Disclaimer: The fabulous Harry Potter, and all of his friends, enemies and relations belong to one J.K. Rowling. It's all hers.Lucky duck.

A/N: This fic is based on/inspired by the song These Days by Rascal Flatts. It's a beautiful song--my favourite by them ) -- and I highly recommend listening to it. The lyrics are not copied in the story, but if you know them, you will be able to follow the thread of the song throughout the first section. The rest will be built off of it. So, enjoy, and be kind to animals-- review !


These Days—based on the song by Rascal Flatts
By: bella'amor

"James?"

A sweet voice calling his name jilted James out of his reverie as he passed through the wide, crowded streets of Hogsmeade. He was here on business, and couldn't stop long. But that voice…

He turned around. "Hey, love, is that you?"

His voice was smooth. The same charming, hypnotic voice that it had always been. He spoke again.

"It's been awhile… hasn't it? Well, turn around, let's see you."

He watched, as the petite woman with deep red hair and dazzling green eyes did a little spin for him. It reminded him of that day, years ago. It had been autumn, and she had danced in the leaves. He wanted to remind her of this, but he only said, "Wow, you're hair got so long."

She paused in her twirling, and looked at him, her face hard to read.

"Do you like it?"

He smiled. It was one of those smiles that held everything in the world. It was one of those smiles that made a girl melt. But this girl didn't. Not on the outside, at least.

"Yeah. Yeah, I love it."

She cocked her head at him. "You're not just saying that, are you?"

He indulged her. "I really do, Lily. You're gorgeous, like you always were."

She smiled sweetly. "So, what have you been up to James? What are you doing with your life now?"

He looked down. "Well, you know. Auror-training ended a few months ago. Me and Sirius are partners. We're working on the Dearborn case right now…"

She gasped. "Caradoc? What's happened to him? Gosh, I haven't seen him in ages… Not since that day we took the picture with the… well, you remember." She looked down, her eyes wide; deep with an unknowable sorrow. When she looked up again, the sadness was masked. Her eyes were hard, yet soft at the same time. It was the sort of look that war gives to young women. It was the sort of look that says the wearer is losing faith quickly. It was the sort of look that pleaded for help from one person. Unbeknownst to him and her alike, that person was James.

James cleared his throat. "Never mind Caradoc. Let's not talk about him just now, yeah?" His eyes pleaded. "What about you? What have you been doing since… well, since you left, I s'pose. Remus told me you went to Morocco for a couple of months." His voice cracked slightly, and if you listened very closely, you could tell it nearly killed him to get his next words out.

"I heard you married Darren O'Hare, the Irish quidditch captain."

Lily shifted uncomfortably, and suddenly her right hand was obscured by her robes.

"Well… I… I mean, yeah. Yeah, I did. We met in Morocco. It was like in Casablanca, sort of. Well, not really, I suppose, because we hadn't had a tryst before, but it reminded me of it, and growing up, that was my favourite movie. What can be better than living a life right out of the movies?"

As she spoke, James saw that her eyes were glimmering with unshed tears. Her voice was thicker when she continued. "Anyway, Darren and I decided to just go with it. We got married four months ago."

James did the math in his head. It had only been about two and a half months since she left him when she had gotten married. Lovely.

"Who'd have thought? Lily Evans, marrying a Professional Quidditch Player. Not the Lily Evans I knew." His tone was still light, but his implications were anything but. "But, enough about that. Are you Head Healer at Mungo's yet? You told me that was your goal. Three months and the spot would be yours. How'd you do, Red?"

She turned her head away. "Well, I decided to become a Mediwitch instead, so I could travel with Darren." She looked up at him, and her tone bordered defensive. "Those quidditch games can get rough. They really need good healers on the scene."

James smiled gently. "I know. I remember. Well, it's good to know that you're still making a difference." His tone was slightly bitter, despite the smile that was still in place. He looked around quickly, before leaning in closer to the beautiful, sad girl. "Listen, I have to go meet Sirius, but just know, if you ever come back around that sleepy old house, promise me you'll stop in… see an old friend." He looked pointedly at her, to make sure that she got his meaning. "We could really use you again," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her forehead. He rested his hand on her shoulder, lost in memories for what seemed like ages, but in reality was only a few seconds. In his mind he saw the day she left, saying that she needed time to think. Saying she needed to see more of the world—some of it that wasn't riddled by dark lords and masked men. She had said that she would come back.

He shook his head a fraction to clear it, and looked Lily in the eye. "I'm late, but it was great to see you again. Say hi to Darren for me. We met a few years back over the summer, at the International Quidditch Conference. He ought to remember me. We got on well." He smiled, and removed his hand from her shoulder. She blinked.

"Yeah, yeah of course, I'll tell him. Say hello to Sirius for me, too, will you? I haven't seen that crazy man in ages. Tell him I miss him. Tell him to write."

James nodded as he turned away.

"I will. I'll see you around, Lily." With that, he started off through the throngs of people who had been swirling around them, paying no attention to the reunion that had just taken place. He didn't look back. He didn't get to see Lily staring at his retreating back, waving feebly until she lost sight of him in the crowd.


A/N: So what did you think? The next chapter or two are already written and ready to be posted, so the wait shouldn't be too long. Please review? Anyway, thanks for reading, and have a fabulous week. )