A.N. I've had a pretty stressful week, what with exams and plotting evil revenge on an ex-boyfriend (not saying what; plausible deniability) so I apologise for the late chapter - but it gave you more time to read, favourite, review and alert to this story! You probably don't even read these Author's Notes, but if you do, a review would really speed up my writing, otherwise you're going to have to wait a little while for the next update (sorry)!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Previously: Remus got a job, where he met girlfriend Lydia Greengrass. Lydia and Remus kiss after their first date and Lydia invites Remus for dinner with her parents one night. Lydia is impatient that they are having to hide their relationship at work, and James and Lily are back!
Contact: satansbowtiedottumblrdotcom - replace dot with .
Enjoy =)
James and Lily found a house they liked just inside the centre of London, a twenty minute walk away from Kings Cross and the same distance from Sirius' flat. It was a nice, spacious house in the middle of a suburban area. They had a capacious back garden, which lead onto another sizeable back garden, and the house itself was as large as the back garden. It had five bedrooms spread out on the second and third floor. Harry's bedroom was across the hall from Lily and James' on the middle floor and had the view of the aforementioned garden. On the bottom floor was a nice and large kitchen which pleased Lily, with the Dining Room sharing the floor and the living room on the other side of the stair case with the downstairs bathroom and study.
Sirius suggested throwing a large house party. Lily declined.
They moved in a few days before Christmas and the Potter's were fortunate enough to spend Christmas Day in the new house. Lily and Remus had dedicated a day to decorating the house, with James and Sirius reluctantly stringing Muggle lights outside on the roof. But when the house was complete, James did have to admit that it looked rather nice. Sirius, on the other hand, commented that it looked 'as tacky as a Muggle grotto,' which earned a whack with the dishcloth from Lily.
On Boxing Day, Sirius and James spent the day in Diagon Alley shopping and selling Christmas Presents. If Sirius or James didn't like a gift, they would take it to a shop down Knockturn Alley and the shopkeeper would give them a reasonable price for their goods. The woman who owned it was a Slytherin in the year below the boys' and gave them 'mates rates' as the Muggle's called it.
"It's not too bad to know a Slytherin," Sirius remarked, shoving his galleons in his pocket. "And Andromeda sends me those trinkets every year for my Birthday and Christmas and I just don't have the heart to tell her I don't like them."
"No, I think you like gaining ten galleons every time you sell one of them."
"I got eight for that one," Sirius corrected, disheartened.
"Eight more galleons than you had this morning! You can buy the drinks in the Leaky Cauldron then."
"Oh, cheers Prongs."
The men emerged from Knockturn Alley and walked towards Gringotts and the shops that were located nearby. As if by ritual, both men stopped outside the Quidditch shop, and Sirius longingly sighed at the latest broom on offer.
"You're a dick for turning down Puddlemere, Prongs," Sirius informed for the umpteenth time.
"I'm a Canons fan; I couldn't play for the opposition."
"Yeah, but it'd mean you can play professional Quidditch, Prongs! Could you imagine the attention you'd draw?"
"I think I've drawn enough attention to myself for now, don't you?" Sirius didn't reply and muttered something instead. "You can always play for them; I'm sure they'd love to have an ex-Gryffindor player who got kicked off the squad when he was fourteen for smashing a guy's skull in."
"Not my proudest moment," Sirius admitted. "I was a bit of a dick back then."
"Nothing's changed."
Sirius gave out a fake hoot of laughter and the two men turned back up the street, towards the Leaky Cauldron when it started to rain. They just got into the pub as the first copious torrent of rain fell from the sky. The men took off their jackets and gave them a shake, hanging them on the coat rack to dry. They entered the bar and James called to Tom the Landlord for two pints of beer and Tom replied that he would bring them over, when Sirius put his arm out to stop James from walking any further.
"Look," commanded Sirius.
"What - oh."
Before them, in a booth sat close together, were Remus and who the two men could only assume was Lydia, nuzzled up together over lunch. James pulled Sirius back out of view and the two sat in a booth, two down from the amorous couple. Sirius was grinning ear to ear, standing up to get a better look.
