There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care
"Well, Evans?" James Potter asked, tilting his head cockily.
Lily smiled disbelievingly in response, raising an incredulous eyebrow. She shook her head.
"No Potter. I'm not going to dance with you. But tell me," she said, "have you finally lost it completely?"
James shrugged casually, and Lily had to remind herself that the way it made his green eye glimmer with mischief was not making her cheeks turn pink. She wondered how he seemed to posses the uncanny ability to both blend in perfectly in the crowd and stand out in his his own way, at the same time.
"It was worth a shot to dance with a pretty girl like you," he smiled. Lily hoped the lights were dim enough for him not to see that her cheeks turned redder. She noticed that he still had his hand slightly extended, and she could accept his invitation yet.
She was reconsidering the offer when Alice gave her a playful nudge. She turned to her friend, frowning slightly.
Alice was grinning suggestively. Lily sighed and nodded to her friend. Alice let out a squeal.
"Alright," she said, taking James' hand, just as the music changed.
Lily smirked, recognising the song immediately. She was a bit surprised to hear it playing at Hogwarts, however.
"That's a Muggle song, isn't it? From some movie called "A Summer Place"?" James asked, leading her out to the floor.
"It is. But how would you know about Muggle movies and songs?"
"Well, it's certainly not because he's been listening to them every night to impress you..." Sirius piped up from behind Lily, startling her for a moment.
She turned back to James, laughing, as he whirled her around, glaring daggers at Sirius all the while. Sirius was grinning in response to his friends, before disappearing in to the crowd.
"Congratulations, Evans!" he said, beaming at her. She hugged him as he approached her, his dark hair ruffled by the breeze.
"I never doubted you for a moment!" he added, referring to all the nights before each NEWT when she had nearly torn her own hair out, while he'd been there to reassure her.
"I still can't believe I got the highest scores in Charms!" she said, excitedly.
"I can," James grinned back.
It was then that Lily noticed the rest of the Marauders, who usually never left James' side were slowly slinking away from them. She looked around to find Alice was nowhere to be seen either.
"Err...Evans?" James said nervously, bringing Lily's attention back to him.
"Hmm?" she enquired, still furrowing her brow over the odd behaviour of their friends.
"I wanted to ask you a question..." his voice trailed off. Lily was taken aback by his hesitance. James Potter rarely stumbled over his words.
"What is it?"
James took a deep breath, and looking around to make sure no one saw him, got down on one knee.
"Will you marry me?" he blurted out.
Lily stared at the man kneeling in front of her, holding the ring that glistened in the sun in his hand before her mind finally processed what was happening.
James turned redder and redder with each passing second and Lily suddenly remembered that an answer was expected of her.
"Yes. Of course it's a yes, you prat!"
She hadn't felt this ecstatic in a long time. He got up and while slipping the ring onto her finger, drew her in for a quick kiss.
There are no gloomy skies
When seen through the eyes
Of those who are blessed with love
"This couldn't have happened at a worse time."
"What are you talking about, Lily? This is brilliant! Our lives will change forever!"
Lily looked down. She wished she could echo James' sentiments, but the fear in her heart was growing each moment.
"There's a war going on, James. This isn't the time to be thinking of expanding our family," she said, worried.
James walked over to her, placing a comforting arm on her shoulder.
"We'll be fine, Lily. I'm sure we'll figure it out."
Lily nodded, and slumped down further into her chair, holding her head in her hands. She was not giving up, but was merely afraid. Terrified, rather.
"I think we should speak to Dumbledore," she said, after a long pause.
James looked at her, surprised.
"Why?"
"James, we can't risk a child's life in the War!" Lily said, her voice rising slightly. "We can't be fighting for the Order while..."
"How are we going to-"
"We need to hide. Hide from You-Know-Who."
"We can't just abandon our friends and the Order!"
"Even to save our child, James?" Lily asked, quietly.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room for a few minutes. James stared intently at the ground, leaning against the wall for support.
"You're right," James said, finally breaking the quiet. His usual confidence had clearly been shaken, replaced instead by fear and doubt.
Lily sighed, getting up from the the chair, and wrapping her arms around James. He embraced her back, wondering how on earth they would make it through everything, while whispering reassuringly to Lily that they would.
And the sweet secret of
A summer place
Is that it's anywhere
When two people share
All their hopes
All their dreams
All their love
From the outside, it seemed like a rickety, abandoned house, no better than any other of its kind. The windows were broken and graffiti marred the once-pristine white paint of the wooden walls.
The green door seemed to be wrecked enough so as to disintegrate at a single touch. Appearances, however, are deceptive. That of this house was especially so, as the Dark Lord found out when he arrived there to put an end to the boy who was prophesied to be the cause of his death.
The wards and illusions around the house were strong, but they were not quite enough to fool Voldemort. In a few seconds, the ruins of an old Muggle house had disappeared, replaced instead by a comfortable-looking Wizarding home. The Dark Lord smirked.
He hadn't come for James or Lily Potter, but they both insisted on standing in his way to protect their son. James began with threats, but soon progressed to pleas and protests, eventually ending with a scream as the emerald light from Voldemort's wand hit his chest. He collapsed just a few meters from his wife and son, amidst Lily's sobs.
Voldemort warned her to move once, but she stood where she was adamantly. When she too fell, after trying to save her little boy, it was into the cold arms of her beloved. And that is how they lay, quiet and lifeless, and together.
There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms
Notes: Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 10
Position: Beater 1 for the Kenmare Kestrels
Main Prompt: 1960's: Theme From 'A Summer Place' — Percy Faith
Optional Prompts:
(word) blend,
(object) ring,
(emotion) fear
(dialogue) "This couldn't have happened at a worse time."
(image) (prompt 15)
Word count: 1016 + Song lyrics +A/N
Notes: I used both a reference to the song as well as the theme of the songs throughout the scenes.