Disclaimer - Standard disclaimer applies (for I am too lazy to write anything clever)
AN - It's been a long time! Blame university, I know I do. I wrote most of this ages ago but really struggled to finish this chapter, but then I got sick on a family holiday in Bali and writing made me feel better. And thus, I shall write more often. Did anyone even know that Bali belly existed? stupid me for being adventurous with the food :(
Anyway, I hope that those of you still reading this fic enjoy this chapter. It has predictable bits, mushy bits and some tying up of loose ends. But best of all it sets about getting our favourite characters back together. Enjoy :) (And review if you have a moment)
Previously - Lily found out why James broke it off with her. Peter got very upset at being left out of the loop. That was pretty much it, as far as I can remember. Enjoy the turmoil that follows!
Chapter 10 - Couples Therapy
The Order meeting was brief and thankfully so. Moody and Dumbledore had drafted a roster for individual and paired guard shifts over those deemed significant to their operations, including their right hand man to the muggle Prime Minister - Tobias Finch. Lily was happy to note that her shift was during the day time and not until the weekend.
That evening, Lily parted ways with James with a chaste, but clearly sexually charged, kiss on the cheek, which raised quite a few eyebrows from their friends. While Lily was trying to explain to Cat and Anna - and, a little bit, to herself - why she had decided to give James another chance, the boy in question was being verbally berated by his best friends at St Mungo's (where they had gone to keep Remus up to date).
"What happened to taking it slow? Surely she's not ready to forgive you yet?" Remus said incredulously.
"You're just annoyed because you bet that it would take at least two months for things to happen and I only bet one month so now you owe me three sickles and a knut," Sirius interrupted.
"I agree, it's quicker than I expected but who am I to complain?" James said. "I love her, she loves me. I'm just glad she's giving me another chance."
"Just like that? She only found out the whole story last night. That's less than twenty four hours to adjust," Remus mused.
"It's love, Moony. Ain't nothing like it," Sirius grinned, ruffling James' hair.
"It's not like it came condition free," James began, scratching the back of his head as he was wont to do when perturbed by something.
"What's she making you do?" Remus asked.
"Public declaration of love?" Sirius asked.
"Clean out their flat and get rid of the boggart in their downstairs closet?" Remus asked.
"Put a ring on it?" Sirius suggested with a wink.
"They have a boggart?" James asked.
"Lily told me about it the other week - their cupboard is making odd noises," Remus explained, "Stop trying to change the subject."
"She's making me... See someone," James said with an odd grimace.
"See someone? Like a healer or something? Is it to check you didn't catch anything from Jazz?" Sirius asked seriously.
"Padfoot!" Remus interrupted, looking mildly disgusted.
"Because you probably should..." Sirius continued.
"No!" James cried, looking insulted. "Everything down there is just fine, thank you very much. As if I wouldn't check-"
"James!" Remus interrupted. "Back on topic, please. Who is Lily making you see?"
"A couples therapist," James mumbled, turning pink.
"Sorry, a what?" Sirius asked, a grin stretching across his face.
"A therapist, okay? For couples. Because she has, and I quote, 'trust issues'," James said, looking sullen.
It was a full five minutes before Sirius recovered from his laughing fit.
"Oh, mate, that is classic," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "You must really love this girl!"
James just looked at his best friend as if to say 'well, duh!'. Remus was slightly more sympathetic.
"That's too bad, Prongs. But I suppose it makes sense. You two have been through a lot."
"Yeah, but I'm just not too keen on talking about it to a complete stranger. I don't care that it's their job. It's personal stuff, you know?"
"Yeah, but you tell us all your personal stuff," Sirius interrupted, "And we're brilliant."
"I think you're missing the point, Padfoot," Remus said. "But, seriously, James, I think this is all for the best. Just let Lily do the talking - she probably needs to vent - and only speak when you're asked. That way, you're more likely to minimise the chances of you saying something stupid."
"Oh, gee, thanks," James replied sarcastically.
"Just trying to be helpful," the werewolf said, raising his hands.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry, Moony," James said, running a hand through his hair. "Just nervous."
Sirius clapped James on the back.
"And you should be. Winning Evans back won't be easy, but we have faith in you, mate. Besides, I know how you feel. Cat has more than once suggested that we see a therapist of some description."
"No, Pads, she has suggested that yousee a therapist," Remus corrected.
