James and the Baby-Sitter
By LilyHeartsJames
Summary: When Lily has to baby-sit for the Potters she never expects to fall for their eldest son. But how long can she resist the charming James Potter?
Disclaimer: Obviously I'm not JK Rowling because I'm LilyHeartsJames. Therefore I don't own Harry Potter… sadly! :(
Dedication: To all my friends at school. They would have been very lonely at school since I haven't been there (I got Glandular Fever again) :( Thanks to them I wasn't behind very much on my work, I got most of it all done :)
Notes: Yes I recently suffered from Glandular Fever for the second time so I haven't been to the library in AGES to check my mail; I was crook so I didn't want to make anyone else sick too and I couldn't find the energy to go there. And I haven't written another chapter because I was busy with my school work (I have exams coming up next week) and I was trying to get better. So thankfully I had a faster recovery compared to the first time and hopefully after this time it goes away for good. Sorry about making you guys wait and thanks for reading and reviewing ;)
Chapter Ten
James' eyes opened slowly and he squinted around the room tiredly. His bed seemed a lot taller than usual. Normally he'd be laying on it. Instead he was lying in his red sleeping bag... and that was when he remembered he had slept on the floor. He quickly sat up upon remembering Lily and looked towards his bed but found it empty. He frowned as he sat up and found a note lying on his bed. The note said:
James,
Thanks for letting me stay but I need to get back before dad finds out I'm gone. I really appreciate this, you're a good friend. I'll see you later.
Love Lily
P.S. Enjoy your shower ;)
James shook his head as he remembered admitting his secret to her the night before and his cheeks went a slight tinge of red.
"Merlin I can't believe I told her... both things! She so owes me another secret" he murmured as he slipped a pair of trackies on and made his way downstairs. He entered the kitchen where his mother was making a coffee and he yawned.
"Morning" he mumbled and she looked up at him.
"Sleep well?" she asked and he shrugged.
"It was alright, I guess. Not too bad" he said sitting at the table.
"Sleeping on the floor wouldn't be that comfortable" she said, her eyes boring into his.
James stared at her and then she said; "Lily would have been comfortable".
He sighed. "Mum it's not what you think. I went to see her last night; I wanted to make sure she was okay. Keeping that secret from her family was driving her insane and I knew she-"
"You knew? She told you?" Katherine interrupted and James sighed once more.
"Yeah, she did. She was upset one day because she and Sirius had a little blew and I followed her and she told me. It was hard for her to do that but she trusted me and I talked to her for a bit about it. She really was just looking out for her family".
Katherine nodded and she too sat at the table across from James.
"I know that. Lily's a nice girl; if she wasn't trying to protect her family then she wouldn't be here. She got this job for them. But James, you should have asked first before allowing her to stay last night" his mother said and he nodded.
"I know, I'm sorry. I just didn't think you'd let her. She needed to get away from there, I was just trying to help out a friend" he told her and she smiled at him.
"You remind me so much of your father. He would have done the same thing" she said and he shrugged.
"It seemed like the decent thing to do" he said looking at the table.
"Have you heard from dad?" he asked and she nodded.
"He owled me this morning, he's calling tonight" she said and he nodded.
"I'm sorry I didn't ask. If there's ever a case like that again-"
"She's welcome here. But in the guest room" she said and he frowned.
"That's Sirius' room" he said and she nodded.
"I'm sure Sirius wouldn't mind-"
"I can't believe you're putting Lily in his bed. That's grose" he said and she sat there deep in thought.
"I wouldn't stay in his bed even if the sheets were changed" he added.
"Well Jessie can stay in my bed with me then and Lily can have her room. I'd best call her father and ask, I don't think the answer will be positive if she asked" James' mother said with a small smile and James nodded.
"She left before I woke up; she said thank you and she'd see us later" he said and Katherine smiled.
"I'd best get ready for work then; I left the toaster out for you" she said draining her cup and washing it out in the sink. She kissed the top of his head and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
Lily quickly pushed herself in through the window and closed it very slowly. She made her way slowly over to her bed and hopped in, making sure her back was facing the door. She was lying there for about three minutes when she heard a small knock on the door.
"Lily" her father said softly and she closed her eyes and waited for him to tap her lightly on the shoulder before opening her eyes gradually and squinted up at him.
"Hi" she said quietly and he sat beside her.
"I'm sorry I got upset with you last night, but you have to understand it from my view. I-"
"I do, dad I really do. I get why it made you upset and disappointed in me and I'm sorry. I just, I thought I was protecting you and Petunia from being hurt again. I missed you and I really liked having my dad back. We were just starting to feel like a family again" she said softly.
He nodded. "I understand that now. In future you don't have to do things on your own. We're a family and from now on we deal with things like that together, no matter what" he said smiling at her.
Lily smiled back at him.
"I love you, dad".
"I love you too, Hun" he said kissing her forehead and then he got up and made his way over to the door.
"By the way, you're un-grounded. But just remember in future-"
"Not to handle that sort of stuff on my own" she said and he nodded.
"Exactly. Now you'd better get up. You've got a job. I'm going to need to borrow the car today, I have a job interview. I was going to tell you last night but it didn't quite fit the moment" he said and she sat up and grinned at him.
"Dad that's great! I'm really proud of you" she said with a smile.
The phone began ringing and he sighed. "Thanks sweetie" he said before leaving the room. Lily pushed the quilt off of her legs and made her way over to her cupboard and pulled out a pair of light grey skinny leg jeans, a light blue long sleeved shirt with a hood attached to it and some bras and knickers and got changed into them. She then went into the bathroom and magically gave her hair some slight curls and then brushed her teeth before putting on some mascara and lip gloss. She went back into her bedroom and pulled out her black jacket that was nice and warm. It had a hood attached to the back of it and Lily made sure her blue hood was tucked inside and pulled it on and buttoned it up. The second it was on she felt instant warmth.
