Author's Note: Hey, guys! This is my first EVER completed one-shot! I am so proud of myself, haha. XD I've been writing and reading fanfiction for a long time, and I even post fanfiction on another site, but this is my first time posting HP fanfic on this particular site. Please review; I appreciate constructive criticism, but obviously I don't appreciate flames. Not that any of you lovely people would ever be mean enough to flame someone.
Story Images: If you'd like to see a nifty banner and chapter image I made for this story, check out my profile. I think the images convey the overall tone of the story, and hopefully it'll get you in the mood for it. :) Also, if you would like to know the cast I used in my head when writing this story, then: Lily Potter - Jayma Mays; James Potter - Hugh Dancy. Of course, everyone's imagination is different, so perhaps you won't use these two actors when reading the story.
Alright, without further ado, let's begin!
Summary: Under the apple tree, white fluffy rabbits scamper. Under the apple tree, vermillion leaves – the last remnants of fall's golden kiss – lay upon the fresh grass. Under the apple tree, secrets are shared and bonds are strengthened.
Under the apple tree, magic happens.
Under the Apple Tree
Come week's end, the month of October would wave good-bye and go into hibernation until its annual reawakening in eleven month's time.
It would celebrate its last day with a very festive event. Children, their fingers locked within those of their mummies or daddies, would skip along the leaf-strewn sidewalks, their celebratory adornments ranging from the funniest costumes to the prettiest costumes to the scariest costumes.
October would hang up its coat and hat, and finally kick its feet up on the coffee table, and recline in its beloved armchair, the brown leather cracked and peeled from so much use.
October would finally get its long-awaited rest, and November would arise, stretching and yawning, and would take the place of its friend with the feeling of both inescapable duty and unshakeable excitement.
For Lily Evans, the end of October was always a bitter-sweet occasion.
Sweet, because November brought beautiful snow flurries and Thanksgiving, which meant a fun family gathering punctuated by endless laughter and enough pumpkin pie and honey-roasted turkey to feed an army.
Sweet, because after November came December, the merriest month of all. Christmas was a prime example how it was funny that during the coldest month, people's hearts are at its warmest.
But bitter, because the end of October meant the end of the apple tree.
The apple tree stood proudly in the backyard of the Evans' home. It was massive – much taller than the two-story house and wide enough to cover half of the expansive lawn.
Its leaves started off bright emerald but blushed into gilded scarlet but the end of autumn. It had many rows of towering branches, the bark thick and healthy.
And, of course, it was dripping with big, round apples, glowing redder and brighter than Rudolph's nose.
The crisp air was headily scented by the ripened apples. Blissful laziness. Sweet delicacy.
From her bedroom window, Lily had a perfect view of the tree. Braving it out there without even so much as a rosebush to keep it company, it was a lone solider. She admired its courageousness, and often times, when she felt frightened or nervous, she need only go outside and bask in its regality and glory to feel as if she could conquer the world.
On its lowest branch, a good six or seven feet from the ground, dangled a tire swing. The tire swing had been Lily's sister, Petunia's, idea, but Lily was the only one who actually made good use of it.
But the apple tree only lasted a few months before it shed its leaves and dropped all its apples. It would turn a dull gray; the bark would flake like scabs; the branches would be scandalously naked. Snow would blanket it when December rolled in. Ice would freeze inside the tire swing, and bitter winds would rock it like a ship battered by a sea storm.
But today, the apple tree was still so glorious, still adorned in almost all of its leaves and about half of its apples (the others, of course, having been consumed by the Evans), that the thought of it soon becoming empty of its richness seemed preposterous to Lily.
She stood at her bedroom window, watching dappled, afternoon sunlight peek through the branches, shadowing the base of the tree. Her parents were away at a business luncheon; her sister, over at her boyfriend, Vernon's, house.
But Lily wouldn't be alone for long; her own boyfriend, James Potter, and she had a date. He should be arriving any minute now.
Butterflies tickled her stomach at the thought of James. As always when his face sprang to mind, a goofy grin stretched across her face. She was absolutely smitten with him.
The funny thing was Lily had used to dislike the boy. She'd found him annoying, self-centered, and sometimes cruel. He'd once bullied Severus Snape (her best friend at the time) into near tears in Potions class.
Still, she could say a lot of things describing James Potter back then, but she certainly couldn't say he was a quitter. No sir, James was the most persistent person Lily had ever met. In fact, his nonstop tactics to acquire her attention and ask her on a date had been the very reason they had gotten together.
Finally exhausted with dealing with him day in and day out, Lily had made a deal with James: she would go on one date with him if he promised to never ask her out again.
One date had led to two. To three. To more than she could count. To being in a serious boyfriend-girlfriend relationship for a little over a year now.
