HPFC Challenge: "A Deathly Hallows Quote Competition" : Quotes (underlined in the story) : Lily drew herself up to her fullest height and said, wish as much contempt as she could muster, "And what do you want?" and "I merely sought to greet you. But if my presence is not welcome…"

Summary: Life, almost by definition, is unpredictable. It takes pride in its ability to bring out the unexpected, and it can change – literally – on a dime or, in this case, a letter. This is the story of how Lily Evans' life changed completely and irrevocably. For the bad… and for the good.

3

For days after the news, Lily walked around like a zombie, a mummy in Hogwarts robes. The vivacious, lighthearted girl left Hogwarts for a while, leaving an entire castle of melancholy students in her wake. Even those who had never met her grieved with her, and the hallways were inhabited by grave whispers, instead of their usual boisterous noise. The teachers wore black and bowed their heads, eyes taunt with worry for the girl that, for so many years, had filled their life with joy. Everyone, from the small to the very old to the dead, worried for Lily Evans, and everyone grieved for her loss.

The transformation of Lily Evans was such a deep one that many couldn't be in her presence any more, not without breaking into tears themselves. To have the essence of life crumple into a sample of death was too much for almost anyone, and it was such pain that she would have been alone, if it were not for him.

James Potter.

In the time following her parents' death, James did not leave Lily's side except when it was time for her to shower, and even then he only left reluctantly. Unable to deny the necessity of bathing, he would dash into the shower returning to her side as fast as he could manage and returning to his vigil, waiting outside her door for her to finish before resuming his constant companionship with her. He even obtained permission from Dumbledore himself to sleep with her – not that any man, in his right mind, would have objected in a time like this – though more often than not, they didn't sleep. Instead, he would hold her as she cried, much as he had on that first morning, on that first black day. Many in the castle thought that Lily had stopped crying over her parents death, but James knew that she hadn't stopped, she was only saving it for nighttime, when less people could worry about her.

Even in the midst of her grief, she still managed to think about others.

Eventually, life was coaxed back into Lily Evans. It wasn't an easy process, nor was it a sudden one, but it was the sort of healing that only came when someone cared about you more than the world itself.

And that someone, for Lily Evans, was James Potter.

Slowly, as one would draw a timid dog out into the sunlight, James brought Lily out into the light. Slowly, in ways only the Marauders knew, James brought laugher into her life, showed her that there was death yes, but all around them, there was life as well.

Slowly, James Potter brought Lily back from the dead.

And then, when she'd finally been cured, when she finally allowed James to open her eyes, finally stopped fighting him and the happiness he was trying to bring to her life, something happened that everyone had been expecting. Some, like Dumbledore and the other Professors, had been awaiting this occasion for six years while to others – mainly Lily herself – it came as a complete surprise. But, nevertheless, Lily Evans fell in love with James Potter, just as fate had said she would.

And every day, for the rest of their lives, they reminded each other that life might be hard yes, but it was worth living.