She pulled on a pair of long black boots and zipped them up and put a grey beanie on top of her head before grabbing her wallet from her bedside table. She was about to leave when her owl, Flick, suddenly tapped on the window causing her to jump. He held a frog in his beak and she hurried over and opened the window and he soared into the room and flew on top of the cupboard.
"Oh Flick, you gave me a fright" she said shaking her head at him. He just clicked his beak and began devouring his frog happily and Lily smiled and headed down the stairs.
Her father was still on the phone and he laughed and then when he noticed Lily he said; "Well I'll just bring her over now, I'm borrowing her car today so we shouldn't be long. Thanks Katherine, bye" he said and hung up.
Lily raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's going on?"
"You're staying at the Potter's tonight. That was Mrs. Potter, she said they're going dress shopping for a friend's wedding and apparently you're going with James. Do you need money?"
Lily glanced at the jar on the fridge and saw that it was close to being empty.
"No thanks dad, I'm fine. But thanks anyway. I'm going to go pack a bag" she said heading back up the stairs. She sighed as she began putting some clothes and pajamas into a duffel bag and looked around the room for anything else. She saw her sketch book and decided to bring it along with her; she was going to make James and Sirius let her draw them.
She put that and her pencil set in with her clothes and zipped the bag and then carried it down the stairs and over to her father who was sitting at the table.
"All set?" he asked and she nodded, feeling her pocket for her wand.
"No... I er... Forgot something" she said racing back upstairs for it. She grabbed it out of her draw and pocketed it and then went back down.
"Okay, now I am" she announced and her father stood up and picked up her bag.
"Let's go, pumpkin" he said and she glared at him and he gave her a cheeky smile.
"Daaaaaad! You know I hate that name" she said and he nodded.
"I know that" he said smiling and grabbed the keys off the bench and left a note for Petunia. He then carried Lily's bag out to the car, ignoring her protests and they got in and reversed out and drove to the Potter's.
When they arrived Lily's father whistled slowly.
"Wow, now I see why you like to baby-sit here" he said and Lily rolled her eyes.
"That's not what it's about, dad" she said and he chuckled.
"I know, I know. I'm just stirring you. Have a good time, Lily" he said kissing her cheek.
"Bye dad, good luck today" she said kissing his cheek and hopped out and grabbed her bag out of the boot and he zoomed away.
She walked up to the door and knocked and the door was flung open immediately by Sirius.
"Hiya Lil! How's it going?" he asked taking her bag and allowing her inside.
Lily smiled. "Great! I'm officially un-grounded" she said with a grin and Sirius beamed.
"Excellent! I was worried you couldn't come to the wedding, or come over here at all" he said and Lily shrugged.
"Dad would have still let me come, but we sort of had a mutual understanding and it was all good after that" she said and they walked into the kitchen where the rest of the Potters were sitting.
"Hi Lily!" everyone chorused and she waved.
"Hi" she replied and Mrs. Potter stood up and walked over to her.
"How are you?" she asked and Lily repeated what she told Sirius.
"That's good news. I'll show you where you're staying" she told her and Sirius gave Lily the bag and they made their way upstairs.
"You're staying in Jessie's room, she's staying in my bed with me" Katherine said and Lily smiled.
"Okay, thank you. Um... Mrs. Potter I need to tell you something-"
"It's alright, Lily I know. You're welcome to stay any time you like. We're all family here" she said with a smile and Lily sighed.
"Thank you that means a lot to me" Lily replied and they sat her bag in Jessie's room and closed the door.
Mrs. Potter suddenly pulled her into a hug.
"I'm here for you Lily, if you need anything. Anything at all" she said with a warm smile and Lily smiled back.
"Same here" she said and Mrs. Potter shrugged.
"You're already helping me out enough as it is" she said as they walked down the stairs.
"I like to" Lily replied happily.
"And I'm sorry I've been so stressed out lately, Lily. I've been missing David" she said and Lily nodded.
"That's completely understandable. How is he?" she asked and Mrs. Potter sighed.
"He's fine. He's calling us tonight which the kids are looking forward to. He asked me to thank you for helping us out" she said and Lily shrugged.
"There's no need. You're both very welcome" she answered and they entered the kitchen. Jessie was sitting on James' lap talking a mile a minute and Lily caught Aaron's eye and he gave her a small smile which Lily returned.
"So what do you guys want to do today?" Lily asked and they all shrugged and Mrs. Potter smiled.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. I'll see you all tonight" she said and turned left and disappeared into thin air.
"I want to paint a picture" Jessie said and Lily thought she could seize the opportunity.
"Why don't we do a picture of James and Sirius?"
"Yeah!" Jessie said and hopped off James' lap and ran upstairs.
"What? No, Lily I don't think-"
"I'm going to go do my hair" Sirius said flicking it and headed off upstairs.
James sighed.
"Is this necessary?" he asked and Lily nodded.
"You bet" she said and Aaron stood up.
"Lily can I fly my broom?" he asked and Lily nodded.
"Sure, just not too high or the neighbours will see you" she said and he walked outside and Lily stood there thoughtfully.
"I think we should all go outside" she said and James nodded.
"Sounds like a good idea. You owe me a secret by the way" he added and Lily frowned at him.
"I do not" she replied and he nodded.
"Yes you do, I gave you two. The v-word one was a secret too" he said and a sign of recognition came across her face.
"Hmmm... I'll think of one" she said with a smile and he grinned.
Jessie came bursting into the room in a horizontal stripey blue and white shirt, black pants and a red barrette.
"I'm ready to paint" she said and Lily organized some paints for her outside. She then went back upstairs and grabbed her sketch book and pencils and passed Sirius in the bathroom who was making his hair shiny.
