Author's Note: Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything you recognise.
Lysander poured himself a cup of tea, and closed his eyes as the music started. Muggle music, from some CD called "Now That's What I Call Music 75" whatever that meant. Although most of the music on there was infernal crap, this song sounded good.
I've been thinking about you,
And how we used to be then
Back when we didn't have to end,
We can start again
Listening to the lyrics, his brow furrowed as the thought of someone popped into his head. Lily. He'd managed not to think about her for four months now, but of course this song made him think of her. He hadn't seen her in seven months now, those seven months since he'd proposed and she'd said no, and he'd ran off to New York, accepting the job offer he'd been planning to speak to Lily about turning down.
There's nothing left to say,
Don't waste another day,
Just you and me tonight,
Everything'll be okay
If it's alright with you,
Then it's alright with me,
Baby let's take this time,
Let's make new memories
He sighed lightly. He missed her, of course he did, and the rest of the family, who he'd drifted out of contact with since that fateful day. After the first couple of owls between him and Dominique, in which she continuously wrote about Lily and the depression she was apparently going through, he'd stopped writing to any of the Weasley/Potter clan.
Do you remember, do you remember,
Do you remember,
All of the times we had?
Do you remember, do you remember,
Do you remember,
All of the times we had?
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back.
Lysander hoped she remembered him. That she hadn't moved on, selfish a thought as that was. He hadn't moved on – he couldn't. She was his first love and his only love, and although girls still turned his head, he couldn't summon up the interest to ask them out. None of them were Lily.
So long since you been missing,
It's great to see you again.
How you, how you doing?
And how about we don't let this happen again?
He'd love to see her again. Absolutely love to. But she'd be with someone else by now, probably. She was a pretty girl, always attracting attention. Before he'd come along, she'd been someone who everyone asked out, wanted to get to know. Why would that have changed?
There's nothing left to say,
Don't waste another day,
Just you and me tonight,
Everything'll be okay
If it's alright with you,
Then it's alright with me,
Baby let's take this time,
Let's make new memories
Those first few months, he'd missed her more than words could say. Dreamt of her, fought the urge to write to her, found himself staring at her picture for hours on end. Then he'd made himself stop. He'd concentrated on his job, locked all memories of her away in a section of his head he never visited. Until now.
Do you remember, do you remember,
Do you remember,
All of the times we had?
Do you remember, do you remember,
Do you remember,
All of the times we had?
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back.
Maybe he should visit her. Or at least owl her, or call her, or something. Although she probably didn't want to hear from him. He bit his lip in thought, then grabbed a pen and quill and scrawled a hasty note to Al, sending it and marvelling at how long it had been since he'd spoken to his best friend.
Bring it back to the time when you and me had first begun,
When I was still your number one.
Well it might seem far-fetched baby girl.
But it can be done, I got this feeling
For you, blazing and it's hot just like the sun,
Know you feel it too, my girl
While you know every night you'll feel alright
Look I tell you this girl out of my world
Don't change, I'ma rearrange, my girl
I'ma tell you straight, this outta my world
How many years do you wanna come kiss?
This I know you miss this, that's what I heard
That's what I heard, word, girl
A reply came within hours. Al was always a fast writer and reader, and Lysander's owl was a speedy flier.
Hey stranger,
I'm fine, thanks. 'course me and Scorp are still together. Engaged now, actually. He asked me. I'll make sure to invite you to the wedding, if it won't create too much tension between you and Lily.
Speaking of, is it really any of your business whether she's single or not? Yeah, she is. Single and adamant that she's not moving on. Says she doesn't need to. James thinks she's gone barmy, but as everyone points out, he's quite the hypocrite, a Potter himself. We only fall in love once, us Potters, and he's gone and fallen for... Nah, I won't tell you. Come and find out for yourself.
Sincerely, A.S.P.
Lysander tilted his head as he read the letter. Al had a point.
There's nothing left to say,
Don't waste another day,
Just you and me tonight,
Everything'll be okay
If it's alright with you,
Then it's alright with me,
Baby let's take this time,
Let's make new memories
But if Al was so worried about the tension between him and Lily, why was he telling him to go visit? Lysander rolled his eyes slightly, even as he got up and drifted into the kitchen to grab something to eat. He'd need something inside him before he went to see the people he hadn't seen in over half a year.
Do you remember, do you remember,
Do you remember,
All of the times we had?
Do you remember, do you remember,
Do you remember,
All of the times we had?
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back, bring it back,
Let's bring it back.
