A/N: First of all, thanks a ton to all those who added the fic 'After' into their favourite stories list! It really means a lot to me! A special thanks to Danielle, SpangleyPony and Windninja1000 for their great reviews! They made my day! :)
Except for the small poem at the beginning of the fic, which belongs exclusively to me, all the characters you recognise in the fic are the exclusive property of J K Rowling.
"Faith made them meet,
Friendship made it complete.
Understanding kept them together:
However, it was love that sealed the bond forever."
He gazed at her sitting by the lake, her hands wrapped around her knees, cradling herself. The evening was setting in, making the clouds blush in a mild shade of pink while honey and gold dripped the backdrop. Sighing in contentment that he felt while watching her, he trudged over, careful not to shatter the fragile placidness that had settled over the atmosphere, which seemed oblivious to the dark happenings outside the four walls of the castle.
Lowering himself gently beside her, he sat down, his hands sinking into the soil. He looked at her. She was mesmerising, with her bottle green orbs reflecting the setting sun, her deep red locks flowing down her back like smooth ripples. He could go on staring at her forever.
He thought that she didn't notice him sitting beside her - on contrary, she did. 'James,' she asked quietly, still looking at the lake, 'What is it like to love someone?'
He was taken aback; of all the things, he hadn't seen that coming. 'Why do you think that I know what it is like to love someone, Lily?' He murmured, averting his eyes from her. Because after all, what was he supposed to tell her? That she didn't know that he knew every bit of her, at an extent which could even make a full-fledged stalker feel sheepish? That her scent of lilies, vanilla and strawberries made him want to lose himself to her? That he loved her like there was no tomorrow?
'Oh, sorry,' she said, her voice little more than a mumble, though he didn't miss the disappointment laced in it. 'No, no, no. It's quite all right, really,' he said hurriedly, ruffling his hair in fervent nervousness. Supressing a maddening urge to launch into a detailed explanation of his love for her, he settled on saying something which occurs to him first when he thinks about love. 'It's like music.'
She turned to him, giving him a questioning glance, curiosity evident in the swirling ocean of her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. He continued, 'Because it stays even when the world turns its back on you. It gives you a reason to smile, to be happy. Its presence and feeling is enough to make you forget all your worries – it makes you feel special. Its meaning may be different for each of us, but all I know is that it gives us all a new hope, a new reason to live.'
He paused, looking at her intently as he shrugged, 'It's useless really, trying to tell you about love, since whatever I say won't be enough to describe it because it's… big,' he said, spreading his arms wide in expression; falling back and letting his head hit the grass below.
He felt her lie beside him, involuntarily plucking the blades as she muttered to the stars above, 'But doesn't it scare you – loving someone? Despite the war going on outside?' 'That's what Voldemort wants, doesn't he – for us to sever ties due to his fear so that he can hunt us down one by one?' He asked, sitting up, craning his neck at her.
She followed his suite and sat up, though not meeting his eyes, her dainty fingers curling the grass around them, 'I don't know, James. I don't know what I should do anymore. I feel so lost.' She didn't bother explaining it further and he didn't ask; the weird, unsaid telepathy between them didn't surprise James anymore. She rested her head against his shoulder, her eyes meticulously tracing all the contours of the land below them.
He gulped, hardly daring to breathe. Playfully shoving each other was one thing; her gesture had taken the level of intimacy between them to a new level. Trying not to over evaluate, he said softly, 'Lily, you'll be fine. All of us are going to be there with you until the very end. Whatever happens you won't be alone. Never.' James knew that his assurance was baseless, but he couldn't bear seeing her this disheartened. 'Lily, but what's all this got to do with the question you asked me before?'
He could almost hear the gears turning inside her head and he felt her body stiffen beside him. 'James, I – I think that I am in love with someone and I can't help but feel that I'll be burdening him by confessing my love.' Seeing him look at her quizzically and an expression she couldn't quite decipher, she replied quickly, answering the question she knew he was about to ask, 'I'm a muggleborn James. I don't want to create more troubles for him than what he already has.'
It hurt. Badly. He felt his heart break into a million pieces and it took him all his willpower to not clutch his chest tightly, in a feeble attempt to keep his heart intact. It was over; she loved someone else. Tears strung his eyes and he shut them firmly, not wanting to create a scene. He suddenly knew what the Cruciatus Curse must feel like.
Swallowing the lump which was forming in his throat, he spluttered, hardly managing to get his words out, 'Are you mad Lily? There is nothing wrong with you. How can you think like that? How can you let some prejudiced idiots affect your life? Your blood is red and so is theirs and nothing else matters. If they think otherwise, then it's their fault and not yours. You are nothing but a gem to anyone who knows you.' Giving a humourless chuckle he continued, 'And that lucky guy better treat you well or I am definitely going after him.' With that he got up. He didn't think he could take it anymore.
