Lily didn't tell James what it was that he was meant to have been kidding about. He asked, of course, several times, but she refused to say, preferring to keep it quiet until she was sure. Part of him understood this but it didn't stop his need to know. As it got later they both reached an unspoken agreement to spend the night in Thurso before tackling the rest of the problem tomorrow. And so, before ten that night, a still recuperating James Potter was sound asleep while a troubled Lily Evans sat at a desk writing notes on a piece of bed and breakfast stationary.
At the centre of the page the words "things I know" were written in a circle, coming off from it were several lines. Lily muttered the words aloud in an effort to think of some more things.
"Me; 18th October I had the dream, which leads to Lee and the Defero Orb, James was right when he said it was too easy. Lee lied to me, dragged me to the middle of nowhere, caused the accident and is still trying to get me to believe I'm not being used.
"James; a month ago (which makes it the 18th October, too) that incident happened. He has no recollection of that night but I don't think because he's repressed the memories. What he supposedly did was bad and if he did it he deserves being locked up but there shouldn't be such a high scale manhunt for him. His only option was to go on the run, where I ended up running him over because Lee got distracted and didn't warn me…
"It all comes down to Lee. Every single time. And the day, that's not a coincidence. It's Lee, it's all Lee."
She looked over at the single bed next to the one she would be sleeping in, James was still sound asleep. She watched him for about a minute, sighing at how peaceful he looked, much better than the previous night when he had been so pale and clammy, when he had nearly died. She felt a little jealous that he should be able to sleep so peacefully when whenever she closed her eyes she was hit by images of people getting run over, and when she got past that she was plagued by thoughts of what was going on. The ulterior motives of the spirit haunting her. She wrote a note telling James where she would be if he woke up and then she gave a sad smile before leaving the room to take a walk along the coast of Thurso.
"So what's this all about?" She asked aloud once she was outside.
Feigning ignorance, the response came out clearly, "All what?"
"Don't play dumb with me, you know full well what I mean. I know something's going on, I just want you to tell me what."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lee continued. "You're going to have to be a little more specific."
"More specific?" Lily cried. "You want be to be more specific? How about the dragging me into the middle nowhere, the haunting and whatever's going on with James. You expect me to believe that's coincidence? What's this all about?"
"You're not supposed to know yet," Lee answered simply.
"What?" Lily screeched. "What do you mean, I'm not supposed to know yet. Why not?"
"Because it's not for you to know, to question. This is what is meant to be, this is what is meant to happen. You can not stop it, what is meant to be will happen and there's nothing you can do about it."
"I don't…I need answers. I'm going to sleep, when I wake up you're going to give me them, whether I'm meant to know them or not. If you don't I'm going to smash your little glass home, I don't care what the consequences are because I don't think anything bad will happen to me. Not really. I think you're protecting me, and if not you then someone, and they don't want to see me dead so I can do pretty much whatever I want at this point. That means I call the call shots. You have a few hours."
Now, normally she would turn and storm away at this point but since she needed to take the Orb with her she pocketed it before walking swiftly back to the bed and breakfast, trying to be quiet so as not to disturb the owners and other guests.
She had a fitful nights sleep but she did at least get some, waking around half eight to find James still fast asleep. He'd been asleep for over ten hours now and it worried her somewhat. She crept over to his bed, he still looked peaceful but there was something different to the way he had looked the previous night. She put a hand onto his forehead, checking the heat coming from it. James stirred slightly in his sleep but didn't wake. Lily's hand moved from his forehead, which was a normal temperature, through his fringe, which was matted to his head. James hand clamped down on her wrist suddenly, making her jump.
"I seem to remember you telling me I looked like a prat when I did that," he murmured sleepily.
Lily let out a small laugh. "Well you did, trying to make it look like you'd just gotten off a broomstick," she still spoke with a hint of scornfulness in her voice. "You do now too, but it looks better than it did. Bed hair everywhere."
"Because your hair looks so perfect," James retorted sarcastically as he sat up. "What's on for today then?"
