My belated piece for the @jilymicrofics January prompts. Day 15: “effort”.
Lily Evans is nine years old when she first considers it must be a lot of effort being her friend.
She doesn’t have many. Not like Petunia. She’s bright; her teachers like her. And it’s not as if the kids are mean. But it’s hard to befriend the girl who is in and out seeing “specialists”. And she starts to fall behind: doesn’t know who the newest bands are or what the latest hand-clapping games might be.
And then there’s the “weird stuff”. Her parents tell her not to do it, but it’s the only thing that keeps Esther and Margot around.
Besides, she loves “the weird stuff” and that doesn’t take any effort at all.
***
Two months into their friendship, Lily asks Sev if it’s an effort to like her, to be her friend. He scoffs and says something like “being around you is effortless”. To prove his point, he conjures a flower from a single blade of grass, handing it to her.
She smiles, a big toothy grin that shows off her missing molars. She loves that about their friendship. They don’t have to hold back. They can practise their “weird stuff” — their magic, she learns — without a care in the world.
But, if she’s honest with herself, there’s some things that do take effort with Sev. His foul temper. His disdain for anything Muggle related. His tendency to (as Petunia says) put her up on a pedestal.
It’s not much, but it’s a lot of effort for a 10 year old.
***
Sev says it won’t take much effort at all to make friends at Hogwarts, but Sev is wrong.
The other girls in Lily’s dorm all seem to know each other. They all support the same quidditch team and fancy all the same pureblood popstars. It takes a lot of effort — a lot of studying hair braiding and potions for perfumes — to keep up with them at all.
They let her sit with them as an acknowledgment of her efforts. Even offer to paint her nails or “sleekease” her hair from time to time. But they always choose each other first. Always sit with one of the other girls in class and forget to fetch her for dinner.
Lily would put in a lot less effort if only she could see more of Sev.
***
When Lily returns from her first year, she discovers it’s a lot of effort to exist back home too.
Her parents are kind, emphatically so, but they understand so little of what she talks about that she finds herself having to dumb down more and more of what she says. And then there’s the war. She can hardly mention that, can she? Her parents would withdraw her immediately if they knew. And then she’d have to put in a huge amount of effort trying to fit in in a world where she doesn’t below.
Instead, she finds herself editing her words carefully, making sure they understand and stay on the right side of awe.
It’s a lot of bloody effort, and Petunia still hates her.
***
By third year, Lily discerns that having enemies takes a lot less effort than having friends.
She’s still editing herself for her dorm mates, trying to fit in as best she can — even when they can’t seem to give her the time of day. Yet she finds it so easy to speak her mind to those pesky boys.
James Potter and Sirius Black: they’re the worst of them. The ones whose pranks border on cruel and who she will happily call out on their loutish hypocrisy.
It doesn’t take much effort, because in their odd sort of way, they seem to see her as an equal. They hold back when she warns them. Sometimes they even stop all together. It feels easy to interact with them even though they aren’t anything close to friends at all.
And it feels good, putting in some effort for those who are unable to stand up for themselves.
***
Eventually, her efforts pay off and Lily finds a group of Muggleborn friends across Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
They’re not close friends. They will never make the effort to track down her son or remember her much after the war. But they are her friends, nonetheless, and they share cigarettes with her and let her borrow vinyls over the holidays.
One girl in particular is fond of her. A small mouse of a girl named Mary from the year below who is a crack hand at Arithmancy and says she fancies Remus Lupin.
It doesn’t take much to be friends with Mary and the others at all, but then Mary is attacked and it’s just all too much effort again.
Some of the group stay friends with Lily, but they’re wary at best. They say her friendship with Sev makes them question her values. She can’t say she blames them.
And just like that she learns it’s even more effort to keep friends than make them.
***
In the midst of everything, Lily learns that it’s definitely less effort attracting “male friends” in her fifth year of school.
Of course, they’re not really friends. Or, rather, that’s not what they want to be. Not in the end.
