Newlyweds

Disclaimer: Everything you recognise from the Harry Potter series is property of J.K Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended. And Star Wars also, obviously, belongs to George Lucas and not me.

"Is this it?"

"Must be."

"It can't be."

"I think it is."

The two figures looked up in awe at the two storey house that Mrs. Potter described as 'a quaint little cottage'. It loomed over them, larger than life, as far from 'quaint' and 'little' as a house could possibly be.

"You must have got the address wrong." The woman in the wedding dress looked over at her companion, a tall man in a black tux. "This can't be it."

"Oh, this is it," replied the man, studying the piece of paper in his hand intently. "Along with explicit instructions, Mum enclosed a picture, just in case we missed it."

He handed her a black and white photo, a miniature of the house sitting in front of them.

"Christ, James," whispered the woman. "We can't take this!"

"Well, we can't give it back either," replied James grimly. "Mum promised she'd hex me if we did."

"Bloody hell." The woman handed back the photo and looked up at the house. "So… Does that mean..."

"That this is our house?" Asked James, grinning. "Why, yes, I think so."

He pushed open the little white gate that lead up the path to the house. "After you, Mrs. Potter."

Mrs. Potter looked at the gate, unimpressed. James nudged her. "Evans? You still with us?"

Lily looked up at him and made an expectant face. "Aren't you going to... You know?" She gestured to the gate.

James' face fell. "What?"

"I don't want to say it. It's stupid. It's too girly."

"Tell me, Evans."

"Isn't it time we dropped that? We are married, after all. And my name isn't Evans anymore, technically."

"Old habits die hard." He grinned. "Tell me, Evans."

"Don't make me say it. I'll sound stupid." She slipped her small hand into his big one.

"You could never sound stupid," James said sincerely, pulling her closer and wrapping an arm around her waist. "You're the smartest person I know. Including Remus. And my mother."

Lily laughed. "Not even a day of marriage and you're already comparing me to your mother?"

"Hey, my mother's amazing, don't even try to pretend otherwise," retorted James, acting offended. Lily laughed. "Sorry, Potter."

She reached up and kissed him slow on the mouth.

"I can see that you're trying to distract me with your sexual charms, Evans, but it won't work," said James prissily, removing her lips from his. "Now tell me what it is you want me to do!"

Lily sighed, receding on her tippy toes. "Alright. Fine. It's sappy, but...I would like for you to...carry me across the threshold."

James smile faded. "Excuse me?"

"To - see, I knew it was stupid!"

"It's not stupid, it's not! Explain it to me, please."

Lily sighed. "You know how, in Muggle films and stuff the husband carries the wife across the threshold of their new home together? Well-"

"What's a film?" Asked James, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"You know!" Cried Lily, exasperated. "A film. Like that one I took you to in the cinema a few years ago? What was it called? Star -"

"Star Wars!" James eyes lit up in recognition. "The moving picture thing where they were all duelling each other with glowing wands."

"Well, I think they were called lightsabers, but-"

"I'd love a glowing wand," said James thoughtfully. "Do you think Ollivander makes them?"

"James-"

"I'd bet he does. Do you reckon Sirius would want one too? How much do they cost?"

"James-"

"I don't remember anybody getting married in Star Wars though," James frowned. "What are you on about?"

"Oh, never mind. Just - just pick me up, will you?

James shrugged. "I don't know if I can, Lil. I'm not as young as I used to be."

Lily hit him on the arm, laughing. "You're 19!"

"Yes, but I'm a husband now. A kept man. And you're my old ball and chain." James grinned at her.

"Shut up."

"I might as well give up on my youth now. Buy a rocking chair. Take up gardening. Say crotchety old man things like "back in my day..."

"Oh Merlin, I'll just walk!" Cried Lily, throwing her hands up in the air and marching down the path. She was about halfway to the door before her feet were swept out from under her and she was flung over her husband's shoulder.

"James!"

"And what an amazing show of strength from James Potter!" commentated James, flexing the muscles in his free arm. "He's like a machine! No surprise really, when he lead Gryffindor House to House Cup victory three years in a row! What a champ! What a hero! What a looker! But sorry, ladies, he's taken, by an extremely complainy -"

"Complainy?"

"-Albeit very lovely woman," James backpedalled quickly. "A very very lovely woman he could not live without. Oh look, we're here."