"Come on pretty boy, your hair's fine" she said and he chuckled and walked outside with her.
Lily set her drawing pad on the table and asked Sirius and James to sit across from her and Jessie who was already doing finger prints around the border.
"This is fun" Jessie said as she grabbed a brush and began putting some black messy hair onto her paper.
Lily smiled and then focused on her own and began drawing the outlines of the two boys. She then began adding more detail as Jessie dotted James and Sirius' eyes. Jessie then added what looked like Aaron flying around in the background and Lily smiled as she dated and signed at the bottom and Jessie gave her a confused sideways look.
"Why do you do that?" she asked and Lily shrugged.
"So you can prove it really is your work" she said and Jessie smiled and did the same.
"It's a masterpiece!" she said and they all laughed as she held it up for them to look at.
It was a very cute picture; James and Sirius were two stick figures with dots for eyes and Sirius' hair was very straight and James' was very messy.
"It looks like a Picasso painting" James said and Lily giggled whereas Sirius and Jessie just looked confused.
"Pablo Picasso is a famous artist. He did kind of abstract artworks" Lily informed them and they only looked more confused.
"Never mind" Lily said and Sirius shrugged.
"I feel like a banana" he said getting up.
"Anyone else?"
"Yeah alright" James said and Jessie claimed that she wanted a drink so she and Sirius both went inside.
"That's a great drawing" James commented and Lily blushed bright red.
"Thank you. You're a good subject" she said and he smirked.
"Thanks I guess. How long have you been drawing?"
Lily frowned as she tried to remember.
"Since I was thirteen... Or fourteen" she said and he nodded.
"You're an artist. If being a Healer doesn't work out you could be an artist" he said and her face went a darker shade of red.
"We'll see. Is your dad an Auror?" she asked and he nodded.
"The best. Well next to Moody and this new guy they've got, Kingsley Shacklebolt. They're really good. Moody's a bit well... They call him Mad Eye. That's because he lost his eye in a battle so he has this fake one that's really cool, it's magical. It can see through lots of stuff. Dad says he's gone a bit... Insane. Not really literally but he's pretty paranoid but he's at the top of his game. He's put a lot of bad people away, made some enemies though. And Kingsley, he's great. He's dad's right hand man at the moment they're away on business together. Kingsley comes around here for dinner sometimes and he and dad entertain us with lots of stories. And they have quite a few. Kingsley's only started out nine months ago but already he's awesome. And dad, he loves his job. He loves being able to make bad wizards pay for what they've done. He believes in justice. This one guy killed a little girl a few months back because her parents refused to join Voldemort's... crew. So when the three year old kid was outside playing he killed her. It was over before anyone could even think to stop it. But anyway dad caught up with him and now he's behind bars" James said and Lily grinned. With every word he spoke his eyes lit up and he seemed to not notice that he'd talked for five minutes straight while she sat there and listened.
"You really... know lots of stuff" Lily said and James laughed.
"Sorry, I can get a bit carried away. I've wanted to be an Auror just like dad since I was eight. It was a 'bring your kids to work day' and someone broke in and I watched as dad chased him down the hallway and they were throwing spells back at one another and I followed him. I was just a kid, I really wanted to watch my dad and then I saw two of them had him cornered so I ran up to them saying; "Leave my dad alone!" and they looked at me and I was so close to being killed right then. The guy was halfway through saying the killing curse when dad shoved him out of the way and it ricocheted off the wall and hit the other Death Eater. Dad stunned the other one and turned to me and said; "One day you're going to be the greatest Auror this world's ever seen" and I just stood there and looked at him with this little glint in my eye. Dad's my hero, he's everything to me" James said and Lily shook her head at him.
"That's a bit cute, James" she said and he blushed.
"Hey Prongs! Do you guys want a drink?" Sirius called out and James and Lily nodded.
"Yeah, why not?" James replied and then Aaron called out for one too so James yelled out to Sirius to get one for Aaron as well.
"So why do you want to be a Healer?" James asked and Lily shrugged.
"I've always been interested in healing people. Like, making them feel better. Even if it's just emotionally you know? Helping their day be a better one type of thing but I also like physically making people better" she said and he smiled.
"Well if I ever get hurt on the job I'll just ask for you especially" James said with a wink and Lily nodded.
"I think I could handle that. Just don't get injured too badly" she answered and he shrugged.
"I'll try not too but I can't make any promises" he said and she smiled.
"That's good enough, I'll take that".
Sirius and Jessie came out and Sirius was conducting the drinks floating along in the air with his wand and sat them on the table. Aaron flew down onto the ground and hopped off his broomstick and ran over to the table with it over his shoulder. He sat it on the grass and sat beside James and basically gulped down his drink and sighed.
"Thanks" he said and Lily frowned.
"Is flying around on a broom really hard work? I don't imagine it would be" she said and James, Sirius and Aaron gaped at her.
"Flying around on a broom takes a lot of strength! You've got to be able to hold your balance, show no fear when telling it 'up' like in the lessons in first year, you've got to be able to fly around without crashing into things and you need to know how to control the broom!" Sirius practically yelled and Lily looked taken aback.
Sirius breathed heavily, his breath coming out in huffs and James gave him a weird look.
"I thought what she said was pretty dodgy too but I wouldn't get that worked up mate" James told him and Sirius sighed.
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry Lily" Sirius murmured and she nodded.
"Its fine" she answered slowly, watching him closely.
Sirius looked at her and smiled.
"But Lily, seriously. Flying isn't just a sport. It's a lifestyle" he said making everyone at the table snigger. Jessie scratched her head and gave him a puzzled look.
"You guys, I'm serious! Flying is very important- Oh! You all suck!" he said as they all began laughing even louder and he crossed his arms and pouted.