"Yes, but I'm sure it was all in good fun," James added, seeing the confusion on Sirius' face and not wishing to deal with a moody Black on the way home.
"Anyway, I should probably let you two get home. It's been a long two days. And I'll be home tomorrow in any case."
"Do you want us to come and pick you up? I don't think Moody's taking us for class this week so we could probably slip away for a bit," James asked.
"No, I'll be fine. I'm just going to come home and get changed. I'm taking Laura out to dinner," Remus smiled. James and Sirius exchanged grins at their friend's besotted expression.
"And, uh, will she be sleeping over?" James asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Well, I don't want to presume anything but, um, maybe..." Remus replied, blushing.
"Aww, ickle Moony's turning red," Sirius joked.
"We'll make ourselves scarce, then," James said.
"And this time, we'll keep Peter well informed," Sirius added.
"Have you guys spoken to him since this morning?" Remus asked.
"Not really. He was at the meeting, but didn't speak to us. Just sat there talking to Anna."
"Why would he be talking to Anna, I wonder?"
"I overheard them talking about some potions racketeering thing," Sirius said. "From what Cat tells me, Anna's working on some expose about underground potion trafficking and its links to the Death Eaters."
"What's Peter got to do with that?" Remus asked.
"I think it's because Pete works at the Post Office and is keeping an eye out for mysterious looking packages," James said.
"Knowing the idiots that work for You-Know-Who, I wouldn't be surprised if they sent their evidence through the mail," Sirius said darkly.
"Anna should be careful looking into that stuff," Remus said with a frown. "If they find out that she's getting close to she could really be putting herself in danger."
Before the others could respond, Laura wandered over and told them that regrettably visiting hours were about to end and they should say their goodbyes.
"Have you been here all day?" Sirius asked, "Because, really, that's like slave labour with the wages you lot are on."
"Thank you for your concern, Sirius, but it's fine. I signed up for the double shift today," she said, unconsciously placing her hand on Remus' shoulder.
"Ah, we see. We'll just be going then," James said, practically dragging Sirius away. "See you tomorrow, Moony."
"See you, guys," there werewolf responded, unable to say anything more as he suddenly found Laura's lips on his.
She pulled away with a smile on her lips.
"So should I pack my overnight things for this date, then?" she asked with a smirk. Remus was beyond embarrassed and thought that now would be the perfect time for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.
"I, er-" he managed to get out, before his airways seemed to close over with nervousness.
"I'll bring my toothbrush," Laura whispered in his ear, before she picked up her clipboard and walked out of the room, swaying her hips slightly as she went. And Remus thought to himself that the word 'toothbrush' had never before sounded so sexy.
Anna's Occlumency Diary
Not even sure why I still keep this thing. It's not like I'm at Hogwarts anymore, so I don't really need an occlumency diary. I should just call it a diary.
But first things first.
Today I discovered that three shady gentlemen have been sending regular packages through the owl post. Peter told me, as he works at the office in Hogsmeade. They first came in a couple of months ago and this is how he described them: there were three of them: one tall with really mangy brown hair, the other two shortish and similar looking (probably twins) but one was a girl and one a guy. They had black curly hair. He also said that when they signed off on their packages, the names looked familiar but he couldn't place them. I wish I had a pensieve so maybe if the names are lurking in his subconscious, I'd be able to read them off the paperwork. But that's all I have to go on so far.
I think my next step is to try and track down these three. It sounds like trying to find a bowtruckle in a forest, but Peter's descriptions were fairly useful. I mean, how many almost identical twins can there be in the wizarding world... Well, that's a bad example. But still, Peter said they were always together, so all I have to do is go undercover in the dodgy parts of town for a while. Knowing that they're probably Death Eaters narrows it down to exclusively wizarding locations, especially in seedy parts like Knockturn Alley.
I'm keeping a record of this in case, Merlin forbid, something should happen to me. I seriously doubt it - I'm not an idiot and I know how to protect myself. But I think just incase, it's a good idea.
Besides, I want Caradoc to be able to know what I've been doing, without having to tell him. He was so worried last time I brought it up. He got quite cross at me so I promised I'd stop digging. But naturally I had my fingers crossed.
It's just... This could be my big break. The big story that makes me famous. Plus, like Lily said that time, it could be helping a lot of people if my investigative skills put some Death Eaters behind Azkaban's bars.
