This was inspirited by a youtube video I saw. I know. LAME but it was a good concept and shamefully I had to steal the idea. I'm a horrible person. Even the title is very unoriginal. I suppose I thought readers would like the concept so I adapted it to the Harry Potter world. Hope you like it!


The Places We Should Have Gone

I.

There came a time where Lily and James drifted apart and it happened right in the end of seventh year. There wasn't a huge fight or an intense break up. They had simply concentrated on their own coming futures.

What they didn't know was that their futures actually coincided.

Lily Evan hardly left her desk in the evenings, always busy in the study of her dormitory. James Potter, besides running amok the school grounds, was finally working earnestly on his schooling. He often only did enough to earn himself the right marks to become an Auror but he found that he was more passionate about his future job due to the ominous shadow of what was to come. He invested more and more time on his studies than he did in Lily, his girlfriend.

He had regrettably become indifferent about their relationship that he had worked hard to gain in the first place. It's not that he didn't love Lily, he loved her to bits, it was the Dark Lord that was finally piercing fear into every single person, including himself.

A Gryffindor was fearless and he hated that it was affecting him right down to his foundations.

Lily was well aware of this and during one last date on a cold night at Hogsmeade gave her last effort.

James absentmindedly held on to his mug of hot butterbeer. Lily had been trying to coax him into their usual lighthearted conversations but it had failed. Not even the presence of Snape who just walked into Three Broomsticks with a rather smug looking girl, caught the attention of James who would have normally thrown an insult or two at Snape.

"James." Lily crisply shot at her boyfriend trying to catch his attention who was now toying with the hem of his jacket sleeve.

James finally looked up, "Yes?"

"I was talking about this summer before we start training in August. Do you want to go? I hear France is absolutely beautiful during the summer. I could almost smell their pastry shops and coffee. And the view from the highest level of the Eiffel Tower is amazing. We can go right after we finish up school before training starts for the Order." Lily insisted.

James shook his head, "Have you ever been around a million apple trees when they're blossoming in France? The smell is nauseating. Besides, I hear France isn't any safer than it is here."

"How about a beach? It's been a while since I've gone with my parents. It would be fun to go." Lily twirled a finger around her hair, "We can grab ice pops and rub sunscreen on our backs. We could build a sand castle and take a dip in the water. It would be nice to be a little tanned. We could take a stroll at nighttime too."

"Are you out of your mind? You know it's impossible to hide a wand in a bathing suit." James retorted.

"What's your point?" Lily crossed her arms.

"I mean what if there's an attack?" James challenged, shoving aside his drink that he hardly touched.

Lily's shoulders sank, "I suppose your right. Oh what about Italy? They have these amazing monuments and gelato. They have boat rides. We can take one."

"I hate gelato."

Lily laughed, "Come on James everyone likes gelato. You can't let what's coming get you down."

"It's time wasted." He shrugged, "You know at one point we're going to face dark and difficult things if we join the Order. We can't waste time musing what to do in the mean time."

"I suppose you're right…" Lily frowned, "But what about enjoying life before it's all too serious?"

James's lips formed a thin line. He slouched forward to whisper to Lily. He looked around, hesitating to speak.

"If you haven't noticed, it already is serious. There's countless Death Eaters at school including your precious Snape." James whispered, "The threat is upon us."

Lily looked torn, "Enjoying time with you is just as important as training, James. When we look back, I don't want to regret not spending enough time with you. Just you."

"I don't want to regret not spending enough time training in a middle of a battle." James finally took a full chug of his butterbeer.

Lily, clearly upset, stood up and grabbed her jacket. James rolled his eyes and called after his girlfriend as she made her way out. Although he knew he should chase after her, James stayed put. He knew he was right. Now was not the time to waste on petty trips. There was something much bigger at hand that require scarifies, James understood that. He didn't understand why Lily couldn't see that.

Lily, on the other hand, understood quite clearly. She knew why James was so concerned and worried. Everybody was. Fear was creeping up like an inevitable season. The shift in air was so strong and so obvious there was no doubt where the Wizarding World was headed toward next. It was a dizzying downward slope and they were right at the edge of the plunge. She wanted to take one final breath before moving forward but it was held in her lungs.

They hardly spent time together after that. It was gradual. They chatted once in awhile during breakfast or at dinner and sometimes discussed class assignments during Transfigurations but the sight of them together getting cozy by the fireplace or running around like kids near the Great Lake was a thing of the past. Their break up was assumed until Lily and James were diminished into nothing more but acquainted classmates.

Although they had faded off, Lily's feelings remained strong. She spent most of her nights crying in her sleep and avoided seeing him during school. She poured herself into her work. Lily considered herself lucky that school had distracted her but as the school year neared to it's end, Lily feared that time meddling alone at home waiting for August to come around will only work against her. She knew when she had nothing else to do she often let her mind wander off. She had plenty of memories of James to last her a life time and dwelling on them only regressed back to her former state. Lily refused to let that happen.

She decided to begin her training right after school ended, that way, all the hopes she had to spend time with James during the summer would be stuffed in the back of her mind.

Before she knew it, school was over and she was in a remote part of Ireland in training with Witches and Wizards that varied in age. They slept in tents and most of the days were rainy. Training did exactly as Lily hoped it would. She had forgotten.

She spent most of her time on guard for mock attacks and learned how to fight off four attackers at once. Her summer was not as fun and exciting as she hoped it would be but then again, it was a sacrifice and she knew it took just that to make the world a better place again.