They make the effort to get to know her, of course. Tell her fun jokes and make empty promises about the things they will do. As friends, just friends, they say.
But then they always lean in for a kiss or give her ultimatums that she can’t morally abide by.
Some of them refuse to take the hint too. Telling her they fancy other “broads” in one breath and then saying she’s “leading them on” in the next.
It’s a lot of bloody effort not to hex their bollocks off. A lot.
But it all pales in comparison to the effort she puts in in the final months of her friendship with Sev.
He’s fouler than ever. Grumpier. Terser. She wants with all her mite to blame the Gryffindor boys. Their teasing has gotten too much. He has every right to be suspicious of their fellow students.
But that doesn’t excuse the rhetoric she catches when he thinks she’s not listening. It doesn’t excuse the people he’s started to hang around when he’s not with her.
It wouldn’t take much effort not to be friends with them. The Slytherins are awful, no doubt about it. But not all of them are baby Death Eaters. Not all of them spew hate like it’s graffiti on a bathroom wall.
But Sev wants the power of their friendship. And it’s taking too much effort to convince her friends otherwise. It’s taking too much effort to convince herself otherwise. Let alone him. He doesn’t listen. Not anymore.
It’s a relief then — in many ways — when it finally happens. When he stops making the effort to have a half facade of decency in front of her.
It feels like a weight off her shoulders. It feels effortless really not being his friend. And she can’t even muster the effort to miss him much.
***
Even with Sev gone, making friends doesn’t get any easier. Most of those she has at school leave after OWLs and the ones left behind are fair weather at best.
Lily tries her best — in defiance of her ex-best friend’s beliefs — to immerse herself in the Muggle world, getting a job at the local pub in the summer before her sixth year.
But it’s even more effort than being in the Wizarding world.
Later, when she’s just words in an obituary, Lily will be described as “popular”, “outgoing” but that’s not how she feels at the Cokeworth Arms. She’s awkward and conscious of all her tiny mistakes, and the barmaids clock her as “different” straight away. She knows even less how to talk to Muggles now than she did as a child, and despite her efforts (her religious watches of Top of the Pops and careful inspections of Jackie magazine) the girls don’t even become casual friends.
She still makes the effort anyway. Tries to crack jokes to make them laugh and talk to them about the goings on in their lives. It’s a lot, and they barely reply, but it’s a lot less effort than what she has to put up with at home.
***
Being sisters with Petunia is like avoiding spikes while walking on eggshells. They’ve never really gotten on well, at least, not since Sev came into the picture, but Lily, for the sake of her parents (for the sake of the little bit of family she has left) has always tried to be cordial with Petunia, even when her sister is most cruel and belittling towards her.
It takes effort for Lily to hold her tongue, to not show Petunia a piece of her mind for all the scathing remarks she makes. And sometimes she finds the effort slipping, and she laughs when Petunia does something stupid or makes a mistake.
Most of the time though, it’s an exhausting tightrope maintaining civility, and it comes as a relief when Petunia announces her decision to move to London when she turns 18.
It is almost effortless for Lily to see her off.
***
Becoming friends with them, to Lily’s surprise, is effortless. Despite everything she’s ever thought about them, they accept her entirely for who she is — so much so that even she starts to too.
She can’t remember who she befriends first, or if in a strange sort of way, she befriends them all at the same time. Remus from extended Prefect duties. Peter from gobstones in the Great Hall. Sirius through a shared seat in Transfiguration. And James through their Potions partnership, their shared concern for Remus, the way they’re often the last ones left in the common room.
It is effortless to start hanging out with them, to laugh at their jokes and cry at their heartaches. And their friendship gives her gumption, the confidence to call out the bullshit she sees from the Slytherins and even the hypocrisy of some of her remaining Muggleborn friends.
Of course, they aren’t perfect. They’ve grown from the bullies they were, it’s true — but Sirius still has his vicious streak, James his ego, Remus is cowardice, Peter his fickleness. Yet Lily finds there’s so much effort looking for perfection. And she’s just happy that, after 17 years, she has friendships as easy as this.