"I don't know yet," Lily answered as she stepped away from James to perch on her bed. "Hopefully I'll be able to go home today since this was obviously a wild goose chase…"
"Oh," James answered sadly.
"What?" Lily asked, noticing his tone.
"Nothing," he replied hastily. "I was just hoping you'd be travelling for a couple more days, join me in my life on the run."
Lily smiled wryly. "As much as that appeals to me I have a cat waiting for me and a life to get back to. Plus, I hardly know you."
"You've known me for nearly ten years," he pointed out.
"Yeah, and in the past day I've spoken to you more than in those whole years put together," she replied in a similarly obvious way.
"That doesn't mean you don't know me."
"Yeah, it does," Lily answered, the same sadness in her voice that James' had held a couple of minutes earlier. "I got to go for a walk, try and sort this out, I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"
"Yeah," James answered, rubbing a hand across his face. "I'm going to take a shower while you're out."
"Okay," Lily said, getting into the bathroom before James to get changed. When she came out James was holding her jacket out for her.
"It's cold outside," he smiled at her. She took it and kissed him on the cheek in thanks before leaving.
"Alright, I want the truth now," she told Lee sharply.
- - - -
As Lily and James had slept that night, Lee had spoken with his superior.
"She's more strong-willed than we first thought, and she's more clever. I think she knows the truth, she just needs confirmation and I believe she will smash the Orb if I don't tell her."
"But it is not for her to know," the voice answered him. "If she knew she would refuse."
"I know," Lee answered. "But if we don't tell her she'll refuse anyway."
"So basically she's going to refuse either way? The fate of the world hangs in the balance and it might end because that little girl is too stubborn to just let things happen?"
"Except, its not just letting things happen, is it? If we'd let things happen they would have carried on and never met up again. We've meddled to make this happen, we should at least let her know!"
"We needed to meddle," the voice told Lee. "If the ones before us hadn't meddled three years ago we wouldn't have this problem now. This wasn't meant to happen. The end result would be the same but it wasn't meant to happen this way. They weren't supposed to die, he wasn't supposed to go to Australia, and she wasn't supposed to give up magic. Things happen, even predestined plans can get messed up, and we are meant to prevent that. We failed. We're trying to make up for it now but she won't let us. Well this is getting ridiculous. She has no right to know. No right at all."
"No right?" Lee echoed the words. "This is her life we're playing around with, her life we've already messed up several times already. She has every right to know. I'm going to tell her."
"No," the voice instructed loudly. "She can not know. You said yourself she'd refuse."
"But at least she'd have that choice," Lee answered. "I'm telling her," he repeated more certainly, ignoring the protests that came his way now.
- - - -
"Lee, some time today," she snapped irritably after just thirty seconds silence.
"Alright," he answered immediately. "You might want to sit down."
Lily scanned the surrounding area; there was a small wooden bench a little further up the road. "Ok, I'm going, now start."
"Alright," Lee repeated, Lily heard him take a breath. "So, you might have guessed already that I didn't actually die the way you dreamy it."
"It had crossed my mind," Lily muttered.
Lee ignored her and continued. "I died nearly two and a half years ago, I fell off a ride in a theme park, not the best way to go but hardly the worst." Lily didn't even flicker at his joke. "Okay," Lee continued. "Well, after I died I was sent to a sort a sort of afterlife committee where I was 'employed'. They're kind of like the powers-that-be, we make sure that everything goes right and the line of fate doesn't get messed up. Every five years a new committee is formed, the current one was created three years ago…"
"My final year at Hogwarts," Lily put in.
"Yes," Lee answered. "Well, the one before us made a lot of mistakes."
"Mistakes?"
"They were more concerned with individuals than the bigger plan. If someone was having a bad time of it they tried to improve their life rather than wait to let what would happen, happen"
Lily frowned, "Where is this going?"
"You'll see. James was having a bad time, so your final year they made sure he spent his Christmas in Australia."
"I remember, it was a peaceful holiday."