He Apparated to Al's house. Not inside it, of course, outside the gate, and he walked up the pathway to the front door, ringing the doorbell and hoping Al still lived here.
The door opened, and Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him lazily. "Hey, blondie."
Lysander didn't respond, simply asked, "Is Al in?"
"No, he's eloped with Lorcan." Scorpius deadpanned. "He's in." He stood back to let Lysander in, shutting the door behind him before adding, "Lily's here."
Lysander winced slightly. "Oh."
Scorpius gave him the trademark Malfoy smirk before heading into the living room, where he looped an arm around Al's waist and hugged him. Lysander stood in the doorway, staring at Lily, taking in her appearance and memorising her.
She was thinner than he remembered, and paler, with less sparkle in her eyes. She looked a little more tired, and she took a moment to write something down on a piece of paper, which then vanished with a "Pop!" probably heading off to the Ministry, where she worked, before she gave Lysander a half-smile, then stood up. "Al, I'm gonna head off now. Busy day at the Ministry tomorrow – some git using an Invisibility Cloak to nick stuff off unsuspecting Muggles."
"I should know, I caught him." Al pointed out dryly. As an Auror, he could go on for hours about how it was a good thing that the majority of wizards they had to catch nowadays weren't Dark wizards.
"Alright, I'll see you around then." Lily brushed past Lysander without even a glance in his direction.
He looked at Al, who raised an enquiring eyebrow at him. "Erm..." He watched Lily open the door and step outside, and made one of those really instinctive decisions which usually got him into so much trouble. "I'll come back another time, yeah?" He dashed after Lily, catching her at the gate. "Hey, Lily."
She met his gaze, eyes more alight than they had been earlier, but wary. "Yes?"
"Do you... Would you like to come for a coffee with me? To catch up, and stuff..." Lysander trailed off.
She eyed him before grinning. "Alright, but you're paying, and we're not discussing work. I've had enough work. We can catch up on anything other than work." She nodded.
He smiled, heart fluttering. "Right. Brilliant."
They set off, the silence not too comfortable, but not awkward as he'd thought it would be.
They reached the cafe, finding an empty table quickly, and Lysander pulled Lily's chair out for her. She gave him a look he couldn't decipher quickly enough before it was gone, and she was thanking him and sitting down. He sat down next to her and ordered two coffees, then started a conversation. "So..." Well, sort of started one.
She laughed lightly. "Coherent as ever. So, how's the job?" She asked.
"Thought you didn't want to speak about work." He responded.
"You mean you do work?" She asked, with a smirk.
Lysander rolled his eyes at her, grinning despite himself. "Yup. It's a good job, but I actually preferred working for the Quibbler."
"Well, of course you did. The NY Prophet doesn't do anything fun."
"Are you suggesting I only like fun?"
Her eyes sparkled for a moment, before she coughed and glanced down. "So, what's the house like?"
"Lonely." He replied without thinking.
She frowned. "You live alone?"
"Yup."
"No girlfriend or anything?"
"Nope."
She smiled brightly, then thanked the waitress as their coffees arrived.
"What about you?" He asked her as she took a sip of her cappuchino.
"Me? I find the company in my house lovely." She responded, with a slight grin.
His heart sank. Hadn't Al said she was single? "Oh. So you don't live alone?"
"No."
"You've got a man in your life, then?"
She grinned. "You could say that." She watched him for a moment, before her smile faded and she sighed. "It's not what you think. Alexander – well."
Great. To add insult to injury, the boyfriend had the same name the two of them had always said they'd call their son.
"He's..." She sighed again. "Lysander, Alexander is our son."
He froze. "What? I... What? You... We... Why didn't you tell me?"
She winced. "I was only four months gone when you left. I didn't realise for a couple weeks." Her expression said that she really felt like an idiot for that. "When I did... You'd only just left, and hardly anyone in the family was in contact with you. No-one knew where you lived except Dominique, and she was... Busy." She avoided meeting his eyes.
Lysander took this in. "I want to meet him."
"Later. Rose and Lorcan are looking after him right now."
He choked. "Rose and Lorcan? As in..."
She nodded. "They're the only ones in the family in a steady, certain relationship."
"What about Al and Scorp?"
"Apart from those two, I mean."
"So... What's going on with everyone else?"
She grimaced. "So not my place to say." She paused. "Oh, Hell. If I don't talk to someone, my head's going to explode. See, you know full well that, as the youngest girl in this family, I get lumbered with everything, right?"
Lysander nodded.
"Okay. So, the situation is; Teddy and Victoire are not getting on right now, and it's mainly because Teddy... Well, he kinda got Dominique pregnant.