"I'm going to Sera's. She appreciates my opinions" he said standing up and Apparating away.
Lily was the first to stop laughing and sighed.
"She'll make him feel better" she said and James groaned.
"She'll take his temperature and make him rest up in her bed with a washer on his head won't she?" Jessie asked and James and Lily stared at her.
"Of course she will! Sirius will be happy and better in no time" Lily said with a reassuring smile.
"I want to go to the park" Aaron said and Lily looked at James.
"That could be fun" she said and he nodded.
"Sure! Go get changed into some other clothes Jess" he said and she got up and hurried into the house and Lily closed her drawing pad.
"Are you going to bring your skateboard, dude?" James asked and Aaron nodded.
"I have to ride it somewhere, I'm not allowed to inside" he said and James nodded.
"It's a bit dangerous, Aaron. Mum's right to not let you do that" James said with a shrug.
Aaron snorted. "Says you, you get that many letters sent home for being out late at Hogwarts. And a few times you've been caught in the Forbidden Forest" he said and James opened and closed his mouth, flabbergasted.
"That is... irrelevant. Go put your broom away and grab your skateboard" James replied and Aaron got up giving his brother a satisfied smirk and hurried away over to the broom shed with his broomstick.
James sighed.
"Children are so hectic" he mumbled and Lily chuckled.
"At least you're not a baby-sitter. Trust me I've had to deal with kids a lot worse than these two" she said and he smiled.
"I feel for you, I really do" he said as they got up and cleaned the table and made their way inside.
"Jessie! Are you ready?" James called up the stairs and she came running down with Cindy Jane in tow. She was now wearing blue denim overalls and a short sleeved orange t-shirt. Her hair was in two messy pony tails and she grinned at them as she jumped the last two steps and fell on her knees.
"OW!" she yelled as she sat up and began sobbing.
"I w-want mum-mummy!" she wailed and Lily walked over and sat her on the bottom step.
"Shhh, it's alright Jess. Show us your knees" she said lifting her pants past her knees and they had a scrape on each knee.
"We can disinfect those and put some really cool bandaids on them" she said taking her into the kitchen. She sat her on the bench and James walked in behind her.
"Why is it that they always hurt themselves when you're around?"
Lily looked at him as she wiped disinfectant over Jessie's left knee and she winced.
"They know I'm a Healer in the making so they save it all for me to look after. Plus I don't think you could handle it" she said and James glared at her and she poked out her tongue at him.
"I could too. Once, Remus scratched Sirius' finger and Peter feinted so I had to deal with it. Then I put a pretty purple pygmy puff bandaid on him" James said and Lily chuckled.
"Why did Remus do that?"
James froze.
"Er... Time of the month?"
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Remus is a boy, he doesn't get that" she answered and James laughed nervously.
"You'd be surprised... How do you know Remus is a boy?"
Lily shrugged.
"Well I assume he is... There'd be something wrong if he wasn't" she said wiping disinfectant onto Jessie's other knee.
"Ouch" she mumbled and Lily smiled at her.
"I'm sorry Jess, I forgot to mention it might hurt a bit" she said and Jessie shrugged.
"James could you please get me two bandaids?"
James sighed and hopped off the chair he was sitting on and walked out of the kitchen calling out to his brother.
Aaron hurried into the kitchen and saw Jessie on the bench.
"What happened to you?" he asked stealing James' chair.
"I fell over" she said sadly and Lily ruffled her hair.
"You'll be fine, it's not life-threatening" she said and Jessie gave her a small smile.
"Here's the bandaids" James sang walking back over to her. He passed her the box and Lily gave Jessie the choice of a pygmy puff or a hippogriff.
"Both" she said and Lily put the pygmy puff on the left and the hippogriff on the right.
"Can we go now?" Aaron asked and Lily nodded and helped Jessie off the bench.
"Let's skiddadle" James said and Jessie giggled as he took hold of her hand and they closed and locked the front door.
"Uhuh. I miss you too Daddy" Jessie said into the telephone later that night.
"Yes... Really? So that's 21 sleeps... That's a long time" she mumbled sadly.
"Wow! That's cool! I'll let Aaron talk now. Bye Daddy, I love you" she said blowing a kiss into the phone and passed it to her brother.
"Hi... Good. Are you getting lots of baddies?"
Lily chuckled as Aaron stood there next to the phone and Jessie stood on the chair and leaned over trying to listen to their conversation.
"I really thought Sirius would have been home by now..." James said and Lily hinted disappointment in his voice.
That was when the door opened and Sirius came walking in holding Sera's hand.
"Sera, this is Lily. Lily this is Sera" he said and Lily smiled and waved.
"Hi, how are you?"
Sera shrugged.
"I've been listening to him whine all day" she said and James smirked.
"Not feeling the best then?" he asked and she shook her head.
"I feel like Pizza" Sirius said and James' eyes lit up.
"Yes... Yes I'm feeling it too... Lily, did you bring the automobile?"
Lily rolled her eyes.
"My dad had a job interview today so he dropped me off and took it with him" she said and he sighed.
"It looks like we're walking" he said and Lily raised her eyebrows.
"We?"
James grinned at her and took the phone that his little brother was holding out to him.
"Hey dad... Yeah I'm great; we're just debating over pizza... Yeah, Lily and I are going to have to get it though, they don't do deliveries on Monday nights..." James looked away from the phone at Lily.
"He says hi" he said and Lily smiled and told him to say "hi" back.
"We haven't decided yet. So three weeks?... That's great news. Mum misses you... Yeah so do I, it's just really obvious she's feeling lonely... She's taking the day off so we can go shopping for Peter's mum's wedding... Yeah, they're looking at dresses and Sirius, Aaron and I have the excruciating pain of having to wear dress robes..."