"Are we going to spy on them?" Sirius suggested.
"No; we're not ten. We'll go and sit with them and introduce ourselves."
"La-me," Sirius sang. "I suggest we spy on them. Remus doesn't want us interrupting him and his 'Lady friend' otherwise he would have introduced us to her... She's very pretty, isn't she?"
James held up his left hand. "I'm a married man; I couldn't possibly comment."
"Well she is. She's very pretty - why didn't I have a shot at her at Hogwarts? Remus said she was in detention a lot of the time and described as rebellious - she sounded just perfect for past seventeen-year-old me!"
"She was with Crouch, remember?"
"Oh yeah, they were together for like... three years Remus said?" James nodded. "Let's go and meet her."
The men got out of their booth and pretended to have just strolled in from the rain and not have noticed Remus and Lydia. As soon as Remus spotted the men, however, his face contorted into one of disbelief. Lydia, however, looked delighted to be acquainted with his friends at last.
She was automatically pretty, and it didn't take long to realize that. She had straight, light brown hair which fell just past her shoulders and her hair was cut into a front fringe. She wore a soft cardigan, plaid skirt and smile on her face, and it broadened when the men approached.
"Sirius... James... What are you doing here?"
"We just came from Diagon Alley in the rain and saw you sat here!" Sirius defended innocently, sliding into the booth with Remus and Lydia. He sat opposite Lydia and grinned at her. "Sirius Black."
"Lydia Greengrass."
"Oh, I know; Moony here talks about you alot."
"Moony?" Lydia echoed with a laugh, and looked at her boyfriend. "Why does he call you that?"
"Nicknames from Hogwarts," James explained, joining Sirius in the booth. "James Potter."
"Nice to meet you," she smiled. "So... how long have you known Remus for?"
"Longer than you," Sirius said with a smile, "Moony, your wife called - and I don't think she'd be too pleased to find out that you're sat here having a lunch with a very attractive girl while your children go hungry and without their Father."
"I'm - I'm not married," Remus was quick to defend.
"No, you're divorced! Now I remember."
Lydia only laughed and took a sip of her drink. Remus, meanwhile, though it was evident that what Sirius said was a playful lie, shot Sirius a look that, if looks could kill, Sirius would be six feet under. "I don't keep in contact with any of my friends from Hogwarts anymore; I think it's nice that the three of you are still such good friends."
"Aw," Sirius gushed. "You're sweet! So why are you dating Moony-"
"-Sirius-"
"-when you could be dating someone a lot more attractive like... um... me?"
"I think Remus has a lot more to offer than you, Sirius Black."
"Oh really, Lydia Greengrass? Like what?"
"Monogamy, per say."
That stumped Sirius, and all he could do was glare at Lydia. "You're not the type of girl Remus normally goes for - ah beverages."
Tom arrived with drinks and James asked him to get Lydia and Remus another one, too, consequently paying for the round of drinks at the table. "Cheers!" James chirped, holding his glass up and the four clinked glasses. "So, what's it like to work for Remus, then?"
"Well, he's a great boss," she explained. "He's fair and hard-working."
Sirius muttered something in James' ear that was barely audible to James, let alone Remus and Lydia who sat quietly. In response, James grinned and cleared his throat. "So what are you doing for New Year, Lydia?"
Lydia looked at Remus. "Well, we haven't planned anything yet."
"What? You mean he hasn't invited you to James and Lily's New Year party?"
"What New Year party?" Lydia asked delightfully.
"New Year Party?" Remus echoed. "You never mentioned it to me."
"Yeah," James agreed. "What New Years Eve party Lily and I are planning?"
"Well, I've been thinking about it for the past few days, and you've got a lot of friends and a lot of people to invite round to your new house, so I thought: what Holiday is coming up soon and who throws the best house parties?"
"A party would be great!" Lydia exclaimed. "What time?"
"Nine."