Dominique's not talking to anyone in the family apart from me right now, and Victoire's talking to everyone but Teddy and Al – Al did something really stupid which I'm not allowed to explain.
Louis is keeping his nose out of their business and staying at Kaden's house – Kaden's his boyfriend, if you remember.
Molly and Lucy – well, Lucy's produced Amie as her girlfriend and Percy's not happy with that, so she's staying at Amie's.
Molly's keeping her head down and being polite to everyone, but Audrey's currently not speaking to Percy and has moved out to live with her sister until he apologises to Lucy, which he can't do because he doesn't know where she's staying.
Roxanne and Fred are mainly being sane, actually.
Hugo's having identity issues, in that she recently told the entire family she should have been born a girl, knows she should be a girl, and wants a sex change, which did not go down well with Uncle Ron, so she's living with Rose and me for now, until Ron apologises to her, as Aunt Hermione demanded before moving in with Mum and Dad.
And then there's James, who is currently in love with Teddy and doesn't care who knows, which has led to him fighting with Victoire and Dad, as well as the rest of the family disapproving big time.
Teddy actually thinks he might like James, but he's being told by everyone that he should marry Dominique, when he really doesn't want to and she doesn't want to marry him but no-one believes her."
Lysander's mouth, by the end of this, was hanging open. He shut it and shook his head. "God, having all that stacked on you must be torture."
"It is. But I haven't the faintest what to do about it." She looked really miserable.
He leant over and hugged her. "Hey, it's okay. We'll sort them all out, somehow."
She looked at him like he was her own personal saviour. "How?"
"Well... All the family loves you, right? So all you need to do is tell all of them, yes as in get them all in one room and tell them, what you just told me, and they'll all feel ashamed enough to settle their problems and stop pressurising everyone into various shit."
Lily nodded slowly. "Did I ever mention that I love you?" She asked, with a look of relief.
He coughed and tapped his fingers on the table. That wasn't at all awkward.
She made a face and glanced down. "You haven't even noticed." She muttered, laying her hands flat on the table.
"Noticed...?" His voice trailed off as he noticed the ring on her finger. His ring. The ring he'd used to ask her to marry him. "You... Why are you wearing it?"
"I haven't stopped wearing it since then." She admitted with a rueful smile. "I should have said yes. I was just... Scared."
He took her hand in his and then, struck by an idea, pulled it off her finger. She sat there and watched him, eyes wary again.
He slid off his chair, and onto one knee, looking up into her eyes, which were now hopeful. "Lily Potter, seven months ago I asked you to marry me, and you said no. I think, now, we're both older and wiser, and my love for you hasn't faded. Well, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and it has, it really has, and I think it's the same for you. So... Will you marry me?" He asked softly.
There was a beat in which he wasn't sure of her answer, before she nodded furiously. "Yes. Yes, I will." He stood up and kissed her softly, for the first time in seven months, putting the ring back on her finger to clapping and cheering from the others in the cafe.
They announced their engagement at the same time as Lily announced to everyone that their secrets were becoming to huge a burden, and told an astonished audience all the happenings and crushes.
And Lysander was right; Everything did turn out okay after everyone realised how cruel and stupid they'd all been, piling everything on Lily as well.
Dominique had her baby, and named the little blonde bundle of joy Alexia Delacour. Teddy visited her all the time, and the two remained friends.
Louis and Kaden announced their engagement and moved to Spain, Kaden's home, though keeping in touch with everyone.
Percy accepted Lucy and Amie, and Audrey moved back in, as did Lucy, although Amie stayed with her own family. "When you two get married, then you can live together."
Molly was highly relieved that her family was back together, and finally introduced her boyfriend, Adam, to a surprised but happy reception.
Ron finally stopped being a judgemental prat and apologised to Hugo, even offering to pay for her sex change, so the now-called Maria moved back into her parents' house, and started on the various spells and potions. Hermione moved back in, giving Harry and Ginny the space they liked having, and Rose moved out of Lily's house to live with Lorcan.
Al and Scorpius lived happily ever after, and got married a few years later.
Victoire stopped being haughty and ended up getting married to Viktor Krum's son.
Teddy, finally not under pressure from everyone to marry Dominique or Victoire, asked James out for dinner, and the two were inseparable after that. James later asked Teddy to marry him, stating that now he "Really was part of the family and now was Lily happy?"
Lily and Lysander moved in together and got married seven years later. As Lysander joked, "I waited seven months for her to say yes, what's it matter if I wait seven years to get married to her?"
A/N: Reviews make the world go round.