Lily laughed at the face Sirius pulled and James looked back and his face returned to normal.
"Let's discuss toppings" Sirius said grabbing both Lily and Sera's hands and pulling them into the kitchen.
"I want-"
"I want cheesy! Really, really cheesy!" Jessie exclaimed and Sirius frowned at her.
"I was thinking of Supreme... But you won't eat everything on it. Maybe supreme for the boys, and the girls?"
"Hawaiian... With lots of cheese" Lily said and Sera gasped.
"I was totally going to say that!" she said and Lily chuckled.
"Hawaiian it is then... and two Supremes" Sirius said rubbing his stomach.
"Two?"
"Yeah, one for me and one for James. We're growing boys, not anorexic chicks" he said and earned two slaps, one from Sera and the other from Lily. Upon seeing this, Jessie said; "MY TURN!" and Sirius bent down and she tapped him on the face.
"Thanks Jess, at least you're nice enough to do it softly" he said rubbing his cheek.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"You so deserved it and you know it" she said and he shrugged.
"PADFOOT! Dad wants to talk to you!" James called and Sirius skipped out of the room and James walked in.
"So pizza? Any decisions?" he asked rubbing his hands together.
"Two Supremes, one for you and one for Sirius and a Hawaiian with extra cheese for us four" Lily informed him and he nodded and grabbed some money from a drawer in the kitchen.
"Alrighty, jot that down and we'll get going" he said and Sera passed Lily a pad and a pen and she scribbled it down.
They said goodbye and made their way out of the house and along the sidewalk.
"Are you warm enough?" he asked and she nodded.
"I'm fine, I have my jacket" she said pulling it tighter and he smiled.
"It looks great on you".
Lily blushed.
"So... Do you want a secret?"
James nodded. "You bet".
"Aaron smiled at me today and it made my day so much better, even better than it already was. When I first started here I sort of... I felt like he hated me and getting to know him and seeing him smile at me makes me so happy. I'm just glad it's not weird with us anymore" she said and James noticed a big grin on her face which began creeping onto his own face.
"I'm glad for that; it makes it easier for us. We don't have to hear him saying you're going to up and leave every day" he said and she chuckled.
"I'm not going anywhere, unless you want me to. But I guess I've only got a few weeks left here anyway..."
The smile slipped off her face and James frowned at her.
"What makes you think that?"
She sighed.
"Well your dad's coming back, so your mum won't have to go to work anymore so you guys won't be needing me" she said sadly and James stopped her.
"Hey, you listen to me. Mum's going to stay at work until we all go back to Hogwarts, she doesn't want you to leave just because dad's coming back. I don't ever want you to feel like we don't need you around anymore, you aren't going anywhere" he said and her eyes glistened with tears.
"Really? Because I really want to stay with you, you guys mean a lot to me" she said as tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Hey, hey come here. Its okay, you weirdo. You're staying and that's that" he said and pulled her into a tight hug and her chin rested perfectly against his neck. He closed his eyes as her breath hit his neck and rubbed her back soothingly. She pulled back and kissed his cheek and he smiled at her.
"Thank you, James. I'm sorry, I always cry when you're around. I hate you seeing me like this" she whispered and he laughed.
"I don't mind, I'm just glad I can help" he said giving her a wink.
She smiled and noticed his eyes glance at her lips and then quickly look back at her eyes and she began walking again and he caught up with her.
"So are you excited for tomorrow?"
Lily nodded happily and said; "I can't wait to see you in dress robes, really frilly ones" she said smirking and he glared at her.
"You promised that you wouldn't laugh at me..." he said and Lily nodded.
"I did but you said at the wedding. You didn't say I couldn't before that" she said and he shook his head at her.
"Fine then, you can laugh tomorrow but if I hear one giggle..." he trailed off and let her imagine what he'd do to her if she did.
"Tell me a secret" Lily said with a smile.
"Ha! I told you two last night. You tell me one" he exclaimed and Lily shook her head.
"I don't think so, I went first last night so it's your turn again, James".
He sighed loudly and then looked at her.
"You looked really nice last night. I mean, you always look nice don't get me wrong it's just that you looked... a lot more dressed up last night. You were pretty" he said blushing insanely and in turn Lily's face went red as well.
"Um... thank you. It was Alice's shirt, she let me keep it" Lily said not meeting his eyes.
"It suited your eyes" he said and Lily chuckled.
"You thought I looked sexy" she said and he smiled at her.
"I wasn't lying" he said making her face go even darker.
"Look at you, all embarrassed" he said and Lily pushed him.
"Stop or I'll punch you" she answered and he stood still and raised his arms.
"Go on, try it" he said and she shook her head.
"I'm not doing it" she said and he grinned.
"Do it, do it, do it" he chanted and Lily shook her head once more.
"No, I don't want to hurt you" she said and he lunged at her, grabbing her from behind and holding her close to him.
"Hurt me? Ha! I'd like to see that" he said and she tried to twist out of the hold but he was too strong.
"Alright, alright you win! You win" she giggled and he released her and she turned to him.
"You're a meanie" she said and he smiled at her.
"Nawww poor wittle Lily" he said and she poked her tongue out at him.
"Tell me a secret now" he added and she raised her eyebrows at him.
"After you were being mean? I don't think so" she said and he sighed.
"I'll buy you a Chocolate Bavarian" he promised and she grinned.
"Well now you say that it changes everything" she said and he nodded happily.
"Great, so secret then?"
"Um... I liked that your mum was okay about me staying. I actually thought she'd be annoyed at me" she said and James smiled.
"I thought she'd be pissed at me, but I explained it and she was fine with it. She understood" he told her and she beamed at him happily.
"I'm glad for that, I really respect her opinion of me" she replied and he nodded.
"I noticed. Want another secret?"
