No glasses
Chapter one
The cold pricked at the skin of James Potter as left his house in an awful mood. Why was he going to do the shopping at this time of night on a Friday? His friends had evicted him from the house for a half hour of "alone time,"and he had a intense craving for crisps. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and focused on apparating to the closest town. The awful sensation only lasted a short minute before he was standing in the dimly lit muggle town where he used to walk to as a child. A pang of pain hit him. Once he had looked up from the ground he noticed everything had changed. In fact he couldn't see anything other than the shadows of buildings and the glowing street lights. Everything was a giant blur. His hands raced up to his eyes to discover that his glasses were gone.
A string of swear words fell out of his mouth. He could just apparate back to the house, but who the hell knows why Sirius and Remus wanted him to go so badly. Well he did know why, and it was not something he would want to walk in on. So he just put one foot in front of the other, squinting. This method was quite successful until he tripped on a fire hydrant, landing flat on his face. The urge to just lie there, until someone found him and preferably killed him, was strong. But the memory of his parents lifeless bodies fluttered into his head, making him get up and brush himself off. It's funny how their death was the only thing keeping him going, yet it was the very thing that made him want to give up. His parents had died in battle together just before school had ended. Since then he barely left the house. It had been three months since the funeral. His first three months of adulthood spent clouded by depression, lying in bed. He took a deep breath. If he did give up and just get the unavoidable out of the way, at least he would be with his mum and dad. Remus would look after Pads, and Pete would be okay by himself (he always was.) He just kept moving forward. Now seeing neon lights that seemed to resemble a tesco, relief spread through him. He made his way out of the dark night into the fluorescent lights of the local supermarket.
Everything was a disaster and Dumbledore had deemed them too young to join the Order right out of school. It was awful. The only thing that felt right was fighting. Fighting for a world his parents had died for. But no, he found himself being assaulted by the violent vibe of a mundade shop. He always hated doing the shopping, but he owed them.
For 8 o'clock on a Friday night the place was practically dead. Squinting his eyes he made his way down the small store trying desperately to find the crisps aisle. Relief swept over his face as he finally saw the blurry shape of a human like object not to far off.
"Excuse me?" He got a bit closer, and saw the still terribly blurry outline of what seemed to be a redheaded lady.
"Hi, um, I hate to be a bother but could you point me in the direction of the crisps aisle?" He flashed her a smile but was unnerved that he couldn't see the expression on her face.
"I don't work here James." Came a familiar, exasperated voice. A voice he had spent 7 years listening to. Shock hit his body like a punch in the stomach. He wished he had his glasses just so he could look over the details in her face, see if the war had aged her too.
"Lily?" It came out like a whisper. He didn't want it to sound as pathetic as it did. But they had become quite close friends until his parents passed. After that he had changed in to a total shut in who couldn't even manage to write back. Remus and Sirius would write to her to inform her that, yes he got your letter and no he's not writing back to anyone yet, and yes he asks about you. Of course he asks about her, and Marlene, and the rest of their friends. Even though he can't talk or bring himself to write, he does still care about them deeply. They used to come around the house but no matter who it was James found himself unable to get out of bed. They eventually stopped coming. Remus. Sirius, and Pete would go out to see them once they were convinced James wouldn't kill himself if left alone. But he missed Lilly, like always. But after the funeral and falling apart like that in front of her, he just couldn't see her. The thought alone would send him spiraling into what had happened and how instead of being home and telling them not to go on the mission, he had been with their friends, completely fixed to Lily, like always.
Familiar, strong arms wrapped around him, pulling into a tight hug. Without thinking he relaxed into her and hugged her back. He didn't want her to let go. But she released him, and smacked him in the arm. He held the attacked limb gingerly.
"James Potter you complete twat! Absolute wanker! You haven't written back to me in three bloody months, then walk up to me asking me where the crisps are in a bloody Tesco?!"
He stood there, he could see her somewhat clearly know that she was close. Face scrunched up in anger hands on her hips. He couldn't help but smile.
" I didn't see it was you!" Confusion washed over her face. " I haven't got my glasses on... I lost them while apparating"
"Arsehole"
"God I missed you!" He said it with a laugh but he missed her so much it hurt.
"Then you should write back!" She was trying to sound angry but he sensed that the ends of her mouth were turning up. He tried his best to look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry, I really am." She looked at him for a moment, there was a long pause. Eventually she looped her arm in his.
"How have you been?" He shouldn't have laughed at this but he did.
"Pretty shitty, How about you?"
"I've been okay." She didn't sound okay. But he didn't want to push her, so he just waited for her to continue. " well I've been really worried about everything that's been happening. People disappearing and what not. Im also completely out of work, due to safety reasons, but mostly because no one will hire me."
"You would have thought they would have taught us how to deal with this in school."
"Well they didn't, but I think we all sort of saw it coming."
