(Hogwarts Houses) Drabble Club – Prompt – always

(Hogwarts Houses) Marauders Era Challenge

Please read & review!

happy days

James breathed in the crisp autumn air that the gentle breeze brought in through the fine mesh exposed between the edge and the glass window. From his slouched position by the window, he had his elbow propped up atop the window pane and admired the orange, red, pink, and purple hues that colored the horizon as the sun descended. Normally, the bespectacled Auror would be complaining about being stuck in the house, but today, he was more relaxed. James suspected it might have been the afternoon romp in the sheets with Lily relieved his frustration. Judging from all that action even when Harry was in the next room, James' favorite ginger had been as restless as him. He hadn't exactly expected the straight-laced, former Gryffindor Head Girl to do the things she did this afternoon. Of course, the wild side was something he wouldn't mind came out from time to time. With a short chuckle, James' eyes flitted back out the window and noted that the sky had quickly darkened after the sun had set. Time flew when it came to thinking about Lily, after all.

"What are you laughing about?" inquired his wife's usually lively and stern voice, laced with exhaustion.

James hadn't realized that the woman who had been on his mind materialized behind him. Turning to face her, the first feature his eyes were drawn to was Lily's bright green eyes. As always. However, the fatigue was visible in her young face, as it was with James.

"Just thinking about you, Mrs. Potter," he playfully winked, savoring the last two words.

"Oh, shush. Wipe that grin off," Lily Potter ground out wearily, shooting a warning glare at her immature husband. She wasn't up to dealing with his usual tricks.

On the other hand, James was still relentless as ever. He had matured in his seventh year, but apparently, not enough. But it was precisely this boyish charm that ensnared Lily in her third year, unfortunately. Of course, James didn't know just when she began to fall for him, and she wouldn't ever tell. Embarrassing, it was.

"Anyways, Harry's finally asleep. Little bugger just wouldn't get tired until now," Lily brooded, her features darkening. Sirius had given her son a toy broomstick, and Harry had been playing with the damned thing for hours. It was adorable at first, but Lily had gotten tired of it after the hundredth times her son broke something. With a frown that marred her visage, Lily pulled away from James. Instead of heading to the kitchen as she intended to, a pair of well-built arms slipped around her waist and held her flush against a lean chest.

Auror training did James good. Plus, he got loads better in bed, she mused to herself.

"Don't be such a grump, dear," he murmured, setting his chin gently on top of Lily's flaming red hair. "It'll be over soon. Everything will be okay if we just do what Dumbledore says."

For some reason, Lily didn't feel very reassured. She didn't have that implicit trust in her previous Headmaster like James. Lately, a nasty voice inside her head manifested, and it was always pointing out the flaws in other people. Lily had become distrustful and paranoid, and she wasn't even an Auror. Before she had gone into hiding, she'd become increasingly suspicious of her co-workers at the Department of Mysteries. It was as if the war had transformed the once hardheaded, fiery, yet still naive girl that Lily had once been. With each day, the news of the deaths of those whom she had befriended in her Hogwarts days always made her mood plummet. Even seeing James or her beautiful son didn't always cheer her up. Now that she was inside her home every day, Lily was dreading the next morning, fearing that tomorrow would be the day Voldemort stormed into their home and killed Harry. She understood that the Fidelius Charm would prevent that from anything, but Lily couldn't help it. Lord Voldemort was the most powerful wizard aside from Dumbledore, and she wouldn't be surprised if the sociopath somehow found a way to break the charm.

James sensed Lily's unhealthy anxiety, and he cursed himself for not being able to do anything about it. He was so selfish, only thinking about himself. Lily was suffering, and all he did was complain like a child. Tightening his embrace, James pressed his chapped lips against his bedraggled and distressed wife's cheek for a moment or two.

"I'll love you regardless of whatever happens," he mumbled in her ear bashfully.

Lily didn't say anything, choosing to merely stand stock still in James' arms. After another minute or two, she finally opened her mouth.

"I know."

Blatant affection was never her strong area due to her pride, and it never would be. It was exactly what kept Lily from even holding hands with Potter three months after they started dating. The innocent days.

As Lily merely stood still there, reminiscing about the past, she wished more than anything that she could relive her Hogwarts days when all she worried about was her grades and how to deal with Potter.