But speaking of Caradoc, things are going great. He's flying brilliantly, and his team are in the top half of the ladder. I'm stupidly proud. It does limit our time together, especially since he is based in Scotland and apparating from that far away is, quite frankly, exhausting. But we're making it work. I can't wait to see him later this week. I'm going up to see him for the weekend - I've taken leave off work and everything. It's our six month anniversary! I can't believe we've been together for that long already. I wonder if he even remembers? It's not like I can forget. It's six months since: Gryffindor won the quidditch cup, Caradoc told me he loved me and, that's right, I came out of a coma. Not an easy date to forget!
Anyway, I'd better stop writing in this thing now. I have to get back to the flat for dinner with the girls (I just had to drop by the shop to pick this diary up, of course). I want to know how Lily decided on couples therapy. I mean, really? At their age? But that's Lily, I suppose - completely logical and to the point. And I'm glad they're trying to work things out. Lily and James are the standard that couples should measure themselves by. In fact, if it weren't for them breaking up (or for the fact that Caradoc and I are together), I would have called Lily and James the golden couple. But that's just between you and me.
"So, were you planning on giving him another second chance or was it just one of those things where you're in the room with him and you're finding it difficult to say no?" Cat asked, sitting on the bench top while Lily cooked pasta on the stove.
"What'd I miss?" Anna asked, walking into the kitchen and dipping her finger into the bolognaise sauce Lily was stirring. The red head slapped away Anna's hand and turned away to rummage through the cupboards for some ingredient or other.
"Seriously, guys, it's no big deal," she said, "It's just a bit of couples therapy."
"Yes, but it's couples therapy," Anna said, as if this explained her confusion.
"Look, I love James, okay?" Lily said, facing her friends. "I never stopped loving him and, as it happens, I still want to spend possibly the rest of my life with him-"
"Oh my Godric, you want to get married!" Anna interrupted.
"No!" Lily said, running a hand through her hair in exasperation - which made Cat grin, recognising one of James' bad habits.
"Let the poor girl speak, Anna," Cat said.
"Listen. I love him, but I don't fully trust him anymore. He lied to me. And not a little white lie like he told me he was at work when really he was hanging out with friends, but broke up with me and pretended not to love me anymore, big, huge, painful lie. I can't just get over that right away," Lily explained. "But I want to get over it soon so I can get on with the rest of my life. So we can get on with the rest of our life," she added with a small smile.
"Lils, I'm glad to hear it's all working out for you again," Cat said, giving her a hug.
"Yeah, me too. I don't know if you noticed but everything sort of fell apart when you two were fighting," Anna said.
"I noticed, and I'm sorry for that," Lily apologised.
"It's not your fault," Cat said, "And even though it's not James' either, we did start calling him Yoko behind his back."
Lily laughed with Cat, while Anna stood on puzzled by the joke she was completely missing.
"So anyway, do you guys think it'd be okay if we maybe threw a dinner party?" Lily asked.
"Sure, when? I love parties," Anna grinned.
"I was thinking more of a girls' night, perhaps the night after tomorrow night?" Lily said. "It's just I think we'd probably benefit from some other female influences in the group. Like you said, when James and I were apart, everything fell to pieces, and maybe it might be nice to have some other people to talk to."
"Who'd you have in mind?" Cat asked.
"Well, I feel like I keep running into Dorcas Meadows," Lily said, even though, in reality, they'd only talked on a handful of occasions. "I think I'm going to take her up on her offer to work for the Ministry, but I want to have a reason to talk to her first, then ease into it."
"Seriously?" Anna asked, eyes wide with shock.
"Yeah, Experimental Charms division of the Department of Mysteries," Lily replied. "I really miss charms, and healing is... I don't know. I mean, I like helping people, but I feel like I'm sort of wasted there. Not saying I'm above it or anything, but it's not challenging enough, you know?"
"Good for you, Lils. Taking control of your life!" Cat laughed.
"Maybe we should also invite Alice Prewett?" Anna suggested. "After all, she is in the Order and engaged to Frank Longbottom, who was always good friends with the boys."
"That's a really good idea, plus we know her. I've been writing to her on and off for the past year," Lily replied.
"Any other secret pen-pals you haven't told us about?" Cat joked.
"And do you think we should invite Laura? After all she is Remus' new girlfriend?" Anna asked.
"I think that'd be nice - I'll ask her tomorrow when I go in to check my shifts," Lily said.
"She and Remus are official, then?" Cat asked.
"Almost. They're calling it 'casual' but they're going on an official date tomorrow night and I think they'll go from there."