"There's no party; Lily would never agree to this."
"Oh come onProngs! Lighten up! Lily would so agree to this! She loves parties and New Year! It's a great idea! Come on Prongs, please, please, please, please, please?"
"Yeah, come on Prongs!" Lydia united.
It was as if two five-year-olds were persuading James to throw a party, and not a twenty-two-year-old qualified man and a nineteen-year-old secretary, dating her boss. A chorus of 'please' passed through the pair and while Remus watched with amusement, James had to make the difficult decision as to whether he relented to throw a party without his wife's consent, or decline his best friend's and let them throw a party in his house anyway without him knowing.
"Okay, I'll throw a party." ("Yay!") "But the three of you have to help out with preparing food, decorating and hosting; you can't leave all the work to Lily; it's going to be hard enough to persuade her to throw one as it is, let alone convince her to cater and clean for it, as well. So agreed?"
"Yes!" Sirius said gleefully. "I'll be round with food and drink, I'll do the guest list and I'll-"
"-No," James said abruptly, "no absolutely not. Remus and Lydia can do the guest list. Not you."
"Why?" Sirius complained.
"Because the last party I had you planned the guest list and I distinctly remember my wife saying to you-" cue James' awful Lily impression. "Sirius Black! We do not know half of these people in my house! There are footballers and dancers and prostitutes!"
"In my defence... There were no dancers."
"No, I remember Candace," Remus recollected and then, with a look from Lydia, hastily added: "...because of the massive growth on her chin."
"Mhm... I believe you."
With that, she leaned up and pecked Remus on the lips. Sirius made a gagging noise and James stood up. "On that note, I ought to go and break the news to my wife that we're hosting a party in five days. Remus, do the guest list and Sirius, get the supplies and Lydia, it was nice meeting you."
"You too," smiled the pretty brunette.
"Good luck," wished Sirius. "You'll need it."
To whom he was wishing luck to (Lydia or James) was unbeknownst.
...
So James arrived home that afternoon after luncheon with Remus, Sirius and Lydia with a bouquet of flowers for his lovely wife, who was already preparing dinner in the kitchen with Harry sat in his high chair, slapping his hands on the orange plastic tray.
Lily had always been beautiful and possessed an air of elegance that, if you could not detect, was shamefully missed. But she was also unusual looking. She had long, vibrant red hair that swayed and swished as she walked. It was soft and always smelt of avocado shampoo that she used. James could memorise the sweet smell just by closing his eyes. The scent of Lily: perfume with a hint of avocado. It was bliss. And her eyes too: green: bright and shiny as emeralds and shaped like almonds. Harry had inherited her eyes - a lucky trait, James might add, and anyone could detect that he was her son, just by looking at the eyes, and as James studied the beauty before him, he couldn't help but remind him just how lucky he was (forgetting the past few months).
"Hello Lily dear," James cooed. "I brought you flowers."
He extracted the bouquet of roses from behind his back and Lily cocked her head to the side, studying him. "Roses? How ironic. Alright then James, what have you done this time?"
"Why must you think that I have done something wrong? Can't you just think, that in consequence to these past months, that I merely wished to spoil my wife and lavish her in beautiful scented roses, as beautiful as the flower stood before me?"
"I'm sorry James, I just thought..." She walked to him, kissed him on the lips and took the flowers. She turned her back to find a vase in the cupboard for the flowers, and when she pulled out a crystal vase, she saw the smirk on James' face, the look of mendaciousness. "What have you done this time?"
"I bumped into Moony in The Leaky Cauldron when I went out with Sirius," James informed as Lily turned on the faucet and began to fill up the vase with water.
"Hmh? And how was he?"
"Fine... Very fine actually; he was with his girlfriend."
That caught Lily's attention and she turned around. "Really? And what's she like?"
"She seems nice," James told her.
"And what has Lydia got to do with what you've done wrong?"
"Well," James began. "Sirius invited Lydia to the New Years Eve party that-we're-hosting-in –five-days. I hope that's okay."