James set Lily down in front of the red door. "Was that what you wanted?" He asked cheekily.

"Something to that effect," she smirked. "Are you going to open the door?"

"Merlin, do I have to do everything around here?" James groaned, pushing on the handle nonetheless. To his surprise, the door opened easily and he promptly fell into their new home.

"Nice," Lily laughed. "As graceful as ever."

"Don't talk to me about grace, Evans," said James smartly from his position on the floor. "You haven't been exactly known for elegance yourself."

"Excuse me!" Cried Lily. "I am the very embodiment of elegance."

"Oh please," James scoffed. "Remus is the embodiment of elegance. Lithe, airless, delicate..."

"Sounds like you'd rather marry Remus than me."

"You," continued James, ignoring her, "Stomp everywhere. You're a stomper. Face it, Lils, it wasn't for your gentle manner and way with embroidery that I married you."

Lily thumped him. He grinned.

"Ah yes, forgive me, I can indeed see now what a delicate and dainty woman you are."

"Prick," Lily muttered, stepping over him and continuing down the narrow hallway. James hopped up and followed after her.

"Wouldn't want a fragile woman anyway," he called, dusting himself off. "Couldn't handle the silence. Your stomping can be very companionable at times, you know?"

"Shut up!"

"I always know where you are," James carried on. "You can never sneak up on me because -"

"James, look!"

James turned a sharp corner and suddenly found himself in a large room with shining hardwood floors. A small light fixture hung from the ceiling, throwing out a soft yellow light across the room. Two French doors on the far left wall led out onto a patio, and beyond that lay an overgrown garden, with - he squinted - what looked like a Gnome commune overrunning the abandoned shed. There was a brick fireplace tucked in to the wall facing him and - amazingly - the faded red couch from his bedroom at home sitting smack bang in the middle of the floor. Apart from that, the sitting room - for that's what it had to be, it had to be a sitting room - was unfurnished, but there was something so...cosy about it. Warm. Comfortable. Homely? James surveyed the room, completely in awe of two things: His mother's shrewd eye for property (seriously, well done Mum) and at the fact that this 'cottage' was now a home. Their home. The Potter's Home.

Lily was also standing in the middle of the room, cradling something small in her arms. "James, look!"

She cried and held the bundle of fur out to him. "It's a cat!"

At the sight of the cat, James paled and skittered back a few steps. The black and white cat meowed dully at him in greeting and then turned its attention back to Lily, who was scratching its head and cooing at it in delight.

"Ooh, it's a lovely cat, yes you are! Yes you are a lovely pussycato, oh yes you are, oooh yes." She looked up at him and smiled. "Come over here and pet the cat."

"No, I-" James cleared his throat, keeping his back against the wall. "I'm alright, thanks."

Lily frowned. "What are you talking about? Come over here and pet the cat."

"No," James enunciated clearly. "I said, I'm alright, thanks."

Lily frowned again, but suddenly a flash of understanding crossed her face and she burst out laughing. "You're afraid of the cat!"

"Am not!" Argued James, but the minute Lily put the cat down, he visibly tensed.

"I can't believe it!" Cried Lily, still laughing. "James Potter, a man who's literally run with werewolves ... who's flown broomsticks to the highest of heights ... who's faced down Voldemort, not to mention Minerva McGonagall... is afraid of cats? You must be joking!"

A pause. And then:

"Cats are some of the most feral creatures in the household environme-"

Lily shrieked with laughter and James yelped, as the cat had jumped in fright at the sound of Lily's voice.

"You're afraid of cats! You're afraid of cats! Merlin, I can't believe this! Does Sirius know?"

"Sirius has capitalised on it a number of times," muttered James. "Lily, seriously, can you -?" "Can I what?"

James hesitated, then mumbled "Can you move the cat out of the way so I can sit down?"

Still grinning, Lily scooped the cat off the floor and flopped down on the threadbare worn couch. James followed suit, never taking his eyes off the cat.

Lily scoffed. "Oh honestly James, it won't attack you. It's a nice cat."

"All cats are nice," James warned her profoundly, "Until they're not."

Lily rolled her eyes, and let go of the cat so that it leapt off her lap.

"Well, get ready to be cured, because we're keeping the cat."

James gave a derisive snort. "We are not keeping that cat."

Lily turned to him. "Oh yes, we most certainly are keeping it!"