"What do you mean an official date? They've gone out heaps, and Remus sleeps over," Anna argued.
"Yes, but they haven't done anything. Plus you know how Remus can be - I think he wants to take it slowly so nothing goes wrong."
"He's a funny one, that boy," Cat said.
"So is that okay? Six of us. I'll send out the owls tomorrow," Lily said.
"No, it's okay, I'll do it," Anna volunteered. "I have to go to the Post Office tomorrow anyway."
"Why? To talk to Peter some more?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought it was weird the way he didn't talk to the others all through the meeting tonight," Cat interrupted.
"I think they've had a falling out about how the others always leave Peter out of the loop," Lily replied. "He'll get over it, I'm sure."
Anna was glad that she was being overlooked, because she didn't much fancy having to tell her friends that she was still looking into the Death Eater story. She'd had enough warnings from Caradoc to last a lifetime.
The following day, Lily did go in to St Mungo's to check her roster for the coming week. While she was in the break room, staring up at the board, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. With a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach, she turned around to see Matt standing there, the expression on his face unreadable.
"Hi," she said lamely.
"Hey," he replied. "I got your note."
"Oh, right," she said, mentally delivering herself a smack on the forehead.
"You said you wanted to talk and I saw you here so I thought I'd just get it out of the way now." Lily winced at the tone of his voice - a combination of defeat, sadness and a hint of bitterness that made her very uncomfortable.
"I'd rather talk to you somewhere private, actually," Lily said nervously.
"Lily, seriously, I wish you'd just spit it out. Your letter didn't sound good. I know what 'we need to talk' really means. So, just... Can you just say it?" he said, a note of pleading now in his voice. Lily felt her stomach clench uncomfortably - she hadn't realised their casual dating had meant so much to the poor boy. And she certainly didn't want to further his embarrassment by dumping him so publicly, so she took him by the hand and lead him into one of the many supply cupboards in a corridor off the main waiting room.
"Matt-" she began, but before she could launch into her apologetic diatribe, she found herself being kissed and pushed gently up against the shelving behind her. Whether it was to her credit or not, Lily did not immediately push the boy off her. She let him kiss her, but didn't respond and soon enough Matt got the message and stepped back.
"I'm sorry," he said, moving back as far as he could without bumping into the shelves behind him. "I don't suppose that changed your mind?"
Lily shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. "I don't mean to sound pathetic or anything, it's just I thought we were going really well."
"We were," Lily agreed, "But I can't see you like this anymore. I still..." she trailed off, not sure if her renewed relationship with James was the best thing for Matt to hear at this point in time.
"It's Potter, isn't it?" Matt said shrewdly.
Lily shrugged, unsure of what to say. "It's nothing you did-"
"It's not you, it's me? Really?" Matt said, sounding a bit annoyed.
"I can't explain it," Lily said, "But things changed. I have to give him another chance."
Matt just nodded.
"We can still be friends, though, right?" Lily asked. "I really do enjoy hanging out with you."
"Yeah. Yeah, of course," Matt said with a weak smile.
"How about tonight, then? Catch up for a drink after work?"
"Thanks, Lily, but I think I'll give this one a miss," Matt replied. Catching her saddened expression he added, "Rain-check, though. Some other time, hey?"
"I'd like that," Lily replied with a sad smile. "See you around, Matt."
Dear Dorcas,
It's been a while since I last wrote to you. How's things? How is the wedding planning going? I can't remember if I congratulated you and Benjy at the last meeting but, really, I'm so happy for you!
Anyway, I was wondering if you were available tomorrow night for a dinner party with the girls? Just at our flat - you, me, Cat, Anna and then I was thinking of inviting Remus' new girlfriend Laura who I work with at the hospital and also Alice Prewett. You work with her, don't you? I can't remember. She's dating Frank Longbottom, who was good mates with the boys at Hogwarts.
But I just thought it'd be nice to mix up the group a bit and get some fresh conversation.
Let me know if you're free to come. There's something I actually need to speak to you about but it can wait until I see you.
Hope everything is going well,
Lily
Lily was in the elevator on her way out of the hospital when she ran into Laura, who was on her way to clocking off for the day as she'd worked the morning shift.
"Lily, hi!" Laura said, initiating their conversation. "How are you?"
"Good, thanks, Laura. How are you?" Lily replied, thinking how convenient it was that they'd bumped into one another.