The sound of the doorbell ringing pulled Lily from her thoughts. She quickly regarded her reflection in the mirror before dashing downstairs to answer the door.
She glanced through the peephole: sure enough, it was James Potter.
Lily opened the door and smiled at the sight before her.
James was carrying a wicker basket almost overflowing with containers of food. A patchwork blanket draped over his shoulder. His dark, untidy hair and boyish grin were as charming as ever.
"You brought lunch?"
James entered the house; Lily shut the door behind him.
"I did more than bring it; I made it." James' eyes shone with pride over this accomplishment.
"You made it?" Lily bit back an amused smile. For some reason, she found the idea of James working diligently over a simmering stove while simultaneously stirring a bowl of egg whites to be very funny.
"Lily, I'm appalled at your lack of faith in my cooking." He brought his hand over his heart.
"Oh, I'm sorry; how inconsiderate of me."
"You can make it up to me with a kiss," James said.
They locked eyes, grinning like little kids in a candy shop. James set down the basket. Lily took a step forward, closing the distance between them. She slipped her hands into his soft, thick hair; he circled his arms around her slender waist.
They brought their lips together.
Lily could never get over how amazing it felt to kiss James. The ever-minty taste of him, the feel of his warm body so close to hers. Lips tingling. A burning sensation through her veins. Heart bursting with joy.
Too soon, their kiss ended and they pulled away. Eyelids opened, eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.
James fiddled with a lock of Lily's dark red hair. "Hungry, love?"
"Starved." A beat, and then, "Kissing really works up an appetite." Her eyes twinkled flirtatiously.
James collected the basket, hitching it onto his hip. He chuckled at her joke. "Actually, you're quite right. I thought the sound of loud grumbling was my lips protesting being away from yours, but I believe it's actually my stomach."
Giggling like a schoolgirl, Lily led the way to the kitchen.
"Nuh-uh-uh," said James. "La Café de James only caters outside, milady."
"Ooh, even better; we can eat under the apple tree." How romantic! Lily thought.
The backyard greeted them with that trademark scent of ripened apples. The air was overall warm but carried a pleasant breeze. James spread out the blanket beneath the tree, and he and Lily got situated atop it, sitting cross-legged. James then pulled the numerous containers of food from his basket.
Potato salad. Pumpkin bread. Chicken sandwiches. Buttered beans. Fresh pomegranates. Shepherd's pie. Yorkshire pudding. Cobb salad (James' favorite). Treacle tart (Lily's favorite). Two bottles of butterbeer.
Lily's mouth watered just looking at the food. The aroma was delicious, and her stomach purred in response.
"Wow, you really made all this?"
"Well, I did have help. My mum intervened when I burned the first batch of pumpkin bread. Well, it was more like pumpkin ash, but it still had the same basic taste."
Lily smirked. "Somehow, the idea that you'll never be a professional chef doesn't surprise me." She and James began loading their paper plates with food.
"I am a man of many talents, but cooking is admittedly not one of them," James agreed. "But I believe my boyish charm and devastatingly good looks make up for it."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Lily said.
She dug into her food; it was absolutely divine. "This is wonderful!" she gushed. "Tell your mum she's an extremely talented cook."
"I'll be sure to relay the message, though Lord knows her ego doesn't need to be any more inflated," James said, taking a hearty bite of his Cobb salad. He was merely joking, of course; his mum was really a lovely woman.
The two ate in silence for a little bit, enjoying the taste of the food, the pleasant shade of the gorgeous apple tree, and being in each other's company. Lily loved how they could fill the hours with both humorous and intelligent conversation, but how they could also simply sit together and be entertained by the mere presence of the other.
That's what love was all about, wasn't it?
Lily watched James stuff his mouth with a large chunk of chicken sandwich. She would have to be in love with him – she even found his slightly barbaric eating habits adorable.
"Don't choke or anything," she laughed.
He grinned close-lipped so as not to expose her to his half-chewed food; he looked funny, and Lily felt herself falling even more in love with him. Then again, she felt more and more in love with him every time he stroked her hair, every time he said her name, every time she breathed.
After he swallowed, he asked, "Have you heard about Sirius and Dorcas?"
"No. What happened?" Sirius Black was James' best friend, and Dorcas Meadowes was a friend in the Order of the Phoenix with them.
A terrible, unpleasant feeling stirred Lily's stomach; surely the two were alright, not victim to Voldemort's killing? She quickly dismissed the ridiculous thought – if harm had come to either of them in any form, James would've told her right away and wouldn't be speaking so casually of it.
"They broke-up," said James, sounding quite indifferent. "About time, if you ask me."
Lily nodded. "I never saw why they got together, actually. Not much in common, y'know. Personally, I think she was a bit too serious for Sirius."
"Which is ironic, considering his name."
Lily rolled her eyes at the lame joke but couldn't contain her laughter.
