Disclaimer: The world and the main characters in this story are all provided by JK Rowlings wonderful Harry Potter series.

Hey people! So this is my sequel to my uber long James and Lily story, the one before it being Five Minutes (so check that out if you wanna read this one!). Before I get started though I just want to thank the people who have given me continued support and inspired me to continue writing my take on this story. I know there are lots of versions out there and just thanks for reading this one too! :)

So this, obviously, is the sequel which means I'll be referencing what I've written before in certain cases and building one what I've done already, (hopefully!). This story is a little bit harder to construct because for some unknown reason I've decided to plan myself a rather complicated plot so some sections are informative to whats going on there. It also means that this one will be taking me a little longer to write. Hopefully I can stick to my plan and get going so that update dates aren't too far apart but, writer block does happen sometimes and it may take a week or more for a couple updates but I shall try my hardest to keep you from waiting for the next chapter. I'm still at university for a couple more weeks so there will probably only be one (possibly two) updates within this time cause I have assessments due. Please be patient with that

Just gonna say again, I'm not great with spelling and grammar but I do try my hardest. Please don't get mad if I spell things wrong or use the wrong word or miss letters off or something. I apologise for that in advance.

So...yeah. I think that's it. Here you go! :)

Prologue

James and Lily Potter were stood in their new home in Godrics Hollow at the bottom of the staircase. James was holding a suitcase of Lily's which was filled with only books and also just picked up a rather tattered old boot. The boot was smelly and brown with a hole in the toe. The bottom of the shoe was coming off and there were frayed laces that loosely tied into a bow behind the tongue. Inside, there was an insole with sweat stains on it as if hadn't been changed through its lifetime. To many people, this boot was garbage. It was a piece of rubbish which wasn't needed or useful and was unnecessarily cluttering up the house. But to James and Lily, this boot was exciting and adventurous for it was a port-key. An everyday object charmed to take them to a certain destination at a certain moment in time.

Most witches and wizards had very specific reasons for using port-keys. Either they couldn't apparate yet, there were no connections to the floo network at their destination or there was a large group of people heading out to the same location and it just made more sense. There were other ways of transportation of course; flying, the knight bus, trains and Ministry cars for those who could get a hold of them or were important enough to qualify for the use of them. But these modes of travel were long and tedious so most witches and wizards preferred the use of port-keys for a quick and easy journey.

For James and Lily, this wasn't particularly the case. Sure they would never have flown because Lily hated brooms, (James would have loved it). They wouldn't have used a train because after seven years riding one too and fro from Hogwarts, they kind of got a bit bored of them and of course they didn't qualify for ministry cars. Their new fireplace in their new home in Godrics Hollow hadn't been connected to the floo network yet either so the use of that was out of the question. Also, for this particular purpose, the knight bus would have been useless for them because, even though they knew they were travelling to their honeymoon destination, they quite simply had no idea where they were in fact going.

They hadn't originally planned a honeymoon, too concerned with the Order of the Phoenix to book one, or even think about where they would have liked to go. If they had booked anything, it would have been very last minute and who knew if they could even spare the time. It was their friends who had done this for them, knowing full well they wouldn't have thought to do it themselves. At their wedding, the day before, their friends had presented them with the boot as a present at the small gathering they had held after the ceremony. James and Lily were confused and, of course, sarcastic at first when the item was passed over to them, but when it was explained to them they were at a loss for words. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts they had been given as a couple.

They were told about everything but the location where the port-key would lead them too so, when they had arrived at their house that night, they had begun to pack, (stopping of course for the night). They carried on packing in the morning. James had finished within an hour and had packed for all weathers, having been told it might be necessary as Sirius was supposed to have checked the weather reports and had gotten confused whilst doing so. Lily had packed too but was far more indecisive than James and usually liked to start her packing days, or even weeks, before she needed to leave. Thanks to this, she had only actually been able to make a decision on which books she wanted to bring with her and what bag. She would have been able to pack clothes over the next few hours but the port-key was set to leave at a certain time and James had called her ten minutes previously telling her to hurry up. She went downstairs five minutes later, still not completely ready to leave. Not that it mattered too much as James had told her he would buy anything she needed for her whilst they were away.