Without looking back, he sprinted to the castle, desperate to get to his room in the heads' dormitory so that he could finally let free the tears which were clouding his eyes.
He heard her running after him, feverishly calling out his name, though he didn't stop until he felt her hand wrap around his wrist. He whirled around, his eyes ablaze. Her brow was knotted with concern as she asked, panting profusely, 'James, what made you run?' 'Lily, just, please leave me alone right now!' He said harshly.
A look of hurt flitted across her face and he immediately regretted his angry demeanour. She had done nothing to deserve this behaviour from him; she didn't even know what this was about. 'Look Lily, I am so sorry, but can we please talk later?' He turned, intending to walk away, but Lily tugged at his hand, spinning him around to face her. 'Whatever you want to do can wait. You aren't going anywhere before you answer my question.' She sounded positively livid. 'James, answer me. What is it?'
He couldn't contain it any longer. Breaking free from her, he punched the wall. Once. Twice. Thrice; and then held onto it with his head lowered as he watched the salty droplets leak from his eyes and splatter the floor. Hardly noticing the numbing pain of his bleeding knuckles, he said, rubbing his eyes feverishly to stop the tears, 'Lily I love you. I love you too bloody much and I can't take it anymore.'
'It kills me – it kills me every day to know that you think of me as nothing more than a friend. Please just go away, Lily. It's not your fault that you don't love me back. It was me who was stupid enough to think that you'd actually consider me as a choice when there are way better men in this world, who you could be with.'
He scolded himself inwardly. Great. Now he had gone and made a complete fool of himself too. He expected her to slap him, storm away or in the best of the cases say 'I love you too'; but since when did Lily follow the stereotypes?
She quietly took his hand into hers, gently dabbing the bleeding knuckles with her handkerchief before pointing her wand at them and muttering a spell, effectively healing the wounds. Gently wiping the tears staining his face, she gave him a calculating look, her eyes locking into the hazel ones as she breathed, 'Are you done with your dramatics, Potter? Because I am about to start mine.' He nodded, running a hand through his hair, his heart constricting painfully at her decision of reverting back to last names.
He let her drag him out to the courtyard, his crumbling insides unable to resist or protest. While he braced himself for the worst, James noticed Lily mouthing something to the nearby rosebush from the corner of his eyes. James let out a low groan. Okay, what in the name of Merlin was going on here? And then like a trigger, a low screech echoed through the walls of the castle as wisps of bright crimson, yellow and green shot towards the sky, busting into a myriad of colours which fused together to form a single sentence, 'James Potter, will you go out with me?'
James gaped at Lily, his mouth hanging open with shock. He had never seen her eyes twinkle so much – it made them look like small emeralds. 'So,' she asked, blushing furiously, her skin almost turning into the shade of her hair, 'Will you?' Willing himself to not jump up and down giving whoops of joy, like he badly wanted to, he screwed up his face, feigning deep contemplation as he replied, 'Only if you answer a question of mine.'
Giving him a half-hearted glare, she asked, 'And what is the question?'
'What's with the rosebush suddenly shooting fireworks?'
'Oh, that was Sirius and Remus,' she said, pursing her lips to supress a smile at his incredulous stare. Whatever it was, James definitely wasn't expecting that answer.
'They knew?! Wait... this was all a plan?!'
'Yes this was. Now, will you kindly take the pains to answer my question, Potter?' She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
'Just one more question please?'
She gave an exasperated sigh, 'James! Can't you ask your questions later? I don't plan to run away any time soon.'
'Puh-lease?'
'Fine,' she said huffing, sending a fringe of red hair flying back, 'Ask, before I start having second thoughts about this.'
Shaking his head fondly, he took a tentative step towards her. 'Do you want me say yes, Lily?'
If it was possible for her to blush into a deeper shade of red than she did earlier that evening, she did on hearing the question. With her eyes fixed to the ground, she whispered, 'I do.'
And that was all it took for James to cup her face gently and press his lips against hers, pouring out all his feelings into the kiss. Her hands snaked around his head, fingers sinking into his raven black tresses as she pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. He held onto her, cradling her against him. And for that moment, she was the only thing to him which truly mattered.
James felt his mind go blissfully blank while his hazy senses vaguely registered a tirade of wolf whistles around them. No wonder, James thought, smiling as he felt Lily grin against his lips. The ruckus created by the fireworks was enough to wake the dead, then why would it not beckon the attention of a castle full of people who were just waiting for a new topic to gossip about?
Although, despite the relentless teasing they were about to endure in the future weeks, James somehow couldn't bring himself to care about the uncanny amount of attention they were getting. After all, how could he worry about the rest of the world when he has the girl of his dreams in his arms, burying her head into his chest and whispering sweet nothings to him?
Cookies and free kisses from James to all those who review ! ;)
P.s. : Mr. Padfoot also would like to put forward his availability, in case the reader of this story seeks a quick snog in the broom cupboard.
(Aww, come on now, review already!)