She contemplated it for a moment, and instead of swatting James with the flowers like he expected, she nodded. "I think that's a great idea! We can invite everyone from our year and the Order of the Phoenix - have a little reunion! See out the old year and toast in a new and, hopefully better, new one! James that's fantastic!"
"Really? I thought you'd be against the whole idea after the Halloween party we agreed to host for Sirius the other year..."
"Just so long as Sirius gets no say in who's invited, then that's fine with me."
James broke out into a smile, moved round the work surface in the kitchen and hugged his wife. "I love you so much, you know?"
"Of course I know," she said, "how could I not?"
He gently kissed the side of Lily's neck. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
...
True to their word, Sirius and Remus arrived early to help with the party. Sirius had brought the alcohol (a lot of it), but had forgotten the food, and on a drastic errand from Lily, dashed to the shops to buy last-minute party food. Lily was cleaning the house with the assistance from her husband and Remus (who was nursing an ill head due to Full Moon being in four days) had gone to collect Lydia and take her to the Potters'.
When she arrived Remus lead her into the house. With her she brought a bottle of champagne and was briefly welcomed by James who, instead of dusting the lounge, sat with his feet up on the coffee table playing with Harry.
"Hey - you've got a real nice house, James," Lydia informed.
"Hullo Lydia," James sighed. "And I know. Will one of you hold Harry? I'll go and get the Mrs."
Lydia volunteered in taking sixteen-month-old out of James' arms. He dashed up the stairs and Lydia turned to her boyfriend. "I've only heard rumours, but the scar is pretty exceptional, wouldn't you say?"
"I'm used to it," Remus dismissed. "Muggles stare at him in the street, wondering what James and Lily do to him to get a scar like that."
Lydia laughed and kissed Harry on the cheek. "They don't know how wonderful you are? Do they, Darling? He's a big boy - how old is he?"
"Sixteen months," came Lily's voice from the hallway. She soon emerged, beaming at Lydia. "I'm Lily. Remus has told me a lot about you, Lydia!"
James rushed to Lydia's aid and took Harry off her, resulting in Lydia being open for a welcoming hug from Lily. From behind, Remus held up the bottle of liquor. "She brought champagne!"
"So did Padfoot - six bottles at least."
"Six bottles?" Lydia echoed, removing herself from Lily's warming hug. "This was almost five galleons!"
"You know Sirius: he thinks the Knight Bus at ten sickles is too expensive, but spending three hundred galleons equivalent in the Muggle world is a good price for seventy-four bottles of varied liquor."
"I resent that, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed, barging into the living room with a dramatic entrance, lots of bags of food flying behind him, which Lily, James, Remus and Lydia made it their business to retrieve and put in the kitchen. "It was seventy-two."
"No it wasn't; you drunk those two bottles of cider," Lily countered.
"It's good stuff," Sirius reasoned innocently, him making it nothis business to put the shopping away.
Once the shopping was cleared, Lydia was assigned by Lily to help with the preparation of the food. As it turned out, Lydia was very handy in the kitchen, but it still took a lot of time to cook, prepare and make the dishes Sirius had brought. While the men had cleared out to be somewhere else in the house (the living room, drinking alcohol no doubt) Lily had the opportunity to speak to Lydia alone.
"So what do you think to Remus then?" Lily asked.
"He's fantastic! He's so smart and handsome and he knows everything about everything!" She gushed like a fourteen-year-old might. "I think I love him."
Definitely like a fourteen-year-old. "That's... nice."
"What was he like in Hogwarts?"
"What do you mean?" Lydia repeated her question. "Oh... Well... Remus and I became good friends in fifth year when we were both Prefects. He's always been kind - you're right. The only one out of the four of them I could tolerate until sixth year."
"He's easy to talk to, isn't he?"
"I suppose he is."
"Did you? I mean... Did you two ever?"