Lily's head bobbed up and down quickly and James chuckled at her.
"Weeeell... I can't wait to see you at the wedding. It's going to be exciting. Seeing you all dressed up in a pretty dress" he said and she sighed.
"I don't think I'll be getting a dress, I don't have any money" she said sadly and looked at the ground.
"I'll change that" he said and Lily stopped suddenly and grabbed his arm, causing him to stop next to her.
"What?"
"You're not buying me a dress, I won't let you" she said and he frowned at her.
"Lily, I'm buying you a dress whether you like it or not" he answered and she glared at him.
"I'm not a charity case, I don't need-"
"I know you aren't, I've never thought of you in that way. I just-"
"Then why? Why do you want to buy it for me?" she interjected and he shrugged.
"'Cause every pretty girl deserves a pretty dress" he said winking at her and she blushed slightly.
"James, you can't. I can... borrow one of Alice's" she said and he shook his head at her.
"You're doing me the honour of going as my date, so therefore I'm going to do you the honour of buying you a dress" he told her and she groaned.
"I don't... James I don't feel comfortable with that, I'd feel bad" she said as they began walking again and turned the corner.
"Lily, I care about you. And I know that you're going to try on a beautiful dress and you're going to be shattered because you won't get it. But if I-"
"Promise me James. Promise me you won't pay for the dress" she said and he stared at her with an annoyed expression.
"Lils-"
"Promise me" she interrupted and he glared at her.
"That's not fair" he said and she just shrugged.
"Just promise".
He sighed and closed his eyes.
"Okaaaaay. I promise I won't pay for your dress" he said sadly and hung his head.
She smiled at him and touched his harm softly.
"I'm sorry James, but it's the only way" she whispered and he shrugged.
"You'll regret it" he responded and she sighed and they crossed the road and entered the shop.
The minute they got home everyone was waiting in the kitchen for them. Sirius almost pounced on them; Jessie and Aaron were chanting "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" and Sera was setting out plates for them. James sat the food on the counter and called for silence.
"I got garlic bread as an extra and- DON'T TOUCH THE BAVARIAN!" James yelled at Sirius hurried over and pulled it from the bag.
"Why not?" he asked pouting as he put it down on the bench.
"Because it's Lily's, that's why" he answered and Sirius pretended to sulk.
"We can all have some afterwards" Lily said and Sirius' head sprang back up and he was now smiling.
"Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" the chanting started again and James sighed and pulled out the boxes and Sera placed glasses out on the table for each person and filled them with orange soda.
"Alright, one at a time" he said and Sirius flew in straight away with Lily waiting at the back and James came behind her.
He leaned forward, his lips just brushing her ear.
"You didn't have to do that" he whispered quietly and her eyes closed and she inhaled slowly. The feel of his lips moving quickly against her ear tickled and her reply was caught in her throat.
"I... I don't mind" she replied quietly and he grinned and she felt it spread across his face as his cheek bumped her head.
"That's very kind of you" he muttered, his lips still making her ears tingle.
All she could do was nod and his smile widened, knowing the effect it was having on her.
He was about to say something else when Jessie and Aaron's yells interrupted him and he moved forward to see what it was about.
"He stole my piece that I wanted" Jessie said angrily and James sighed.
"Did you call for it?" he asked her and she shook her head.
"I thinked it in my head" she responded and he had to stop himself from laughing.
"Jessie you can't expect Aaron to know that if you don't say something, and even if you did it's not your turn yet" he said and Jessie crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him. Aaron took his plate over to the table and Jessie began grabbing hers and James turned to Lily and smiled at her but she kept her eyes to the floor. He stepped out of the way so she could get hers and then followed her over to the table and sat next to Jessie across from her. She didn't look at him for the entire meal and kept her eyes to her plate or on anyone but the messy-haired boy watching her closely.
After dinner, Jessie decided to watch a movie and Lily set up bowls for desert and let her and Aaron take it into the lounge room as long as they were careful. She, Sirius, Sera and James all sat in the kitchen talking and eating chocolate Bavarian.
"So Lily how long have you and James been dating?" Sera asked licking the back of her spoon.
Lily's clattered to the table and she embarrassedly picked it back up.
"Um... We aren't. I'm just the baby-sitter, we're only friends" she replied and Sera raised her eyebrows.
"Really? Friends?"
She nodded and noticed what felt like a foot rest upon hers and she glanced at James' face and caught him staring at her with a smirk on her face and she moved her foot and looked back at Sirius' girlfriend.
"How long have you and Sirius been together?" she questioned and the two looked at each other and grinned.
"Three amazing months" she said and Lily smiled as they gave each other a small kiss. James pretended to throw up in his bowl and made the red-head giggle.
Sirius then suddenly yawned and Sera placed her hand on his lap.
"Tired?"
He nodded slowly. "Being so beautiful all the time can really take it out of you" he said and James scoffed.
"You mean so fugly" he said and Sirius gasped.
"How could you say such a thing? You know I look good" he said getting up and taking his and Sera's bowls and putting them in the sink.
"Yeah, in your head" James retorted and Sirius rolled in his eyes.
"Coming to bed?" he asked and James made a disgusted face.
"That's the last thing on earth I'd want to do with you, and I would never, ever do that and I cannot believe you suggested-"
"I was asking Sera, numb nuts" Sirius shot back and James fell silent.
Sera pushed her chair in and smiled and together they bid them goodnight and traipsed up the stairs.
James turned to Lily and beamed at her.
"So, good pizza or what?"
She nodded slowly.
"I liked it. But personally homemade pizzas are so much better... and healthier" she added and James shrugged.
"It doesn't kill to have some greasy stuff every now and then. Do you want to check on the kids?" he asked and she nodded and they both walked into the lounge room where they found Jessie and Aaron snoozing away on the couch with smiles on their faces.