"Not bad, you know? Remus is just about ready to be discharged and I'm going home to get ready for our special date tonight," she said, unable to keep the smile off her face.
"Oh, that's right," Lily replied, as they exited the lift and walked towards the sign-out area for staff.
"It seems silly, I know, because we've been seeing each other for a while now, but I guess we both just wanted to be sure about things. And we haven't... you know? Not yet, but I think maybe tonight... Sorry, you probably don't need to know all this," she said blushing.
"No, it's okay, Laura. Remus is one of my very close friends and it's good to see him so happy," Lily replied genuinely. "And I understand wanting to be sure about a person, believe me."
"Sounds like there's a good story there," Laura said, noting Lily's change to serious mode.
"Oh, just the usual drama," Lily said, shaking her head, "It's a long story."
"We should catch up some time, then," Laura suggested. "Maybe grab a coffee or something if our lunch breaks match up?"
"Actually, I did mean to ask you earlier if you're free tomorrow night?" Lily said. "The girls and I are having a sort of dinner party at our flat - a girls' night - and you're more than welcome to come along. It'll be myself, Cat and Anna. We share a flat together, but I'm not sure if you've met them yet. In any case, we're all friends with the boys and we all spend a lot of time together so it'd be nice to meet some new people."
"That sounds good to me," Laura replied. "Will it just be the four of us?"
"I've also invited Dorcas Meadows, who was a few years above us at school, and Alice Prewett who is seeing one of the boys' other friends, Frank. I just thought it'd be nice to mix it up a bit, without the boys there to steer the conversation towards quidditch at every opportunity."
"Well, in that case, I'd love to come," Laura smiled. "Should I bring anything?"
"You don't need to bring anything, but if you want to bring some wine or something to drink, you're more than welcome."
"Okay. Thanks, Lily. I really appreciate it," Laura said.
"See you tomorrow night, then," Lily replied. "Oh, and good luck with your date," she grinned.
Meanwhile, Cat, Sirius and James were back at the Ministry for the continuance of their auror training program. As it happened, today they were working on filling out incident reports based on their practice drills - a mind-numbingly dull task that had them sitting in small booths next to each other. Thankfully, Moody was not supervising this particular activity so Sirius had deemed it safe to employ a much used charm from their Hogwarts days that allowed them to pass notes to each other just by writing on their parchment.
(Sirius, James, Cat)
I am so bored, I may just die. Right here. Siriusly.
You know that joke is never going to be funny, right, Pads?
It's hysterical, Prongs, don't be ridiculous. But, really. I'm dying.
Can you boys take me off your list of people whose parchment needs to be charmed? Because I'm trying to write up reports here, and your messy scribble all over my work is not necessary.
Sorry, Cat. But I don't want you to feel left out.
Really, leave me out. I won't mind one bit.
How about we play a game instead. I am only sitting across the table from you, and even though your beautiful face is obscured by the booth wall between us, I can still do... This...
That tickles!
Oh dear Lord, I'm being forced to read about my friends playing footsie. Kill me now.
Trust me, Potter, he's not using his feet...
Oh, gross! What? How does that even... I don't want to know.
I'm magic, Prongs. Enough said.
I'll second that.
For Merlin's sake! Please stop doing that. You might be across the table, Pads, but Cat is right next to me and I can HEAR HER.
It's not my fault she's prone to noise-making. Now if you'll excuse me, I no longer have a free hand for my quill.
I never thought I would long for the days of McGonagall's watchful eye preventing us from sharing notes, but this is NOT something I want to be reading. Scarred. For. Life.
...
Never mind that I might have problems I want to talk about.
I have couples therapy tonight.
Yeah. While Remus is on his date and you two are probably doing goodness knows what, I will be in some bizarre alternate reality where I have to listen to a stranger tell me how to win Lily back. It feels wrong. Like we're taking some sort of short cut.
Why can't we just work things out like we always do?
...
I mean therapy. At our age? Insane.
May I offer some advice?
I thought you were busy, but sure.
Just go with it. Yes, you two have always been fine in the past, but that was before a maniacal super-villian took a personal interest in you and broke you up.
I guess.
Lily needs you and you need her. Half an hour talking to a stranger is worth a lifetime with Lily, isn't it?
Well, when you put it like that, of course it is.
There you go. Now... If you'll excuse me.
Thanks, Cat. But seriously, you two have no shame!