"Yeah. I just didn't want to believe it, I guess."
"None of us did." It was silent for a few moments, both unsure how to continue.
"So what brings you here on a Friday night?"
"Ice cream. You?"
"Crisps, and some stuff for Moony."
"You want some help?"
"That would be great, I mean only if you haven't got plans or anything."
"Nope all I had planned was Ice cream and reading." He smiled at her, filled with happiness that she was in no rush. The thought of her leaving was painful. Everything was too bloody painful.
"Where to first?" She asked happiness radiating off the two of them.
"Dairy?"
"Sounds good." She grabbed his hand sending shocks through his arm. Wishing they could just go back to hugging, the two of them set off towards the dairy. The had barely made it ten feet before James had walked directly into stack of boxes. James lying in a pile of boxes laughing so bad his stomach hurt, lily was doubled over, laughing at him. It was good fun until they got very dirty looks from a very tall employee, causing them both to straighten themselves out. Lily then left him, standing there. She turned to see him still standing there looking like a deer in the headlights. She laughed, her stag in the headlights. She got a cart and walked back over to him before his squinting and searching for her became too painful to watch. He was such a kid sometimes.
"James get in the cart." He jumped and twirled around to see her. A sigh of relief escaping his lips.
"I thought you had abandoned me!" They both started laughing.
"James, in 6th year you got your glasses stuck in the toilet and had to wait till after classes before we could get them out, you were a train wreck..." She couldn't stop laughing, her words broken up by deep breaths " You kept walking into people and almost falling off the stairs, and you started talking to the wrong portrait to get in the common room! If I were to abandon you here now, you would probably never get home... and least not safely!" He climbed into the cart and she pushed them to the dairy section.
"Yeah well, at least I didn't try to play Quidditch. And Lady Tod was very pleasant, even if her portrait was on the other side of the castle..." he forgot how much he missed talking to her. Even though he was happier than he had been in months, everything was starting to make his head hurt. The bright lights and the swirling aisles, creating a blurry mess.
"Okay do you have egg preferences?" Her voice was light and cheery.
"what do you mean?"
"Like white or brown?"
"Just the ones from a chicken." James said only to her laugh harder.
"Muggle shops only carry chicken eggs!" Oh shit of couse they do. He should have known that one. But he rarely ever came to one.
"Erm.. right. Um, just any of them sounds fine." She picked up a carton and handed to him.
"Now Milk. What size?"
"The biggest, I think Moony is baking again tomorrow."
"He better send me some of what ever he is making!" Moony's baking was like heaven. Everything the boy makes, practically melts into your mouth and cuddles your soul. Now that sounds horribly tacky, but it's bloody true! Lily picked up some ice cream, and they left the dairy aisle. They continue to glide through the store, passing a few workers packing up for night, when they had finally reached the crisps. A sigh escaped his lips.
" You really wanted those crisps!"
" I've had a craving for two days now, but they said if I wanted them bad enough I would go get them. Not even Pete would help me out!" Wow that sounded pathetic. He was pathetic. But she didn't turn the cart. In fact they kept going.
"LILY EVANS YOU STOP THIS CART RIGHT NOW!" She only pushed them faster, till she was running. She then jumped onto the cart and they were sailing through the store. Cold wind from the frozen section blowing through their hair. He couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun. The workers were smiling at them. But they were running out of lane and she wasn't slowing down.
"lily...liLY WE'RE GONNA CRASH!" She didn't listen, stopping them just before they went flying into the meat display.
"Your face! You were so scared!" She laughed like a maniac. "My mum used to do that all the time with me and Tuny in the cart." She smiled wildly at him, and turned them around. Now headed for the crisps. They pulled into the aisle gracefully.
James sat and squinted at the wall of different crisps in an attempt to find the right ones. After many moments had passed, all of which Lily was laughing. The great James Potter desperately hunting for crisps in a Tesco shopping cart... She was never going to let him forget this. Once he had located the desired flavor, they made it down to the checkout. James passed all the items out of the cart up on to the counter,The Woman working the cash started to ring up their stuff.
"Oh, no we're not together! Sorry." She exclaimed, as she reached for her ice cream. James made an attempt to swat her arm away, only to completely miss, resulting in all of them laughing.
"You helped an old, blind man find all of his shopping, and pushed me in the least I could do for you is to buy you ice cream." Giving her the biggest smile he could manage, he then dug into his pocket to find his bloody wallet. He handed her the worn leather bundle.
"Are you sure your not together?" The plump woman asked, with a smile in her voice. Hadn't he just indicated they were paying together? Lily let out a laugh.
"Just friends, unless he can clean up his act a little." Confusion swept through him as her hand ran through is knotted, black hair. He just realized he was in Sirius's Weird Sisters t-shirt and his plaid pajama pants... they same thing he had been wearing for the last few days. Oh god and he was wearing sandals. Embarrassment caused his face to flush, turning his ears red. Lily handed James the shopping and his wallet back.