"That is so cute" Lily whispered and James nodded in agreement and picked Jessie carefully up in his arms. She didn't even stir.
"I'll put her to bed. Do you want to wake Aaron?" he asked and she nodded and shook him lightly.
"Aaron? It's time for bed" she said quietly and his eyes opened slowly and he yawned.
"Hi Lily" he mumbled and she smiled.
"Let's go kiddo" she said and he hopped off the couch and held his hand out to her and her heart almost melted as she took hold of it and they followed James and the sleeping Jessie upstairs. He took her into his parent's room and Lily and Aaron continued on to his room.
She opened the door and he made his way in and she pulled back his quilt and he hopped in. He then did something that took Lily by surprise: he hugged her.
"Goodnight Lily" he said and she had to fight to keep the tears back.
"Night Aaron, sleep tight" she managed to say and then she closed the door and turned to find James waiting for her.
"What's the matter?" he asked in alarm and she sighed as her eyes sparkled.
"He... He hugged me" she said in a low voice.
James grinned at her and then he too pulled her into a hug.
"Nawww, that's a bit cute" he said and she smiled into his chest.
She pulled away and looked up at him.
"He actually likes me, he trusts me" told him happily and James nodded at her.
"Of course he does, who wouldn't? You're like, the nicest person I know next to Remus and Peter" he said and her cheeks went a crimson colour.
"Thank you" she said quietly and he grabbed her hand.
"Come and look at this" he said pulling her into his room and he turned on the light and brought her over to his CD player.
"It plays music" he informed her and she stifled a giggle behind her hand and he frowned at her.
"What's funny?"
"Um... CD players are Muggle objects so I know what they are" she answered and he shrugged.
"I forgot about that. Pick one" he said holding out a collection of CD's.
Lily saw a Savage Garden one so she pointed to it and James put it in and pressed play and it began to quietly play the soundtrack.
I wanna stand with you on a mountain,
I wanna bathe with you in the sea.
I wanna lay like this forever,
Until the sky falls down on me...
Lily smiled as the song played and he watched her carefully.
"You like this song?"
She nodded and then suddenly her smile was replaced with a puzzled expression.
"I thought you were into 'noisy music' like your mum says" she said and he shrugged.
"I like Savage Garden too though" he said as he began to sing along to the music, the whole time staring at Lily.
He was standing very close to her and her eyes slowly glanced down at his lips and realised they were very close to her own.
She then looked into his eyes and he was staring at her with a small smile on his face and his eyes darted down to look at her lips before quickly snapping back to her emerald eyes.
He licked his lips as he slowly leaned in closer until he was just inches from her mouth and she sucked in a huge breath. He was just about to touch her lips with his when he heard the front door close and he let out a sigh and shut his eyes. They stayed there for a moment, not moving, not saying a word until James re-opened his eyes and she found him staring at her once more.
"Lily, I..."
She stepped back from him.
"We agreed to be friends. Aaron trusts me James, I can't do that to him" she said sadly and he nodded.
"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't bring you in here for that, I swear. I was just looking at you and..." he stopped talking because he could no longer find the words and she sighed.
"It's okay, I just... Your mum's home, we should go see her" she said quietly and he nodded again.
"Yeah, of course. Can we pretend it-"
"Never happened? Sure" she cut in and he gave her a small smile.
"Great. Um, well let's er skiddadle then" he said leading the way out of the room and she followed close behind him.
They found Katherine standing in the kitchen eating a slice of pizza and she looked up and smiled at them both.
"Hi guys, how'd it go?" she asked and they each waited for the other to reply. When it was clear no one was going to answer, they both spoke at the same time.
"It was fine" Lily said at the same time James said; "Yeah, good".
Katherine frowned and watched them for a moment before deciding to let it slide.
"Kids in bed?"
"Yeah, we put them in about ten minutes ago" James mumbled.
"James are you alright?" his mother asked and he nodded.
"I'm just tired. I'm going to go to bed, night" he said turning and leaving the room as quickly as possible.
Katherine looked at Lily who shrugged.
"He's just a bit stressed, I guess. I might go to sleep too; we'll be up early right?"
She nodded and smiled. "I'll wake you up. Goodnight Lily" she said and Lily said goodnight and went up the stairs towards Jessie's room.
As she passed James' room she stopped and considered asking if he was alright and not to worry about it and that he was just caught up in the moment once again and that nothing would change between them. They were still friends after all. He meant a lot to her.
She decided she'd let him cool off until the morning and instead went into Jessie's room and changed into her pajamas and almost fell straight to sleep.
James' hazel eyes opened slowly and squinted as he tried to block the sun from his eyes. He rolled over and buried his face into the pillow as the memories of last night came flooding back to him. How could he be so stupid? He didn't want anything to ruin his friendship with Lily, it was important to him. But after last night she probably wanted to steer clear of him. She wouldn't want to be his friend anymore if he was going to try and kiss her every time they were alone.
Technically it had only happened twice, and it wasn't like their lips had even touched so it shouldn't really be that awkward between them. But if he knew Lily he was sure that this time she would avoid him until the issue was resolved. And he didn't want to be the first to try and fix it so until then things were going to be weird. Very weird.
He sat up and kicked his blankets off of his body and leapt up from the bed, running his hand through his bedraggled hair making it even messier. He opened his door and walked out into the hallway and made his way to the bathroom and waited outside for a minute or so because someone was using it. The toilet flushed and the door opened and out walked Lily in a light grey singlet and long green pyjama bottoms and she froze. Her hair was all over the place and a deep red blush crept up her neck onto her face as she took in the fact that he was scantily dressed.
"Hi..." he mumbled quietly forcing himself not to stare at her for too long.
"Hey. Did you have a good sleep?" she asked nervously and James shrugged.
