wanted her.