'Where do you think we're going?' Lily asked James, 'Somewhere cultural?'

'Somewhere fun?' James counter-questioned.

'Somewhere exotic.' Lily hoped.

'Well,' James said, grabbing their remaining suitcases, 'Only one way to find out. Ready Evans?'

Lily smiled at her old name. 'Ready Potter.' she said, saying her new one.

They both grabbed onto the boot and waited with anticipation. Nothing happened. They were still three minutes or so early.

'Do you find this weird too?' Lily asked James as she suddenly realised how bizarre this would look to an outsider who had no idea what they were doing and why. They would just think that they were two crazy people wondering whether or not they should pack an old shoe.

'I find you weird.' James said with a wink.

'You married me.' Lily retorted, in a way that told him he couldn't use that against her anymore.

'I suppose.' James chuckled.

They stood in silence for a few seconds and Lily began thinking over the thoughts she had had in their bedroom, how their relationship had changed so drastically during Hogwarts. The ups and downs they had had in those years she had already gone over in her mind, trying to decide if she would change anything and she could truly say now that in their school years she wouldn't have. She had asked James upstairs when he thought their relationship had changed and he had told her honestly; the incident with Snape in their fifth year. She agreed with him. That was when things had started to develop. From then onwards she had begun to like him and then fall in love with him. She had pictured a future with him whilst at Hogwarts as well but she had never actually considered marrying him in those years. She hadn't expected to be twenty and married already. She had always thought that she would at least be thirty before she did anything this drastic to her life. And, just as she had upstairs, she had to wonder what had changed in her to make such a mature decision. And what had changed in James to make him ask such a question. What had happened to their relationship since they left Hogwarts that got them to where they were now?

'James?' Lily said with a questioning tone in her voice.

James looked at Lily and studied her face. 'There isn't enough time for you to go pack your other suitcase.' he said straight away with almost a warning look in his eyes as if he would be a little bit mad if she tried to go do so.

'Yeah I know. That wasn't what I was going to say.' Lily stated.

'Oh ok.' James shrugged, 'Then what?'

'How do you think our relationship has changed since Hogwarts.' she wondered.

'Didn't you ask me this already?' James frowned, 'I thought we dropped this subject upstairs.'

'Yeah I still thought over it.' Lily said, 'And you were right-'

'I always am.'

'-our relationship did change after that incident with Snape in fifth year, but that wasn't what I was on about.' Lily finished, ignoring James' interruption.

'Ok.' James began warily, 'Then what did you mean?'

'I meant,' Lily thought, trying to find the right way to word her sentence, 'like, after Hogwarts, what changed? Cause I never thought of being married to you back then.'

'Thanks.' James said sarcastically.

Lily ignored him again and went on. 'How did we get from us then to us now?'

James actually took her question seriously and thought about what she said. 'Ok, well, personally,' he started, 'I think there have been,' (he paused to do a quick tally in his head) 'seven defining moments which changed our relationship. Changed it to what we had at Hogwarts to what we have now.'

'Really?' Lily replied a little bit startled at how he could put a number to the changes.

'Yeah. Give or take.' James nodded, 'But we weren't always the ones to, you know…cause the change.'

'What do you mean?' Lily frowned, a little confused as to how something was able to change in their relationship without them instigating it themselves.

'Sirius and Remus were a big factor. We wouldn't be where we are now without them cause they were the ones to talk sense into me most the time.' James stated, 'Err…there's also Peter I suppose. Alice and Frank. Pretty big stuff happened cause of them I'd say and what happened with all of that. Hestia Jones before that. And Dumbledore changed us all up too…and, I guess, my mum and your parents as well.' he finished, looking at her in the eyes rather cautiously and hoping he hadn't upset her with what he had said, who he had mentioned.

But Lily didn't seem to be taking too much notice of him anymore and was instead, back into her own world. Reliving what had happened.

'Port-key's ready to go.' James said to no reply.

The port-key was set to take them to their secret location. There was a tugging behind the naval and they were swept of their feet and spinning around in transportation. And whilst they were whirring in the air to their honeymoon destination, Lily thought over what James had said. What it meant. How their relationship had grown and who had influenced them in those changes.

Thanks for reading!