After spending literally two hours trying to make his hair look neat and the bags under his eyes less purple, Remus left the boys' apartment for St Mungo's where he was to pick up Laura for their date. Thinking that he probably hadn't been this nervous in all his life, he straightened out his suit jacket (this was a fancy date, after all) and disapparated. He, of course, knew why he was so nervous. He and Laura had decided to officially declare themselves a couple and, as such, she had indicated that she wouldn't be opposed to staying the night. And not in the tame, we-both-stay-completely-clothed way, but in the sharing-the-bed-in-a-delightfully-intimate way. Which was exciting and terrifying for the poor werewolf, least of all because Laura was a few years older and probably vastly more experienced, but because Remus, in fact, had no experience whatsoever to speak of. He'd gotten close with Anna, but that relationship had suffered its tragic end before anything physical had happened - as Remus had wanted Anna to know of his lycanthropy first. And he hadn't really known Claire long enough for anything to happen, in spite of the fact that he had met her family. So this whole 'special date' thing was indeed making him very nervous. Once again smoothing his jacket down, he stepped through the muggle entrance to the hospital and into the busy waiting room.
Thankfully, he spotted Laura straight away. In a pale blue, sleeveless dress that ended just at her knees, and her hair pulled softly back into a braid down her back, she was rather hard to miss. She smiled broadly when she saw Remus, who found he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face in reply.
"You look-" Remus gestured, unable to find the right words.
"You too," Laura blushed, looking at her feet.
"Err, shall we?" Remus asked, extending his arm to her.
"We shall," she replied, slipping her arm through his. "So, where are we going?"
"You'll see," Remus said, opening the door of a black taxi waiting outside the apparently derelict department store.
"Full of surprises and a gentleman. I was right when I said you were a catch, Remus Lupin," Laura said, sliding into the taxi. Remus closed the door behind her and walked to the other side of the cab. "And, perhaps, the luckiest man alive," he muttered to himself with a smile.
Dear Dad,
Lily is making me go to couples therapy. Any helpful suggestions? Obviously you and mum never needed therapy so I don't really know why I'm asking for help, and I suppose I deserve everything coming to me after the way I treated Lily, but... Couples therapy? Really?
Never mind. I know you have more important things on your mind. I just felt like writing you a letter, since you're all alone in our house. Unless you're on another mission.
Actually, that's one thing I was wondering. Our house (well, mansion is a more appropriate word) is really quite large and empty for just you. I was thinking maybe we could offer it to Dumbledore as an alternate headquarters for the you-know-what? Maybe just in times of emergency or when we need to strategise or something. It'd give the house elves something to do, at least.
Anyway, I'd better go. I don't want to be late for therapy...
Love from your one and only son,
James.
"Look, Lily, you know I love you and you know I would do anything to make you happy but are you sure you want to do this?" James pleaded as the pair waited for the elevator in the muggle building to reach the fifteenth floor.
"Yes, James. I told you, we have trust issues."
"I don't!" the boy protested. "I trust you completely. I trust you with my life! I'd even trust you with Sirius' life!"
"Okay, fine," Lily said, folding her arms and glaring at him. "I have the trust issues. I don't trust you. And furthermore, I'm struggling to remember why I even liked you in the first place right now."
"Oh great, here we go," James muttered.
"Here we go? What do you mean 'here we go'? Where, exactly, do we go?" Lily demanded, her voice rising.
"Here we go with the old Lily Evans rant about how I'm an arrogant, selfish toe-rag who you can't get rid of because I'm so annoyingly persistent and irritating," James said, rolling his eyes. "That's where we're going."
"Seriously? You want to make fun of me right now?" Lily said, slamming her palm down on the emergency stop button.
"Really, this conversation is so dramatic we need to stop the lift?" James countered.
Lily closed her eyes and drew her lips into a tight line, reminding James forcibly of his former transfiguration professor whenever she was telling off Sirius. Lily continued to breathe slowly through her nose, ignoring James' bewildered look.
"Do you want to cancel the session?" he asked after a while. "Because we can do that."
"No, you know what? I just think we shouldn't talk until we're under strict therapeutic supervision," Lily replied, opening her eyes and pressing the button for the lift to continue.
"But-"
"No."
"Lily-"
"James," Lily said sternly, effectively putting a stop to the conversation until they were in the waiting room of the wizarding therapist.
Lily sat at one end of the pink and white striped couch in the waiting room and James went to sit next to her but, upon noticing her folded arms and still pursed lips, decided to loiter by the window instead. He pressed his forehead against the cool glass and looked down to the courtyard below.