"We're not. We're going to give it away."

"To who?"

"To Sirius."

"To Sirius?"

"Yeah."

"Sirius Black, the shapeshifting dog?"

"I hear dogs and cats get along quite well, no?"

"Look, we can't just give away Mittens!"

James cocked an eyebrow at her. "Mittens? You named the cat Mittens?"

"Mittens is a perfectly respectable cat name," replied Lily defensively.

"Don't you mean," James flashed a meaningful grin at her, "Purrfectly respectable?"

"Oh, Merlin help me."

"Look," said James, running a hand through his hair, "If we were going to keep the cat - which we're not - we couldn't call it Mittens. We'd have to give it a cool name."

Lily looked at him doubtfully. "Like?"

"Like... like, I don't know. Baron Von Whiskers. Dr. McCoolPaws. Egbert the Meowful. You know. Cool names."

Lily stared at him disparagingly. "Remind me not to let you name the baby."

"I'm totally naming the baby," retorted James. "I called dibs on naming the baby."

"You can't call dibs on naming the baby. It's a joint decision."

"Well, you didn't call dibs on naming the baby, so..."

Lily closed her eyes in exasperation. "You're actually a three year old."

"My dad dropped me on my head when I was a three year old," James supplied helpfully. "Brought me to Saint Mungo's and all. Mum never found out."

Lily smirked at him. "That explains a lot."

"It does, doesn't it?" He mused. "Yeah. He was a good dad, my dad. Aside from that one minor mishap."

James was suddenly lost in thought, his eyes unfocused. Lily covered his hand with hers.

"You'll be a great dad, just like him," she told James softly.

James snapped out of his trance and grinned at her. "Course I will. Especially after I give the baby the best name ever."

Lily threw her head back and groaned. "For the love of Merlin..."

"Now, let's see," pondered James. "There are millions of names out there. We want something special." His face lit up suddenly. "Hey! I know! We could name it after one of those characters in the Star Wars film!"

"If you think I'm naming my child Obi-Wan Kenobi, you've another thing coming," warned Lily.

"Obi- Wan Kenobi Potter," argued James. "It's a great name. It has a nice ring to it. Very original."

"Yeah, original for a reason. Nobody wants to name their child something as outlandish as Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Yeah, maybe not in the Muggle world," James said dismissively, "But the Wizarding World is a whole other kettle of fish. We own the game when it comes to outlandish names. Need I remind you of our esteemed ex-headmaster, Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore? Or our favourite friend and resident ponce, Sirius Black? Or even Remus Lupin, Wolfy McWolfFace?"

"Ok, ok, you win," laughed Lily. "But please, no Star Wars names. Anything else."

"I thought you liked Star Wars?"

"Not enough to dedicate my child's entire life to it."

James shrugged. "Alright. If that's how you feel. Although Luke Skywalker Potter would be a wicked-"

"James."

"Right. Yes."

"Do you think we should have told your mum?"

James crinkled his nose. "Nah. She would have gotten too excited and told everybody. It's still early days."

"I suppose." Lily rubbed her belly, leaning her head on James's shoulder. "But it would've made her so happy."

"I know," James wrapped an arm around her. "I'm dying to tell Sirius. He knows something's up. He pulled me aside today to ask if I was cheating on you because I was acting so sketchy."

"Really?"

"Umm-hmm. And he told me if I was, he would personally 'kick me where the sun doesn't shine'. "

Lily smiled. "Good to see his allegiances have changed."

"He'll flip when he finds out."

"I wouldn't be surprised. You flipped when you found out."

"I did not flip!" James said indignantly.

"You did too! You fainted!"

"I have a delicate condition," said James importantly. "Come on Lil, even you had to admit it was a pretty big shock."

"I know," Lily sighed. "I didn't believe it at first. I did at least seven pregnancy tests before I told you."

"Seven?"

"Yeah."

"Why seven?"

"What?"

"Seven seems excessive."

"Well, I wanted to be sure." Lily folded her arms. "And, for your information, taking a pregnancy test is hard. Physically."

James laughed. "There's only so many ways you can pee on a stick, Evans."

"And how would you know?" Lily retorted. "Contrary to popular belief, Potter, women can't just pee in a straight and steady stream. At least men have the possibility of hitting the intended target." She fixed him with a knowing look. "If they try hard enough."