Lily turned her head round to Lydia, who almost seemed nervous at the prospect. "No, we never did. I think I fancied him a bit in Second Year, though, but nothing more than that. He's a lovely bloke, don't get me wrong, but he's not always the best in expressing his feelings, is he?" Lydia made no comment. "Of course though, he might have changed since then. We all thought he was asexual until he finally got himself a girlfriend."
"I heard those rumours," Lydia recalled. "Has he ever... you know?"
"Had sex?" Lydia nodded. "Yeah, with his ex-girlfriend that is – I remember Sirius announcing it to the Common Room one evening. Why?"
She shrugged. "How - how long were they together?"
"Oh... um..." Lily tried to recall how long Remus and his ex-girlfriend (Lily couldn't even remember her name) were together for. Lily was curious, at first, as to why Lydia was so interested in Remus' sexual past, but then she caught on. "You two... you haven't done anything yet, have you?"
"We've done... stuff," Lydia blushed.
"Like..." She implied.
Lydia shook her head. "No."
"No?"
"No." She was shocked and Lydia nodded, almost embarrassed. "You must have remembered me in Hogwarts or at least heard rumours?" Lily nodded; she'd recalled rumours about Lydia a couple of nights ago with James. "Well they're all true."
"All of them?"
"Yes," she shamefully admitted.
"Even the one where you and Shacklebolt and McMillan had sex together?" She nodded. "And anal with Charlie Cooper?" Again, she nodded. "And the one with Professor Slughorn-"
"-Merlin no," Lydia laughed. "I wouldn't go that far, contrary to popular belief. I was a slut back then, I'll admit it. It never occurred to me, in a thousand yearsthat I would consider having a long-term partner who I liked so much I wasn't overly bothered about not having sex with." Lily cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, yes I'm bothered, but not as much as I thought I would be. I never thought I'd be one for... monogamy."
"There's nothing wrong with craving sex," Lily said, "trust me, when James and I first started dating, he and I-"
Lydia held up her hand. "Please don't go into detail."
"You're only nineteen, Lydia; your world doesn't revolve around sex. Granted, a lot of people your age are out and having sex, but you've grown up since then and you had that phase remarkably young, I might add. Now you're ready to settle down with Remus and make love when the time is right and it happens. You are going to wait, aren't you?"
"Of course."
"Because I can't stand the thought that someone he cares about so much like you would leave him because there's a lack of sex involved."
"I wouldn't," she defended. "I like Remus - a lot; he's the only boyfriend I've ever not cheated on."
Lily pursed her lips. "That's...nice. You probably shouldn't tell him that, though. Just give it time. I'm sure Remus wants the same things you do, but is just too nervous to ask you for it in case he feels you're not ready or being pressured."
"You think so?"
"I do. Now, can you whisk the eggs in the bowl for me, please?"
...
The three guests went home one hour before the party was due to start and returned fifteen minutes early. Each of them wore fresh clothes but when they arrived, Lily was still getting ready. James and Harry were resting on the sofa and James was loudly complaining (in hope Lily could hear) how long his wife took to get ready. Remus was going to comment on Lydia's length of time, but she shot him a look and went to join Sirius at the drinks table.
"What are you having to drink then? Let me guess: a glass of white wine?"
"I don't like wine," she replied. "Too strong... Hmh... Just a vodka and diet coke."
"Vodka and coke?"
"Diet coke. Please."
Sirius passed her a can of diet coke and vodka. "I'm not making it for you - but why would you want diet? It's horrible."
She popped the lid off the can. "Unnecessary calories."
In response, Sirius pulled a face of disgust. "You girls and your calorie counting and dieting - it makes no sense! You've all got a pair of tits. Fat or not, I'd sleep with you."
"What a lovely and honest response," Lydia declared. "But there's no way you'd sleep with a fat bird."
"Really? Care to make a bet on that?"
Lydia eyed him sceptically. "What's the bet?"
"That I can pull the fattest bird in the room tonight."
"No; that's mean."
"If I lose - which is highly unlikely given my motivation and devilish good looks - then you have to make out with the oldest man in the room."
"No way; I'm dating your best friend!"