***
What surprises Lily most though, is how effortless it is to fall for him, and then, subsequently how effortless it is to be with him.
He talks a lot, and she finds that she can too, finally discussing her passions without worrying about any efforts needed to please anyone.
He teaches her how to ride a broom and she tells him all about the Muggle world, and neither mind the effort it takes for each to learn.
And when they finally go public — after months of shared moments in secret — it feels effortless to fit by his side, just like it feels effortless to be the head girl to his head boy, two warriors in the war.
In that final year of school, with James Potter by her side — despite the war on, despite the many people who would wish her dead (not all of them death eaters), despite taking the hardest exams of her school days — life has never been easier. It’s almost effortless.
***
Once she leaves Hogwarts for good, Lily soon learns that effortlessness is short lived.
James and her have their first “proper” fight a couple of months in. He wants to take a mission that seems near suicidal, and it takes all the effort she can muster not to beg him to stay. He goes, and she cries all evening. He promises he’ll make the effort to understand next time.
Then there’s all the little things he does when they start living together. The forgetting to shut the toilet lid. The socks all over the hallway. The way he leaves little romantic notes in the biscuit tin and how she is too scientific to write equally eloquent ones in return. It’s a lot of effort living with another person.
Staying cordial with Petunia is another effort too. One that eventually isn’t even enough anymore. The last time she sees her sister is at the latter’s wedding, during which Petunia's husband takes every opportunity to criticise James and Tuney avoids Lily at every turn. Petunia doesn’t even make the effort to come to her wedding.
It’s ok. If anything it’s a weight off her mind. Most of Lily’s efforts go on the war anyway. She puts her all into the Order. Facilitating medical care. Concocting potions for the injured. Taking some of the most perilous missions to save her friends and loved ones. And in those tiny moments of victory, the efforts seem worth it.
And in the midst of war and effort, Lily has the happiest time of her life. The most fulfilling time of her life. Life with James may not be as easy as it was at school, but his cooling presence, the laughter he brings to the room, makes all their efforts to maintain the relationship (and then the marriage) worth it. Life with the Order may not be sunshine and daisies, but the friendships it brings, the bonds it forges and the world they just might bring about makes it worth it.
And then he comes along. And he’s tiny and wonderful and loud and he doesn’t sleep, and he coughs up his milk too often, and it takes so so so much effort to look after him, but he’s worth it all. He’s worth all the effort she can muster.
So, when they find out about the prophecy, the life destined for him, Lily doesn’t even question the efforts needed to keep him safe. She knows she will do it. He is worth it. Their little family is worth it.
And though life may be far from perfect, Lily finally learns at 20 years of age that life may always take effort, but that there are some things, some people — Harry, James, the Order, maybe even herself — who are worth all the effort she can give.
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saw this picture and thought of escaped convict izuku on the run with raging psychopath/villian dynamight who decide to pay you a visit annnnd yeah (wc:2.6k)
It was supposed to be a nice evening all to yourself.
You were finally on break from the seemingly countless load of work and projects school has been throwing your way. You didn't think twice about taking time off from work and driving to your little cabin two towns out once the semester ended.
The first few days were fine. Everything you could've asked for. No call ins from work, deadlines from uni or hounding from your mother. It was just blissful peace.
But then a knock came at your door. You were reluctant to open it, especially since you're pretty sure no one knew you were here. Except for your mother but she lives thousands of miles away, she's never been the one to visit. It's always you who has to go to her. Your instincts tell you not to open it.
It's the beginning of a freaking horror movie for crying out loud.
Girl alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods. Check.
Girl has no contact with the outside world because of some absurd challenge of not checking social media for a solid two weeks. Check.
Girl has zero fighting abilities or survival instincts. Check.
Maybe the survival instincts part isn't all too correct because you stay put on your sofa, staring at the hardwood door from your position in the small cabin. Who could it be?
 You check the time, it's nine.