James stared at her, a most reverent look upon his handsome face. Lily blushed.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
James blinked, pulling himself back to reality. "You're so beautiful when you laugh," he said. His tone was so serious and loving that Lily's breath caught in her chest.
Biting back a gigantic smile, Lily turned to her plate and concentrated on eating, so delighted by James' words that she didn't know how to respond.
"I love you," he said.
Her heartbeat quickened; her neck whipped toward him so fast, she was surprised it didn't crack off its hinges.
Eyes wide, heartbeat now racing, Lily said, "You…you do?"
James and Lily had both said those three magical words before to each other, but always during a conversation marked with laughter and joking around; 'I love you' was said in an admiring way, like 'oh, how I love your sense of humor!' The impact had always been softened considerably, never spoken with the conviction and surety as James had just had.
"Of course I do. How could you even question that?" He leaned forward and slid his warm hands alongside her soft face. He looked deeply into her green, green eyes, staring straight into the very depths of her soul; Lily temporarily forgot how to breathe.
"I love you, too," she said, meaning every word, every syllable of it. The words tasted light and free and wondrous on her tongue; the words tasted like one of the apples from the apple tree.
They kissed: slowly, lovingly, hands in hair and hands along face and this sweet, everlasting, delectable feeling. It was a whole other world – a world where the sun shined brighter, where the birds sang happier, where the flowers burst with never-before-seen colors of utmost beauty.
"I could kiss you forever," James murmured against her lips.
"Please do," Lily replied, their breath mingling, tickling the corners of her mouth.
When the oxygen deprivation grew too great, they drew away from each other.
"I don't know what I would ever do without you, Lily." James wound his finger gently around a lock of her silky hair. The way he said her name made Lily's knees weaken. "You're everything to me."
A pleasant shiver danced down her spine. His sweet words brought tears to her eyes. "James, I don't know what I would do without you, either. You're my best mate, my soul mate." The words didn't sound cheesy to her because they were true.
His eyes sparkling like star dust, James asked, "Are you still hungry?"
Lily smiled in amusement. "Always thinking about your stomach, eh, James?" she teased.
"I'm just craving some apple pie," he said innocently. …Too innocently.
Lily lifted her eyebrows, but she had to admit, apple pie sounded delicious, especially with the perfume of the apple tree drifting through the air. She searched the containers, but the apple pie was nowhere to be found.
"Check the basket," James suggested.
Lily looked inside of the basket and, sure enough, there lay an apple pie at the bottom of it. Some sort of protective charm must have kept it from getting smushed, since it wasn't in a container like the others. She pulled it out and set it in front of her and James.
It was a beauty of a pie; the crust was golden-brown and crispy, striped with that familiar pattern. Yellow-gold apples peeked beneath the crust. It smelled as wonderfully as it looked.
"Allow me to cut a piece for you," said James. But instead of inserting his knife along a side of the pie, he took his fork and gently poked through the very middle, right at the top.
Lily giggled. "What are you doing?" she asked. "You're ruining it!"
But when she saw James' fork emerge and saw what was dangling from one of its tines, the state of the pie was the last thing on her mind.
Her jaw dropped and tears sprang to her widened eyes. One of her hands flew to her gasping mouth.
A diamond ring.
It must've had a protective charm on it, too, for it sparkled and shined as if freshly polished, without even a crumb of pie smeared on it. The diamond was of impressive size and square-cut, sticking out of a hoop of white gold.
James positioned himself to where he was on one knee and then took Lily's hands into his. He looked into her eyes, and she had never seen him so vulnerable, all of his layers stripped away. Tears shone in his hazel eyes.
Lily blinked and her own tears spilled over. "James," she whispered.
He smiled brightly at her, trying not to cry. "Lily, you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, inside and out. You always know how to make me laugh; your smile never fails to brighten my day. Just saying your name makes me feel invincible. I am deeply, completely in love with you; not only are you the love of my life, but you're also my best friend. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Lily Evans, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"
He slipped the ring onto her designated finger.
Though she was crying, Lily exclaimed, "Yes! Yes, I will marry you, James Potter!" She threw her arms around his neck, laughing exuberantly.
James started laughing, too, just as joyously. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stood up, picking her up with him. He spun her around a few times, whooping with excitement.
"She said yes!" he cheered, talking to Lily's pet rabbits, to the pale blue sky, to himself, to Lily, to the whole wide world. "She said yes!"
"Of course I did, silly!" Lily giggled. She felt as if she would never stop smiling.
James set her down and the two laced their fingers together. They kissed a kiss that defined the unconditional, passionate love the two had; they kissed a kiss that knocked them off their feet and set their hearts free and singing.
They kissed a kiss of celebration, of new beginnings, of impending marriage!
A kiss of beauty, a kiss of grace.
They kissed a kiss.
Under the apple tree.