When it was time to join the Order, Lily was hesitant. She wasn't sure how to act around James who was now a very popular and social Auror of the Order. She had Marlene McKinnon though, a bright witch and Auror with an even brighter insight on Lily and James relationship. Marlene insisted she join for the sake of her Wizarding World and for the sake of seeing James once more. Lily was still unconvinced but she joined anyways, for the sake of the impending future. She managed to avoid James several times during operations and if she needed to work with him directly, it was strictly business.

"You know you can't avoid him for that long. It's James. He's going to be around for a very long time." Marlene said, during an impromptu walk, in search for some food. They had found themselves on a busy street, full of restaurants, and had yet to settled themselves inside one.

Lily shrugged, "I'm not."

"Really?" Marlene asked, "You sure? Because I think I spot him."

Lily glared at her, "Don't lie."

Marlene elbowed her, "I'm not! Look!"

Marlene motioned over to a group of seemingly ordinary people. That group was none other than Lily's past classmates. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew where sharing a laugh right outside a tea shop less that a couple of meters away from them. James, who was beaming up at his friends, seemed to be causing all the laughter. Lily panicked. She looked around, trying to find a discrete escape route to run to.

She had heard that the rest of the boys had just joined the Order and Lily was actually hoping to see them before their next meeting but she did not want to bump into them on a casual meet up. Especially, if James was around. She couldn't imagine the embarrassment of their playful chatter if the topic would ever come around to James and Lily.

"Is that who I think it is? Hey, Lils! Over here!"

Lily knew that voice belonged to Sirius. He was perhaps the only stupid guy who would shorten her already short name. Lily looked up at Marlene and quickly apologized to her friend.

"You're right. I'm not ready." She bit her lip and, in haste, walked away. She desperately looked for a deserted spot, which was impossible on a busy street she was at. She nearly gave up and headed for a cab before finding a dark alley. She knew she was being followed but the moment she found an isolated spot she apparated back into her small flat she shared with Marlene back at the Order.

Lily had barely set her things down when she heard a small pop, right outside her door. She froze and hoped it was her imagination. Two solid knocks, proved her imagination wrong.

"Lily, it's James."

Lily winced. Her breathing became shallow and she felt the blood rush to her face. She didn't want to face James. She wasn't ready. No amount of Auror training would help her fight off her feelings that were rushing back to her. She had kept them well kept away in the mean time and she was proud that it was not affecting her work for the Order in anyway.

Still, her curiosity won the best of her and she crept over to her door to look through the peephole. James was looking around, him and his glory were unsure if visiting her was a good idea or not. He knocked once more before he gave up. Lily felt her insides deflate in relief. She sank to the floor leaning against her door. It was over. She rather face the Dark Lord three times than to face James at the moment. Her heart erratically began to slow down back to its normal pace. She took in Marlene's word of advice that she would have to face him sooner or later.

Lily just preferred later.

She made a mental note to begin to prepare for that as Lily stood up again to look through the peep hole. James was nowhere to be found. Just as Lily began a victory dance, a folded piece of parchment slipped through the crack. The letter stared at her. A clear sign that James was still out there. Her heart sank as she reached for the letter and quietly opened it.

"Lily,

I find it strange to write to you now when I have plenty of time to speak to you in person. I suppose it's the scrutiny we're under that keeps me from doing so. I thought about sending an owl but you know all about the secret locations. It would have been impossible to find you. I can't believe that it's been almost a year since we've really been together back in school.

Time passes by so fast.

I hope your training went well. I heard you learned how to fight of a couple of people at once. It's not surprising. You are a talented witch. Marlene told me. I heard you two got pretty close during training.

I went to France a couple of weeks after school was over with some friends. You mentioned it before we split. It's not at all like England. It's seems untouched by all the evil here. But you were right, the pastry shops were delicious and the smell of coffee still haunts me to this day. The apple blossoms weren't that bad. It was sweet. They reminded me of you.

After France, Remus had some time off so we all went to the beach. The wands were easy to hide. Most people were too busy worrying about their own fun to care. We built sand castles. We even made one that looked like Hogwarts. I have a picture of Sirius destroying it. You know how he likes destroying everything. We even had ice pops. Lemon ones. I know those were your favorite. We forgot the sunscreen so we ended up like lobsters afterwards. The tan was worth it. I'm constantly mistaken for a handsome American bloke.

We trained in Italy. We didn't have a lot of time for ourselves but I did see a lot of museums. I can understand why muggles are so fascinated with art. It's spectacular what can be done with a hammer, a chisel, and some creativity. Before we left, I took a Gondola down the Riva del Vin. Those boat rides you wanted to go on were relaxing. I had a heaping cup of gelato while I traveled down the river. You were right, I do like gelato.

I know it's stupid trying to fix things now when they weren't broken in the first place. We just fell apart and I want to place the pieces back together. It took me a while but you were right.

Wasting time wasn't a big deal as I made it seem. It made me appreciate what I'm fighting for but it made me realize that I also lost you…"

Lily closed her eyes. She couldn't read any further. Knowing she was right did not make the situation any better. She still felt crummy and terrible. She didn't want to be right. She wanted to be left alone to mull things over. And just as she began reaching for her things to disappear, Marlene apparated into her flat.

"Hey Lily!" She yawned, "You missed a good meal."

The knock returned.

"Lily, I know you're in there. Open up."

Marlene sheepishly shrugged at Lily who began for the door. She didn't want to face James but then again, when is someone fully prepare to face anything in life? Lily cracked the door open and looked up at James who noticed his letter in her hands. He shamefully hung his head and bit his lip.

"Come, I want to show you something." He said and Lily forced herself to follow along.


It's a twofic. The next chapter should be up in a couple of hours. I just had to get this off my chest and I've been itching to write again.

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