Maybe a person's car broke down nearby. But even then, you refuse to—another knock has you jumping. That's when you hear the whispers.
"I thought you said she'd be here, fucking nerd."
"She is." A calm voice responds.
You freeze. You know that voice. You haven't heard it in years but you definitely know it. You slowly stand up, walking to the door to get a clearer listening. "Did she leave? I swear to—"
"If you would stop talking, you would see all the lights are on. Clearly there's someone here."
A frustrated sigh then another series of pounding on the door. You can't help it, a small scream escapes your lips at the sudden noise. Then silence. They obviously heard you.
Yeah...definitely no survival instincts.
"Y/N?" A voice asks. It's definitely him. Definitely Izuku. But he sounds different. More hardened, confident...a stark contrast to the stuttering boy you were friends with five years ago. "It's me, Izuku. Open the door."
Open the door?
Why would you open the door to someone you haven't even spoken to in years? Someone who doesn't even give you a notice before rudely barging on your property. You can't stay silent any longer, obviously they know you're here but for some reason you can't bring yourself to speak.
"I just need a favor—"
"Fucking move." The other man mutters, you hear some shoving before an explosive sound causes you to take several steps back. What the fuck?
"You can't blow down her door!" Izuku groans in annoyance, shoving the man away.
"Why not? She won't let us in!"
"For obvious reasons you fucking imbecile!"
And you've definitely never heard Izuku curse before. "G-go away." You finally say. That man clearly has a quirk and judging from the sound of it, it could destroy you in a matter of seconds.
Another minute of whispering before Izuku is speaking up again.
"Why do you sound so scared?" He sounds like he's trying to put on a facade, trying to act nice and nonthreatening but the words roll off his tongue in a manner that only has you cringing. This is not the same Izuku you knew back then and you refuse to be one of those dumb girls who get stabbed in a horror movie because she was stupid enough to give some asshole the benefit of the—a pair of arms wrap around your waist, lifting you off the ground and eliciting a terrified scream from your lips.
What the fuck?!
You thrash around in the others person's grip but they're freakishly strong, holding you up with one arm as the other goes to open the door.
"No! Don't—let go of me you psycho!"
It opens and the blood drains from your body, mouth opening in fear as Izuku steps in. He sighs, running his fingers through his hair before shutting the door behind him.
"Told you there's a backdoor. Dumb bitches like this never lock the back door."
What?
"Excuse me?!"
Izuku smiles down at you...since when is he taller than you? He looks older, jawline sharper, eyes more hardened, that boyish smile and chubby cheeks of his that always calmed you down are gone. Instead replaced by this.
You gasp as you take in his clothes. They're...fucking prison jumpsuits covered in blood. He follows your gaze, laughing a bit at your horrified gaze. "Oh this? It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Don't worry about it?
You scream as the man walks to the living room with you still in his grip, he throws you down on the couch and that's when you get a good look at him. He's big. Fucking massive with spikey blonde hair and a sneer that looks like it could rip you in half. He's also wearing a prison suit.
Tears quickly form in your eyes at the situation you're in. Prison suits, covered in blood and looking at you like you're a piece of meat. Yeah, you're definitely dying tonight. "W-what do you want?"
"Geez, five years of no contact and this is how she greets you?" The blonde laughs. "I thought you two were lovebirds." He plops down on the couch, picking up a magazine.
"Shut up, Katsuki." He sighs.
You two never dated. He was practically a little brother to you, always following you around like a lost puppy. But he doesn't look so desperate anymore. His eyes are chillingly dark all while his lips are forcing themselves into a smile that looks anything but kind. While the other one has almost a maniacal glint to his eyes. They're both creepy, terrifying you to your core as you slowly move your hand behind you. You left your phone somewhere around here, granted there's barely any data but you should at least try something.
Izuku moves closer, a movement that has you flinching away. "Stay back!" You screech.
Katsuki groans, rubbing his ears. "The mouth on her, goddamn."