Sirius turned to Remus and called at him across the room: "Oi Moony, you won't mind if your girlfriend makes out with another bloke, would you?"
"Yes," said Remus and Lydia gave Sirius an I-Told-You-So-Look. "Out of curiosity, Lydia, why are you planning on making out with another bloke?
"I'm not," she remarked, leaving Sirius at the table and sitting next to Remus on the sofa instead. "He wants me to make a bet with him that he can shag the fattest girl in the room."
"Ooh - I think Lily's sister's coming and she's pretty fat - I'll ask her," James ran out the room and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "HEY LIL?"
Silence, until. "WHAT?"
"IS YOUR SISTER FAT?"
From the living room, there was laughter, and from the stairway came footsteps. "No, you met Petunia at her wedding - she's as thin as a stick."
"Who was the fat one then?"
"Vernon's Sister Marge."
"Oh," James realised. "Oh, she's not coming, is she?"
"No, and neither is Petunia."
"Haven't you invited your sister?" Lydia asked, surprised.
"I haven't spoken to her," Lily explained.
"Why?"
"It's complicated," Lily frowned.
"Can I tell the story?" Sirius asked eagerly, and did so, without Lily's permission. "You see, Lily's Muggleborn and Petunia was jealous of her when she became a Witch and Petunia didn't."
"I know that we'll resolve things eventually," Lily added. "But as for now... I just want to give her some time and space to calm down. I don't want to give her any more opportunity to hate me more than she already does."
"And I thought I had sibling problems," Sirius yawned. "Come on; let's not bum the party out before it's already begun!" There was a knock on the door and Sirius jumped in delight. "I think I hear guests!"
...
Soon, the house began to fill out and the trays of food, too. Lily tried her best not to worry about stains on the carpet or scuffs on the wall, but it was nearly impossible not to. A lot of the people in her house she didn't know, and a lot of them, most likely, were Witches and Wizards who had caught the information that the Potter's were throwing a party and wanted to catch a sight of the infamous Harry Potter. But sadly, for them, Harry was asleep in his bedroom with a lock on the door that no one but James or Lily could penetrate (so they hoped)...
James and Lily spent the night by each other's side, and it was the same for Lydia and Remus. Sirius, however, was at many different girls' sides all night, and because of the failed bet with Lydia, he did not associate with any fat ones.
The countdown to midnight came quickly, and with only five minutes left, the rush for partners for the Midnight Kiss began to get more hectic. Sirius had already found his partner for the Midnight Kiss: Lily's cousin Maria, who, despite Lily's pleas for Sirius not to make out with, they currently resided in James and Lily's bed, unknown to them.
"Happy New Year," James said, with only thirty seconds to go, "this has been a pretty shit one."
Lily thought to scold him on his language, but decided against it. "Agreed."
"Well here's to a new one," James said, toasting his glass with Lily. "Happy New Year, my darling."
"Happy New Year, James."
They kissed each other passionately for almost three minutes as cheers, applause and the sound of kissing erupted all around them. James and Lily broke their embrace, and they were not the last.
Other to the other side of the room, Lydia and Remus were still kissing. Five minutes (almost) past until they broke up, their faces still close together, Lydia holding onto Remus' tie, Remus holding Lydia's hip. As they gazed into each other's eyes, Lydia thought to ask Remus what she wanted most from him at that point.
"I thought, to break in the New Years, shall we go to your place or mine?"
Remus bit his lip and kissed Lydia again. "Grab your coat, we're going to mine."
Forgot to do this last chapter - sorry guys! But here are some answers to your reviews!
smiling-is-my-favorite-pastime -thanks! I read the first bit of your review and I thought it was going to be critical - but I was so pleased that they weren't!
the-sparky-scribblings -I suppose having forty days to get used to the fact that they were put in a coma would calm their nerves a bit and nonchalant: love that word.
Reviews are better than ordering 13 anchovy pizzas to an ex-boyfriend's house when he's allergic to anchovies and still having to buy them =)