Honestly, he thought, the things I do for this woman!
"Appointment for Potter and Evans?" the nasal receptionist called, consulting a clipboard.
"That's us," Lily said standing up, James coming to stand beside her.
"Madam Crockford will see you now," the receptionist smiled, indicating to the room at the end of a short hallway. Lily marched ahead, but the receptionist grabbed James' sleeve before he could follow.
"If things don't work out, here's my card," she said with a wink, catching James completely off-guard. Flattered though he was, he politely refused her number. "It will work out," he said simply before following Lily down the corridor.
Case Notes: Couple 687
Male appears reluctant to talk. Female is frustrated. Clearly wears the pants in the relationship.
Apparently this debate stems from some sort of upsetting lie told by the male to the female. Male seems intensely apologetic. Female appears to want to accept apology. Is resisting for some reason. Curious.
Recommendation: Trust exercises.
Outlook: Unclear. The couple seems to live in an environment of heightened emotions - they perceive every action as intensely consequential. Perhaps due to their age. Will probably need another important event to bind them together again. Cannot be achieved in therapy. Do not disclose this - will result in an end to couple 687's visits. Trust exercises might go towards repairing their issues...
"Trust exercises?" James repeated in disbelief, wanting nothing more than to walk out of the overly warm therapist's office.
"Yes," Ms Crockford replied. "I think they will be beneficial in reestablishing what you two seem to have lost. Once you regain mutual trust, you will be able to pick up where you left off."
"Really? It's that simple?" Lily asked.
"I'm not saying that a few exercises will bring you two back together," the therapist said. "But once you begin to mend your trust, then, yes. It will be that simple."
Great, so it all comes down to trust, Lily thought, I knew that much already.
"Do you know how long it took me to get her to trust me in the first place?" James said loudly. "It was nearly impossible! Six years at school together before she decided it was worth the risk to date me."
"Six years, really?" Doris said, quickly trying to mask her disbelief - how unprofessional. "I mean... You two have had the courage to take the first step in repairing your relationship in coming here. And at such a young age, too! Most couples at your age would just move on from one another, but the fact that you're here, working at it, proves to me that the love is there and that it's just a matter of time - whether it takes six days or six years - before you will get back to normal, as it were."
She makes a good point, James thought, Lily wants this to work or she wouldn't have made me go to therapy. I'd better start taking this seriously.
"Okay, so what do we do?" James said, not a hint of mocking in his voice.
"You have to put yourselves in situations where you feel unsafe," Doris began.
Oh good, something new and different for us, James thought sarcastically, Lily mentally echoing his thoughts.
"Then you have to rely on the other person to guide you through the situation and to safety," she finished.
"Do you have any specific activities?" Lily asked.
"Here's a list I've drawn up for you," Doris replied, reaching across and handing Lily a pink piece of parchment with three dot points written on it. "I suggest that you take this home and attempt to complete at least one of these activities before our next session."
"Is there anything else we can do?" James asked, and Lily almost caught herself smiling at the anxious tone in his voice - clearly he wanted to win her trust back as soon as possible.
"I recommend no physical encounters until you've effectively worked through your problems," she replied, causing a look of ill-masked horror to appear on James' face. Lily was very tempted to say 'I told you so' to James but managed to bite her tongue. Just.
"I also suppose you could keep diaries of your thoughts and frustrations regarding each other, but they're not essential in regaining trust, more in dealing with issues that arise in future situations."
"Okay, thank-you, Ms Crockford," Lily said. "We'll make our next appointment with your receptionist."
"Good-luck, dears," she said smilingly as they walked out of her office.
Meanwhile, at a small park in central London, Remus and Laura were enjoying a secluded picnic dinner. Despite the fact that it was late November and freezing cold, it had been an inspired idea for a date. They were kept warm by heating charms and Remus had brought a muggle radio with him with which to play background music. They had just finished with the cheese platter and were halfway through a bottle of white wine, when Remus decided to give Laura her gift.
"I know it's your birthday in a few days and so I just wanted to give you this," he said anxiously, pulling a thin box out of his pocket.
Wordlessly, Laura took it from him and opened it. Inside lay a thin silver chain, with a teardrop shaped yellowish jewel hanging from the middle.
"Oh, Remus-" Laura sighed, "Thank-you."
"It's a yellow diamond," he explained. "I couldn't find something to match your eyes so I found something to match your hair."
