Title: The Short Straw
Author: Ashika
Summary: James and Lily the night before they choose Peter as their Secret Keeper. Was it really their choice? --One-Shot--
Disclaimer: Would I be writing FAN-fiction if I owned anything?


Running his hands over his face he wondered what he was doing. He stared at his reflection in the dirty non-magical mirror. A long and dexterous finger reached out and traced his outline on the parallel surface. The sweat on the tip of his finger streaked across the glass and he winced.

James, as he called himself now, looked back nervously, wondering when they were going to come. His muscles tightened automatically – an innate response after years of war. Even just thinking about them brought a rush of adrenaline. He took a deep breath, sure that he was safe for another moment.

He cocked his head to the side and considered his features. Hazel eyes stared back at him and he grinned – a surprisingly familiar grin. He contemplated his likeness much longer than he had ever done before. Although, he was sure his friends believed he could spend hours looking at himself.

The leaky faucet dripped and he tightened his fingers around the calcium-deposited rim. A flash of red entered his peripheral vision. A full-blown smile lit his face. She entered wearing plain black robes and wrapped her arms around his torso, her breasts pressed against his back.

He leaned back, relaxing against her – his life mate. Her breath brushed against his ear and lightly ruffled his hair. "I love you, James."

"I love you, too." He turned and kissed her gently on the lips. Luminous green eyes stared up at him and he was disconcerted. She grinned at his startled response.

"It's a little bit strange, isn't it?"

"You have no idea."

Those green eyes closed and opened. "It must be harder for you." She smirked. "Almost like incest."

He growled at that and pulled her close. "Don't even say that."

Her arms slithered up his neck and she kissed him. "Do you think things will be ok? I know Dumbledore said..."

He opened his mouth to answer, but steps sounded in the hall. He tensed and his arms constricted around his lover – there was no space between them.

He pulled her to the bathroom window and tugged it open. The rusty metal creaked and he could only flinch. "Hurry," he whispered. Lily crawled out the window as the sounds of a furious struggle began.

James crawled out behind her and they shut the window. She could hear Peter howl in pain as she ran from the dilapidated house. After knowing him for so long she prayed that he would be all right. Even knowing...

They ran as far as they could and continued to move quickly into the shadowy forest. A bright moon glinted off James' dark hair and she wished she could take the time to run her hands through it.

The forest, dark and foreboding, was much like the Forbidden Forest. Whether there were wild creatures just the same, she didn't know. But Remus was supposed to be there. It was, after all, a place he was quite comfortable in. She slipped and found herself held upright by James.

"James," she murmured. He didn't respond and she smiled to herself. He still wasn't used to it, even after weeks of calling him such.

She spoke a little louder, changing her tactics. "Harry, we need to slow down. Remus will find us soon and I can't run anymore." He jerked to a stop and his eyes narrowed.

"Don't call me that," he hissed.

"You weren't responding to James."

"Listen, I know it's hard, but you cannot, under any circumstances, call me Harry!"

Her green eyes narrowed and a distinctly familiar expression crossed her face. He inwardly cringed knowing the tirade that was about to begin.

"Lily - Ginny," he stuttered. He never got the chance to finish as she began to tell him off.

"I don't bloody care what you think. This whole thing scares me silly and if you aren't listening to me one way, then I need to get you to listen another way. I'm not stupid, James."

He held his hands out, palms up. "I know, Gin. I know. It's really hard. But Dumbledore said that this happened. If we didn't do it we'd be disrupting time."

She grimaced. "Right, am I really supposed to believe that? We are disrupting time by being here. You can't even look at me without wincing. I look like your mother! Hell, I am your mother!"

"Ginny..."

"Just shut up. I want to go home. I want to go home now."

He was pleading now. "We can't go home. Please, we have to wait until tomorrow."

"Remind me why we have to wait until tomorrow, again?" She snapped at him, already knowing the answer. She was tired and hurt and wanted him to hurt, too. A childish reaction, for sure, but she was so tired...

A pained look tainted his expression before it settled into the cool emotion he had learned so well in the future. "Because tomorrow we have to make sure that Sirius is not chosen as my parent's Secret Keeper."

She regretted her hasty words. She plopped onto the forest floor amongst the dying leaves.

Ginevra cum Lily clenched her teeth against all of the unfairness. She wondered why, if they were going back in time, they couldn't make sure that Peter, though once a good friend, didn't become the Secret Keeper. Yes, she knew the reason that was always given – to change a thing for the good could lead to the end of the world. And the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

But so many lives had been destroyed the night James and Lily Potter died, not the least of which had been their own son.

And while Harry had grown up strong and noble, sometimes she just wished that she could look in his eyes and not see seventeen years too many of heartbreak and verbal abuse. He was twenty-seven years old and he had the air of a man twice his age. Of course, she could only then wonder if he would have succeeded if he had not grown up in such a bleak world.

Ginny stared at the face that so closely resembled the man that she knew. A chin that was a little less stubborn. Cheekbones a little bit higher. And eyes that were not the green she was so used to seeing – eyes she now saw in her own face.

"Harry..."

"What did I tell you?"

"I'm sorry."

The hazel eyes, that she wished were green, softened. He moved over and took her in his arms. "I know, Ginny. I love you."

Tears formed in her eyes before draining back into their ducts, as they do in people so young. "I love you, too, Harry." A tremulous smile. "Or rather, James."

They sat in silence and she listened as Remus finally came, his steady pace crushing decay as he stepped. The red-haired woman wondered why it was Harry who always bore the burdens. And she realized that if it seemed the weight of the world was on his shoulders, it was only because it was true.

AN: I hope you enjoyed it. I also hope it wasn't too confusing. It probably was. Forgive me? Well...please review. Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, and everything in between. If you ask nicely, I'll email you back with all the answers to your questions.