"Look. Me and my...friend here are in a bit of a bind. We just need a place to stay for a little while and we'll be out of your hair."
You scoff, eyes trailing down to the crimson color on his hands. "What happened to you?" Or better yet, what the hell did he do to whatever poor guy got in his way?
He frowns. "I freed myself from a sticky situation. Why are you looking at me like that y/n?"
"Y-You're...in a prison jumpsuit with blood all over you and that's what you ask?"
"I did what I had to do." He sounds utterly convinced, that's what scares you the most. "Can we stay here?"
"Not like she can stay no." Katsuki cuts in, standing up and going to the kitchen to rummage through your fridge.
"H-how did you know I'd be here?" You ask, throat unbearably dry at this point.
"You always spoke about this cabin, how you would come here every semester break in the future." He sits right next to you, stretching a bit as he cracks his neck. "Fuck, I'm tired. We've spent the past few days in the damn woods."
He remembers something you told him nearly seven years ago? He’s always been disturbingly observant.
"We should've barged in here sooner. But no, you wanted to stake it out." Katsuki scoffs.
"You've been watching me?" Your chest tightens at that fact. You've been in this cabin alone for days with these two psychos watching your every move? Did they come in while you were sleeping? Taking a shower? You never lock the back door, a stupid, ridiculous habit you've been trying to break. But now it's too late it seems as you stare into Izuku's cold eyes.
"It was the only way to know no one else was coming. No one is coming, right?" He leans forward, slight suspicion etching on his features.
"Who cares if they do? I'll just blast the fuckers into bits."
You tense up at that, stomach twisting painfully. Izuku grabs your chin, you jump as his blood stained fingers grip you. "No one is coming right?"
"N-no." You whimper, shaking your head. "I'm the only one that comes here. Y-you know that."
"Well I've been gone for a while. You probably got a boyfriend, one of those meat heads losers you were always into. Do you? Are they coming here?" He quizzes, staring deep into your soul.
"No!" You yell, slapping his hands away. The longer they're on you, the more you feel like gagging. "I don't have a boyfriend."
His smile falters at that, jaw clenching and unclenching as he takes deep breaths, like he's trying to calm himself down for you removing yourself from his hold. Like you had no right. “That's a shame. I would've enjoyed meeting the man who you finally deemed good enough." He says after a few seconds.
"Why? So you could kill him in front of her?" Katsuki comes back, snorting as he sits on the couch. He's got a tub of ice cream in his hand. You didn't peg a hardened criminal as a haagen daz lover.
Izuku laughs, a sound that has you cringing on the inside. It sounds terrifyingly unstable. "You're making me seem like a sociopath, Kats."
Katsuki rolls his eyes. "Wouldn't want that."
You swallow the lump in your throat. "You guys would just be staying for a few days right? I won't—I won't tell anyone, I swear. You don't have to hurt me."
"Now...why would I want to hurt you y/n?" He murmurs, fingers traveling to play with the curls of your hair. "You've given us hospitality. That's all I could've asked for."
You try to force a smile but the pit in your stomach is exhausting you at this point. You feel like screaming, puking and running for the hills all at the same time. But you can't run...the nearest house is at least thirty minutes away and they would surely catch you before then.
"O-okay." You whimper. "You're not...you're not mad at me, are you?" You find yourself asking, trying to stay calm.
He freezes, letting go of your hair as he leans against the couch. "Mad?"
"For what happened." You lick your dry lips. He has to remember. You highly doubt he came all this way just for hospitality. They could've broken into any old house or car but instead they waited here for days, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack you. Even though they should be out of the freaking country by now.
He stares at you for a while, his smile now replaced by a haunting look of indifference. Everything he does scares you. If he's not staring at you like you're a little kid throwing a tantrum, he's peering like he wonders what your insides look like.
"No...I'm not mad." He smiles again. "The past is the past."
"O-okay." You sigh, not believing him one bit.
"What happened?" Katsuki asks, looking genuinely interested.