Though Lily couldn't see it, Lee smiled. "Well, if he had stayed like he was supposed to you two would have got friendly."
"Friendly?" Lily questioned tightly. "How friendly are we talking, exactly?"
"Well, you'd be married by now," Lee answered matter-of-factly.
"Excuse me? What?"
"You'd be married," Lee answered. "But moving past you and James would have gotten together that February, which means the first week after you finished you would have gone to Italy with James instead of staying at home. In fact, your whole family would have gone so…"
"We wouldn't have been at home," Lily finished, her mind going into shock. "You're telling me that not only should I be married right now but that my parents should still be alive?" She all-but shouted this last bit.
"Lily –""No! You screwed up my life and then you dragged me out here for nothing. You don't get to 'Lily' me."
"You weren't dragged out for nothing."
Lily was muttering something under her breath so it took a while for Lee's words to sink in. "What?"
"You weren't dragged out for nothing. Before the line was messed up you and James were supposed to get together, that still has to happen. The point of you coming out was so that you and he would meet once more."
"Why?"
"Hmm?""Why is it so important for James and I to get married?"
"There are some things I can't tell you," Lee told her.
Lily glared even though Lee couldn't see it. "But it's important?"
"Very. The fate of the world hangs on it."
"No," Lily answered, she sounded slightly horrified but Lee didn't pick it up.
"What do you mean 'no'?""I mean it's not going to happen. I don't know James, he doesn't know me, and I have no plans to get to know him as much as I would if I married him. I just want to go home, play with my cat and get on with my life. I'm not going to marry a guy just because you tell me the world is in danger if I don't."
"You don't think there's something noble about marrying a man to save the world?""Call me selfish, but no."
"Then you're selfish."
"I'm not the one who is all but blackmailing someone to get their own way," she spat at him. "I mean, how do I even know anything you've said is true?"
"You don't," Lee answered. "You just have to trust me."
Lily let out a snort. "You've said that before."
"Well this time you can."
Lily ignored him. "What's going to happen?"
"I can't tell you," Lee reiterated.
"Of course," Lily muttered. "Of course. Tell me one thing then."
"Sure."
"If it's so important that James and I get together why let him endanger himself to the point that I nearly killed him?"
"You wouldn't have killed him, we would never let it get that far. We just needed you two to stick together."
"What do you mean?"
- - - -
James was in the shower when he heard the muffled shouts, he finished washing the remaining shampoo out of his hair before he got out to pin point its origin. A towel around his waist he picked up his clothes and walked into his room, the noise was louder now, more defined.
"James," it was calling. "James, hurry up!"
James knew that voice, a grin broke out on his face when he realised who it was. He reached into the bottom of his bag and grabbed a hand mirror. Sirius' face appeared, grinning broadly.
"Finally!" The was a moments silence from his friend and then, "What the Hell happened to you?"
"What?" James asked in confusion.
"What happened to you? You look like…there's a bandage on your head and cuts and bruises everywhere."
"Yeah…I had a little accident but I'm fine, don't worry."
"Sure? Okay then. So where are you?"
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea to say."
"But it's alright," Sirius answered him. "You're free. You've been announced innocent, you should get the letter in the next hour or so depending on where you are."
"Scotland," James answered him. "I'm in Scotland. I can come home?"
Sirius' image nodded in the glass of the mirror, Sirius opened his mouth to say something but it was unheard as a loud bang sounded. "What was that?" He asked as a shout of "James!" Was heard. "Was that a woman? You're with a woman? You sly stag!"
"Shut up, I have to go." James put the mirror away before focussing on Lily, who was still stood in the doorway looking angry, upset and fearful. "What is it? What happened?"
"He…You and me…It was…"
"Lily? Lily! Take a deep breath and sit down here," he led her to her bed, pulling her to sit down. He put his arm around her shoulder and brought her to him. "Tell me what happened."
Lily did as she was instructed, she told him everything that Lee had told her until she got to James' involvement.