"Who has that kind of time?" said James dismissively. "Anyway, Evans come off it. There's no way pregnancy tests are that difficult."

"Well, perhaps you should take one then and find out."

"I don't need to," said James with confidence. "I already know I'm not pregnant."

He nudged her expectantly.

Lily sighed.

James pouted. "If Prongs was here, he'd laugh."

"If Prongs was here, he'd never leave. Honestly, I'm surprised you were allowed marry me at all. I thought the two of you were already betrothed to one another."

"Haha, very funny."

Lily smirked at him. "I'm glad I was allowed marry you, Potter."

James grinned and kissed the top of her head. "Right back at ya, Evans."

They were comfortably silent for a while, Lily snuggled into James's side, her hand still making lazy circles on her belly. "What do you think it'll be?" She asked dreamily. "Boy or girl?"

James leaned across her and examined her stomach. "Girl. Definitely."

"How do you know?"

"I can tell by the way your stomach's hanging."

Lily laughed. "But I'm not even showing yet!"

"I know," James said pompously. "I can still tell."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're so full of shi-"

"Ah ah ah!" James put a finger to her lips. "Don't! You can't swear anymore now you're with child."

Lily grimaced. "With child? You sound like an old fishwife."

"One of us has to be the responsible parent."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "And that'll be you, will it? The responsible parent?"

"But of course!" Said James, pretending to be offended. "Yes, I'll make her practise her spells everyday and do all her homework and eat her vegetables and send her a howler when she gets in big trouble. You know, all the things boring parents do."

"Your dad sent you a Howler when you got into trouble for filling the girls domitory with cups of water while we slept so we couldn't get out of bed for class."

"That Howler was congratulating me. On being a sheer comedic genius." James flicked his wand lazily at the fireplace. A fire sprang up instantly. "Even you have to admit that was funny, Lil."

Lily shook her head and sat up. "It was not funny."

"Oh come on! We had to buy two hundred paper cups in Hogsmeade for that! It cost us most of our pocket money - and some of Snivellus's too!"

"My heart bleeds," Lily mocked. "Why didn't you just buy one cup and use a multiplying charm?"

"Because-" James began and then frowned. "That's actually a good idea. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't Remus think of that?!"

"I told you," laughed Lily. "You needed a woman's input on the team years ago."

"I would gladly have had a woman's input on the team years ago," retorted James, "But you hated my guts, remember?"

"I still hate your guts, really," admitted Lily, kicking off her shoes. "I've just gotten better at hiding it."

"Oh come on. You were always crazy about me. Why else were you shouting at me all the time?"

"Um, maybe because you were a massive git who was constantly being loud and rude and asking me out with his bunch of immature and annoying friends?"

James considered this for a minute - then shrugged. "Nah. I don't accept that. You were in love with me."

"What would 14 year old you say if he could see you now?"

James grinned smugly. "You just voluntarily married me and are pregnant with my child. He'd be so overwhelmed he'd just spontaneously combust."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Him and me both."

"But then he would probably come back as a ghost and try to snog you."

"Then 14 year old me would try and punch you in the face."

"14 year old me would probably duck and then kindly point out I'm a ghost, so your punches would have no effect on me."

"Well, then, 14 year old me would probably shout and you and call you and arrogant arse."

"And then stomp off."

"Yes and then – James!"

"Well, you would have."

"Let's just... agree to disagree."

"Alright. Whatever you say, Club Foot."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I only married you because no-one else would have you."

"Not true. Tuney would totally have me."

"Petunia?!"

"Yes, Petunia! Merlin Evans, no need to sound so shocked. I'll have you know I'm a fine specimen of man. Your sister would be lucky to have me."

"Yes, I'm sure she dreams of your manly physique every night."

"Yeah! Come on, she was totally checking me out when we met."

"Why would she feel the need to check you out when she already has the man of her dreams in Vernon, the walking tugboat?"

"Rawr! Bit catty, Evans."

"She's my sister. I'm the only one who's allowed to be catty."

Lily was smiling, but her eyes were sad. James wrapped his arm tighter around her.

"Hey. Listen, I know she turned down the wedding invitation, but she sent us that lovely gift and card, didn't she? Come on, Lily, you know she would have been there if she could.

"Yeah," agreed Lily, though she sounded doubtful. "I just ... I thought after Mum and Dad, we might... we might get closer..."