"Shut up." Izuku simply responds and somehow the blonde doesn’t take offense to the tone, only rolling his eyes in response and going back to his ice cream.
Finally. Finally, you gain enough courage to reach your phone. Your fingers clench around the object behind you, praying they don't see the movements. "W-what did you guys do to get sent to prison?" The words flow out of your mouth, trying to buy time as you press the emergency button on your phone.
"We'll save that conversation for another time. But for now..." Izuku reaches behind you, ripping the phone out of your hands before you can even blink. You barley had it for a fucking second, how the hell did he know?
"W-what are—"
A slap to the face shuts you up immediately, it's not hard. It was practically a tap but something tells you that was just a warning, that if you pull something else, his retaliation will be less...merciful. "Open it."
“No."
Stupid.
"Open the phone, y/n." He says through clenched teeth, the calm facade he's been wearing all night slowly slipping off.
"No! You—what are you—" Hands grip the back of your hair, yanking your head back and evoking a painful scream. Fuck, he's strong. Katsuki stands behind you, menacing glare fixated on you as he sighs. "Just open the phone, doll."
You bite your tongue, slowly taking the phone from Izuku's welcoming hands and typing in your password.
"Was that so hard?" He asks, scrolling through your device.
Katsuki lets go of you, walking around the sofa so now he's standing behind Izuku. Both of them peering at your phone, like it's the most fascinating thing ever. "The emergency button didn't even work, service at this cabin has always been atrocious huh y/n?"
You refrain from telling him to fuck off.
"I'm just sending a little message to your mom—how is she by the way—that you'll be off the grid until you get back from break." He hums, tapping erratically. "You don't really have many friends it seems." He tilts his head to the side.
"I always thought you were destined to be that cliche slut of a cheerleader in high school, too dumb to know her left from her right but always so eager to please—oh." He pauses, scoffing a bit as he comes across something.
"W-what?" You ask, biting the inside of your cheek until it's throbbing.
"It appears you lied to us!" He laughs, the sound practically maniacal. The most emotion he's shown since he broke into your house. He holds the phone up, a crazed look in his eyes as he pouts.
"You do have a boyfriend."
Your eyes widen at the text messages he's showing you. If you had known your former friend and aspiring stalker would've broken into your cabin, you would've deleted those messages. But it's too late now as Izuku looks at the phone again with that stupid mischievous glint dancing around in his eyes.
"We—we've only been together a month, Izuku. I barely know the guy." You try to defend yourself, not sure why. Why does he still care so much after all these years?
It's a lie, you've been with him for over a year but you refuse to reveal that. Not with the terrifying expression on Izuku's face. "Why do you care? I-it's no—"
"Why wouldn't I care?" He scoffs. "After you trampled all over my heart?" He pushes the phone to Katsuki's chest to which the blonde happily takes it.
"After you made me feel like a fucking stain on some dirty sheets? After you broke and used me until there was nothing left to abuse?" He's getting closer, unbearably close. So much for bygones being bygones.
He grabs your chin again, it's much harder than last time and you're sure a bruise will be left. "I-I'm sorry." The tears are flowing down your cheeks now.
"It's okay." He nods, smiling at you. He leans in, placing a small peck on your cheek before backing away. "I forgive you, sweetheart. We all know you were never the brightest." The change in personality is almost as creepy as his gaze right now.
You try not to wipe the saliva on your cheek away, disgusted with the proximity. He's still so fucking delusional after all this time.
"Invite him over." It takes a second for you to realize he's not talking to you but to the deranged blonde next to him.
"W-what? No! Why—"
"Those who are sorry should be eager to prove it, y/n." He says like it's so obvious. "You can atone for your mistakes this way."
Atone? What is he, some type of God? Fucking psycho. "Leave him alone—"
"Invite him." He rolls his eyes. "I'm going to freshen up, can't wait to meet him y/n." He walks towards the stairs, humming a song all the way up.
"Don't worry." Katsuki says, catching your horrified expression. "This will be fun."
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