"Can't complain. How was yours?"
Lily wrapped her arms around herself.
"It was fine. A bit small though" she added and he nodded.
"Great. Well, I'd better-"
"Right, sorry" she said moving out of the way of the door frame and letting him pass.
She walked back down the hallway to Jessie's bedroom and closed the door behind her and got dressed.
She pulled on a white singlet and a light grey long sleeved shirt over top so you could just see her singlet poking out the top. She then pulled on her long, denim skinny leg black jeans and her black converses slipped onto her feet. She then waved her wand and her hair was slightly wavy and put her black beanie on top of her head and she was finished, the only thing left was to brush her teeth and apply her makeup but that would have to wait until after breakfast.
She made her way downstairs and saw Mrs. Potter fixing pancakes for breakfast and she rushed over to help.
"Good morning, sweetheart" Mrs. Potter greeted happily and Lily smiled and began to pull plates from the cupboards.
"How was your sleep?" she continued before Lily could reply.
"It was nice, I never thought of myself as tall though" she said and both she and Mrs. Potter chuckled.
"I'm sorry, but James didn't like the idea of you being in Sirius' bed and it would have been difficult to force him out of it" she told her and Lily nodded.
"Where are we going today?"
"Oh, just a few dress shops in Diagon Alley, shouldn't be all day" she said and Lily smiled sadly although Mrs. Potter overlooked it because James entered at that moment dressed in blue denim jeans and a white singlet, his hair a mess and glasses askew. He straightened them up and attempted a smile at Lily and kissed his mother on the cheek.
"Morning James. Are you feeling better?" she asked and James shrugged.
"I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to today. Trying on dress robes isn't exactly my idea of fun" he said dryly and his mother laughed.
"You'll be fine. Not to mention very handsome in your brand new robes" she added cheerily.
"You're certainly bright this morning" Sirius commented strutting into the kitchen with Sera close behind. They were dressed accordingly in colours although Lily wasn't sure if that was planned or not. Sirius was wearing a black t-shirt and dark grey skinny leg jeans that were even tighter than Lily's. His hair was, as always, as sleek as ever and he had a purple armband around his wrist. Sera on the other hand had a grey singlet and purple leggings with a black mini skirt.
Lily stifled her giggles and noted that James had also realised this because the smirk on his face seemed as if he too was struggling to keep his laughter to himself.
"You two look like twins" Aaron said walking in beside him and looking them both up and down and guffawing at them.
"Aaron" his mother warned and he ignored her and sat himself at the table, pulling a jug of juice towards him and pouring himself some apple juice.
"Mummy, I can't find my furry pink scrunchie!" Jessie wailed from upstairs. Her mother sighed and dashed out of the kitchen, forgetting about the breakfast.
"Shoot! Lily could you take over down there for a minute please?" she called over her shoulder and Lily sat the plates on the bench to attend to the pancakes on the stove.
"I'll take those" James said grabbing the plates and they slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor in pieces.
"Shit" he muttered to himself and bent down to pick them up.
"Are you daft? Use your magic stick, and no, not the one in your pants!" Sirius shouted at him and James felt his pockets swiftly for his wand before realising he'd left it upstairs and cursed once more.
"Here" Lily said whipping out hers and pointing it at the broken plates. "Reparo!" she said and the plates all meshed back together as if they hadn't been dropped in the first place.
"Nice" Aaron commented and Lily smiled at him and helped James pick up the plates.
"Thanks" he said quietly and placed them on the table. Aaron pulled out knife and forks and passed them to him and he added those.
"We should get some nice flowers, just to make the table look nicer" Sera suggested and Sirius nodded.
"Prongsie? Do you think you can transfigure something?"
James grinned and grabbed an old wooden spoon they no longer used.
Lily passed him her wand and he smiled at her.
"I don't think you'll get anywhere without one" she told him and he chuckled.
He waved his wand at the spoon and uttered some words and right before their very own eyes a beautiful array of yellow daisies were held in his palm and everyone applauded and he bowed.
"Now if my humble assistant would assist me in getting a vase...?"
Aaron leapt from the chair and grabbed one from the cupboard under the bench and filled it with water and sat it in the middle of the table so that James could sit them in there.
"Wow, they're so pretty" Sera gushed excitedly. "I wish I could do something like that..." she trailed off sadly.
"With plenty of practice-"
"No, Lily, Sera's a Muggle" James interrupted and her emerald eyes widened.
"Oh, really? I had no idea, Sera I'm really sorry" she said and Sera shrugged.
"It's okay Lily, I'm actually a little better knowing you thought I was one" she told her with a smile and Lily nodded and turned back to the breakfast still feeling bad for opening her mouth.
Katherine came back in with Jessie who had found her furry pink scrunchie and was going to take over but Lily insisted for her to sit down and she dished it up. Sirius was about to dig in but she slapped his hand.
"We don't have any dressings out yet" she said and pulled jam, marmalade, butter and chocolate spread out of the cupboards. James grabbed sugar and cups and together they sat them on the table and sat down beside one another, the only seats left.
James handed over her wand and she pocketed it with a "thank you", Katherine complimented James on his flowers and then they all tucked in hungrily awaiting the day ahead. For dress shopping was definitely something they all looked forward to, in one way or another.
Well until next chapter, audios!
Thanks for reading and reviewing, I loved all of your reviews. I hadn't checked my emails in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time so it was pleasant to be welcomed back with hordes of them. It made me happy.
Once again sorry for not updating but I have been busy with recovering and catching up on all my work and now studying with my exams and trying to squeeze a chapter in there, so it's been a bit hectic.
But hopefully it shouldn't be too long until the next chapter. Possibly during my holidays which are a few weeks away.
Love always.
LilyHeartsJames xoxox