"He said we were supposed to meet up again, that whole thing with that girl in the hotel? They set it up so that this would happen. So that you would go on the run and we'd end up meeting again. I don't know, they thought we'd fall in love or something. Fall in love in a day. It's stupid and manipulative and really, really unfair!"
James smiled at her, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Lily.
"How can you possibly see enough good in this to smile?"
James' smile didn't falter once. "Well, I know that the both of us have been messed with by these guys but they did do some good."
"How?"
"You really have to ask?" James asked surprised. Lily looked at him blankly. "Well, I got a new friend out of this whole thing. We're going to stay in touch right?"
Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "You want to stay in touch? I nearly killed you! And what about your life on the run?"
"Well," James answered as his smile grew brighter. "Turns out my innocence has been proven. I should get the letter in a little bit. And so what if you nearly killed me? You saved my life and I don't just mean by healing me. I think we'd make good friends, maybe that will be enough for the committee."
"We'd still talk, we'd act together if we needed to. I guess that's all they need from us. It's stupid of them to expect anything more of us." Lily rambled the sentences quickly.
"Lily, breathe."
"Sorry, I'm getting hysterical again, aren't I?"
James nodded and laughed. "Alright, well, I think we're both okay to go now, aren't we?"
Lily nodded. "It's not like I needed to come here anyway," she commented bitterly.
"Okay, well, can I have your address? I'll owl you and we can meet up sometime."
"That sounds good," Lily smiled at him. "Promise you will? You're not going to be one of those guys who gets a girls number and then never calls?"
"Well, for a start I don't even know what that means but I promise. In fact I'm going to arrange to meet you two days from now, we can go into Hogsmeade."
"No," Lily answered.
"Okay, another day then, you pick."
"No, that's not what I mean. The day is fine; I'm just not ready to go back into the magical world that fully right now. I did like Hogsmeade though…Especially at Christmas."
"Maybe we can go there next month then?" James suggested.
"Yeah, maybe," Lily answered doubtfully.
"What?" James asked.
"Nothing," she answered quickly. "So, there's a muggle bar opposite the Leaky Cauldron. You want to meet there?"
James thought for a moment. "What's it called?"
"The bar? Lemmi's. It's nice."
"Yeah, I know it. Okay."
They went into a comfortable silence. James took his arm off Lily's shoulder; he'd forgot it was even there. They sat like that for a few minutes until a quiet hooting could be heard. They both turned to see a small owl sat on the window ledge. James, with a grin on his face, got up and took the letter from the owl, which hooted once more before flying away.
"'Dear Mr. Potter'," James read aloud. "'We are pleased to inform you that you are no longer under suspicion for the attack on Miss Heather Longstraum. The charges have been dropped and it appears that the allegations against you were false, made up by Miss Longstraum in an attempt to get attention. Obviously you have the full apologies of the Ministry and a statement will be issued denouncing you of any involvement in this incident.' Well, it's nice to know the Ministry can still hold its head high," James commented as he screwed the parchment into a ball.
Lily laughed and gave James a hug. "I'm happy for you," she whispered to him as she pulled away.
She began to gather up the few things she had taken from her bag.
"What are you doing?" James asked her.
"Well, you'll want to go home and I should start making tracks, too."
"You want to get breakfast first?"
"I've not got that much money left," she answered him, almost embarrassed. "I need to save what I've got for petrol."
"My shout."
"You don't have any either," Lily pointed out with a laugh. "But, I'm sure the owners won't mind giving us a few pieces of toast to see us on our way."
"Sounds good to me," James said as he too grabbed his bag and they left the room.
Half an hour later they made their separate ways, James disapparated back to his home, Lily began the long drive back to Sussex. Neither of them realised until it was too late that they hadn't arranged a time to meet up or that Lily had forgotten to give him her address. Nor did they know what this feeling of loss was that was slowly creeping up on them.
A/N: We're nearly at the end, there's just one last chapter left, sort of an epilogue-like chapter, tying everything up nicely. I hope you've enjoyed it up to now. Tell me what you think.