A/N: Heyy! Sorry for the (very) long wait for this chapter. I'm on holidays now for three weeks so I'll be able to update frequently. Also, thank you for all the positive reviews. If you've gotten any ideas, share them, I'm open to anything new! Enjoy!
"Lilyyy… Hurry up!" James wined, standing close to the bathroom door.
Lily laughed and came out, tying her scarf around her neck.
"There! Happy?" she asked teasingly. "Let's go then!"
Lily and James walked out through the portrait and again through the portrait of the Fat Lady and went down to the main gates. They made small talk all the way to Hogsmeade and as they reached the Real Estate Agency, James took Lily's hand in his. Lily looked up at him startled and he let go but a second later Lily had grabbed his hand.
Squeezing Lily's hand, James stepped in, looking around.
"Mr Potter?"
James and Lily turned around to see a tall woman with short hair and rectangular-shaped glasses. She sat at a desk and gestured to the desks in front. As they sat down she smiled warmly at them.
"You're early – excellent! I'm Mary-Anne Abbott, pleasure to meet you! I just finished looking through the files. Correct me if I'm wrong but you asked for a two-storey house with three bedrooms. Found some nice ones for you and your girlfriend," she said quickly, gesturing to Lily, causing her to shift uncomfortably, before going back to her folder. "I'm afraid some of the houses are in a Muggle area but hopefully that won't be an inconvenience. You can always apparate, thank goodness to that! Right then, ready to go? We'll be travelling by floo, make sure we all end up in the right place!"
They got up and followed Ms. Abbott to the back where a large fireplace occupied half the wall.
"Now, if you'll just grab a pinch of powder, throw it in, step inside the fireplace and read out the name on this slip of paper and you'll be there in a tick. Go on then!"
Lily got up, brushing soot off her robes. She moved just as James came flying out of the fireplace close behind her. They were in and old living room with old-fashioned, dark furniture.
Lily wrinkled her nose. She knew that without the furniture and with a different décor it would look different but she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was some sort of negative atmosphere around her. It was heavy and dark and she was even afraid to breathe, scared that something might climb out of the shadows and come at her. She jumped as she felt something grabbing her hand but sighed as she saw it was James who was squeezed it softly, giving her a soft smile.
"Let's move along then, got five other houses to see. This house is pretty big, excellent for you to raise children, rooms are very wide, so much space for them to play and have their own privacy."
15 minutes later James and Lily exchanged a look, rolled their eyes and sighed. The house was horrible. The design, the environment, it was most definitely NOT the best place to have kids.
"And that's it then! Gorgeous house, excellent for a young couple like yourselves. Now, if I may, we have to visit the next house, don't have all day, now, do we? Right then, if you'll just call out the address right here…"
Three hours later Lily stepped into the fireplace for the fifth time that day and called out, "Godric's Hollow!"
As she came shooting out of the fireplace, she knew this was it. She was in living room with large windows, letting in lots of light. Lily looked outside and smiled to herself as she saw the garden that was currently frozen and covered in snow but she could just imagine it in the summer with fresh, green grass and large bushes full of exotic flowers. They'd sunbathe and under a sun umbrella would be a small pushchair with a little baby sleeping. Later, when their baby grew up they'd build a pool and spend their days outside, having picnics and swimming. Then, they're child would go to Hogwarts and they'd love it. She could picture every little bit and despite the circumstances in which James and her were getting married, she liked what she saw.
"Like it?" asked a soft voice in a whisper. Lily squirmed with the warm breath tickling her ear and turned. James was smiling down at her.
"I love it. This is so pretty!" She answered, grinning back.
"Shall we continue with the tour then?"
They turned around to see Mary-Anne smiling brightly.
"Oh, you'll love this one! Brilliant house, built just a few years ago. Very modern, muggle architectures and it's in a muggle area. The old owner's a wizard actually, moved away to Sussex just a couple of weeks ago. I'm afraid he didn't leave the furniture, but then again, I don't think that'll be much of a problem. Let's keep going then!"
The house was gorgeous. The kitchen was very pretty, with a marble surface and the modern appliances. The rooms were spacious, all painted in neutral colours with a simple design. It gave off this feeling of well-being and relaxation that Lily couldn't possibly explain. It was everywhere, all around her, almost as if omnipresent. It gave her the best feeling and she couldn't shake it off. She didn't want to.
When they finished looking around Lily was almost jumping with excitement. This was it. This was where she and James would live and have kids. It was all so perfect she forgot where she was, she forgot what was going around her and let her imagination get the better of her. How could she not?
"Right then, let's get down to business. The house in question is in Godric's Hollow and it's in a muggle area and costs 30,000 galleons. If you're willing to, you could purchase the house in a few days; I just need to get the proper paperwork down at the Ministry."
They were back in the Real Estate Agency, sitting in front of Mary-Anne's desk. She was smiling brightly at them, showing off her sparkly white teeth.
"That'd be great," James answered, smiling down at Lily.
"Alright then, just need you to sign some papers here so I can show at the Ministry. If you'd just read through and check it's OK and sign it, the house will be yours in under a week. How does that sound?"
"Brilliant! It was a really gorgeous house, we were lucky or someone else might have bought it," Lily replied.
"So, what did you think of the house?" James asked as they walked back to Hogwarts, hand in hand.
"It's gorgeous! And it's ours… or at least it will be. God, I'm so glad it's all going so well. I mean, imagine it all went terribly wrong and we couldn't find a nice house! I don't think I could stand the pressure."
James grinned at Lily's happiness. He too felt light and happy and like nothing could spoil this moment of perfection. He wanted to hug Lily and hold on to her forever.
After dinner and after telling their friends all about their day, James and Lily headed into the Heads' Common Room.
"Well, I guess I'll just go to bed then, had a long day!" Lily said grinning shyly.
"Yeah…" James muttered looking into Lily's eyes. He leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek but halfway through, he moved his head and his lips met Lily's. They kissed for a few moments before parting and Lily smiled gently and walked into her room, shutting the door quietly behind her, leaving an extremely pleased James Potter standing outside it.
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