"I know," said James softly, pulling her even closer to him. "I know. But it's hard, Lily. You're both so busy...and your Mum and Dad was such a shock..."

"She blames me."

The voice was small, muffled.

"She doesn't," James promised.

"I blame me."

There were tears in her eyes now, and as much as James tried to wipe them away, they wouldn't stop falling. He wished with all his might that he had done something, shown up at the Dursley's door, somehow done the impossible and persuaded Lily's sister to come to the wedding. And as for Snivell- Severus - well, James' attempts to persuade him to come to the wedding didn't even bide thinking about...

James just let Lily cry quietly for a while, rubbing her back in soothing circles. The cat was circling the room now, most likely looking for something to eat. James eyed it warily, giving it a menacing look whenever it came nearby.

Finally Lily's sobs subsided, and she extracted herself from her husband's chest. "Sorry." She offered him a watery smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ruin it."

"You didn't ruin anything."

"I did." Lily sniffed. "I ruined the moment. We were so happy, talking about the baby and all. I ruin everything."

"Lily, you know what happened to your Mum and Dad wasn't your fault, right?"

"It was."

"It wasn't."

Lily sighed and then hiccoughed. "Maybe if I'd just been there to protect them-"

An image of Lily facing down four Death Eaters singlehandedly in her parents kitchen filled James' mind and he shoved it away as quick as he could.

"Don't even finish that sentence."

"But James, they went after them because of me. Because I wouldn't join him." She looked away from him, focusing instead on the fireplace. "They did it because of me."

"They did it," James told her fiercely, "Because they are bad, bad people who don't deserve to live in the same universe as you. Or your parents." He grabbed her hand, which was lying between them on the couch. "We'll fight them, Lily," he told her earnestly. "We'll beat them."

Lily looked back at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I know." She squeezed his hand and leaned back against the couch cushions once more. James flung his arm around her shoulders.

"Tuney's expecting too, isn't she?" he asked casually, attempting to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Perhaps the two of you could bond over that. Motherhood, I mean."

"Perhaps." Lily sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "Perhaps we could."

"Provided, of course, it is a baby that comes out of her and not a miniature walrus."

Lily smacked him over the back of the head but she was giggling. "You're mean. I'm sure Vernon has plenty of redeeming qualities."

"He has plenty of flesh, whatever about the rest of him," noted James grimly. "Honestly, I relish the idea of a fight between him and Voldy. Vernon could flatten him - physically flatten - in a second."

"If we plonked Vernon in the middle of a battle between the Order and the Death Eaters, he'd run for the hills."

"Can he run?" wondered James dolefully as Lily thumped him. "Seriously! How much do you want to bet we can persuade Mooney to deploy him as our secret weapon?"

"I don't want to talk about Vernon anymore," said Lily, but she was laughing. "Let's talk about us. And today."

James smiled. "Today. Today was great, wasn't it?"

"It was."

"Best day of my life." When Lily looked at him in surprise, he clicked his tongue at her. "Don't look at me like that, Evans! You know full well this was the best day of my life. It was a pretty significant one. You became my wife, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. I was there."

"Good." "For what it's worth, this was the best day of my life too." She cleared her throat. "I discovered your debilitating fear of cats."

"Oh, here we go again-"

"And," Lily continued, leaning closer to him, "I married the love of my life. So. Not a bad day's work, all in all."

James looked down at her, his wife, and his heart was full. "No," he whispered. "Not a bad day's work."

He leaned down and kissed her, hard. When he pulled back, she was pink in the face and breathing heavily.

"I love you, James."

"I tolerate you, Lily."

"Go on," she teased. "Go on, husband. Tell me you love me."

He looked once more at her, at his beautiful, glowing, pregnant-although -not-showing-it-yet wife, and knew that wherever 14 year old him was, not even he could be happier than James was in this present moment.

"I love you, Lily," he told her sincerely, and her smile lit up the room.

They fell asleep together on the old couch, still in their wedding clothes. Lily Evans and James Potter, the union that everyone saw coming but nobody believed would ever really happen; the two magnets that pushed and pushed but were eventually pulled together anyway. Their love - their whirlwind, crazy, one of a kind love - was calm and peaceful that night as they slept together on the first piece of furniture in their new home, the cat snoring softly at their feet.