"You two have a good night!" Said the cashier and from the way Lily laughed He suspected she had winked at them.
"You too, thanks!" He responded with a wide, mischievous smile. Lily led them to the store exit. She offered her hand and he missed grabbing it the first time, but managed the second time, and hopped out of the cart.
"So your alright to take me home?" He asked, deeply wishing that she would say yes and decide to move in with them, and never leave.
"No James I'm going to leave you to wander home in the dark!" Sarcasm dripping in her voice but a smile on her face. "Besides, who knows what you'll lose next if you apperate!"
Laughing and chatting, they walked back to the Potter mansion. He realized that they never came home for the breaks last year, so she had never been to visit.
"So when the path ends there is a secret trail through the forest, but there is no chance in hell I'm going to be able to find it. So I think I'm are gonna have to apparate there." He looked over at her where he thinks her face is. Not wanting her to leave he quickly added in "Do you want to come over and stay a bit? I mean Sirius and Remus should be decent by now and I think we have some of his cookies leftover?" Please don't leave! I'm sorry it took so long for me to see you. And he was sorry, he forgot how much better he always felt when she was around. But he learned the hard way that just because you felt one way, doesn't mean the other person feels the same.
"Ha, so that's why they sent you to the store! They fancied a shag with out you in the room over! But yes cookies and ice cream sound amazing. But would it be alright if I apparate us there? Im quite attached to all my body parts and my ice cream." It took him everything not to say Yeah me too. He just smiled instead.
"I wish you could, but the magic protecting the house is so-"
"You have to be family, forgot about that." She finished for him.
"Yes and I promise I will do all I can to get us there in one piece." He chuckled and grabbed her hand.
"Here we go." She whispered and next thing they knew they were in the front yard of Potter Manor. James herd her gasp, and panic rose throughout his body.
"What, what's wrong?! Are you okay?"
"No everything's fine, just, wow! You grew up here?" Her voice was surprised and she was in one piece. He let out a long exhale of breath he didn't notice he was holding. He never was the best at apparating... had to take his test three times. They started the short walk through the front garden.
"Oh, yeah it was my dad's house. Been in our family for years . I can't bring myself to sell it, or move out. I feel like if I did my mum would come and haunt me." He probably should have just left the last part out, but doubted that Evens would care. She squeezed his hand.
"Well if you ever want time away, my door is always open."
"I really hope not, Lily we're in the middle of a war. Leaving your door open is highly impractical!" They both laughed, but her offer made his heart do stupid things.
"I really appreciate the offer, as do my fellow housemates. You sure Marlene wouldn't kill me?"
"I promise, besides she would be more relieved to see you more than anything!" She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. The last things she wanted to do was make him feel worse, or scare him off.
" I mean, we just missed you that's all. Not the same with you gone, but take as much time as you need." This made him smile. Now stopped at the front door James turned to look at her the best he could.
"I think I have been sulking for so long I forgot how to go back. I didn't mean to, I'm just a bit lost right now."
"That's alright, this seems to be going pretty well so far, so maybe I could come round sometimes?" He laughed while opening the door.
"If I had my way you would never leave." Before she could respond they were greeted by the voices of James's fellow housemates.
"Is that the voice of a flirty James Potter I hear?" Sirius's voice rang out from the kitchens.
"Piss off" Oh god they better not embarrass me know. Sirius walked out of the kitchen wearing nothing but an apron.
"Prongs you were gone forever, we were about to go looking for your sorry little ar-" He froze when he saw lily.
"Merlin's beard! Lily, Darling I am over the moon seeing you here. I thought Prongs had actually begun to flirt with himself!" He stalked over, confidence radiating off of him and gave Lily a hug. An awkward I'm naked from shagging my boyfriend in the kitchen and am now cooking , kind of hug. She laughed
"It's always a pleasure Sirius!" Her face was now just a red as the boy she had been holding hands with. Remus then joined them in the front hall, fully clothed in his pajamas.
"Lily! I would have forced robes onto Padfoot if I had known you were coming!" He hugged her tight and lily responded enthusiastically. Sirius smiling at James with raised eyebrows.
"It's good to see you Remus!" He felt a pang of guilt that it took about three months, which would have been longer if not for running into her, for him to see her again.
"Are you hungry deary? I'm making pancakes." He then retreated to the kitchen. They watched his naked butt disappear into the kitchen.
"You know, I feel like at some point in my life my mother told me not to take pancakes from naked men..."
"Lily that rule only applies to strangers!" Remus replied. They were all laughing, following after padfoot into the kitchen.
Hi everyone, thanks for reading hope you enjoyed it! I'm going to try really hard to stick with this fanfic, and write some more jilly and wolfstar! Let me know what you think and feel free to find me on tumblr! :)