"No one has ever bought me diamonds before," Laura said, with a small laugh of disbelief.
"I know we've only been dating two months, but, you know, you're special... That sounded just as corny out loud as it did in my head," Remus added dryly.
"Not corny. Sweet," Laura replied. "Help me put it on?"
She turned away from him as he lifted the necklace over her head and fastened the clasp, letting his fingertips linger on the smooth skin at the nape of her neck. Laura sighed happily, catching one of Remus' hands in hers before turning to face him.
"I know tonight is a really important night for you," she began carefully. "And I know that it sort of makes this - our relationship - real. But what I'm about to say next is not because I want to reassure you or make you comfortable. And it's not because you bought me a ridiculously expensive necklace for my birthday, or because you planned this adorable date for us-" she stopped to take a deep breath, and Remus did, too.
"I think, well, I mean, I think I know that I'm falling in love with you," she said, looking him square in the eye.
"I... Wow," Remus said, literally stunned into silence.
"I don't expect you to say it back, or anything, but I just thought you should know," Laura said with a smile, meaning every word. Remus just nodded dumbly, a look of incredulity spreading across his face.
"So, main course?" Laura asked.
Dear Lily,
Just writing because we haven't heard from you in a while now. Not since you and James parted ways, anyway, and your Dad and I were just getting a bit concerned. We were wondering if you were free next weekend to visit us at the country house. Your father's just finished renovating the annex. It's a guest bedroom for when you and Petunia come to stay. He's now working on converting one of the outbuildings into a studio for painting and throwing pots, etc. He has rather gotten into the artistic stuff since we moved to the country - it must be all this fresh air, I think. Granted, he still forgets things from time to time. Yesterday he tried to make us a pot of tea without boiling the water. But on the whole, I think the country is doing him good.
Anyway, dear, we just want to know that you're okay. So write back when you get a chance, please. I know you're very busy being a magic doctor, but we miss you.
Much love,
Mum (and dad)
They had been silent while consuming their main course - roast chicken with jacket potatoes and garden salad - but as Laura was dabbing at her mouth with a napkin, Remus finally spoke.
"I don't want you to think that what I'm about to say was in any way prompted by what you just said. And I wasn't sure when I was going to bring this up but it kind of just feels like the right time. And, in any case, I got you that necklace sort of instead of saying it myself because, despite being in Gryffindor house at school, I can sometimes forget to be courageous. But anyway-" he took a deep breath, "What I mean to say is, I think I'm falling in love with you, too."
"Are you sure you're not just saying that?" Laura said softly, "Because I don't want to pressure you."
"I'm positive," Remus said solemnly.
"I'm glad," Laura said, leaning in for a kiss.
"Me too," Remus whispered, before their lips met.
It wasn't long before the pair decided to skip dessert and go back to Remus' flat where they proved to each other how very sincere they both were.
There was an oppressive silence in the lift as Lily and James left the building, neither one wanting to be the first to break the silence. Not surprisingly, James was the first to crack.
"So, what did you think?" he asked, not looking at Lily but, rather, fixing his eyes upon the cold metal door in front of him.
"Well, I already knew it was a trust issue, but I expected something more than exercises," Lily admitted.
"Like what?"
"Some sort of deep discussion into why you lied, I guess," she replied. "I don't know. It just seems too simple."
"Winning your trust is anything but simple," James scoffed, biting his lip immediately as though he knew that was something he shouldn't have said. "Sorry," he added.
"I don't know, I just don't know if it'll help," Lily replied, likewise keeping her stare steadily ahead of her.
"Of course it will," James said resolutely. "It has to," he added quietly. Lily glanced at him sideways, concerned by the desperation in James' voice.
"Do you want to try one of the exercises now?" she asked, more because she couldn't stand the look of sadness on James' face.
"What, here?"
"No, there's not enough room. The girls are out tonight - my flat?" Lily replied.
"Sure," James replied, cautious of what he might be required to do. Ignoring his look of apprehension, Lily grabbed his wrist and turned on the spot, taking him inside her living room.
"So tidy," were the first words out of James' mouth and Lily couldn't help but laugh.
"Everything is tidy compared to your flat, Potter."
"Your words wound me, Evans," James said dramatically. He didn't know why, but using their last names gave him a strange confidence - it was as though they were back at Hogwarts and he was trying to win her over once more.
"Okay, so the first exercise is pretty standard. One of us falls and the other one has to catch them," Lily read off the sheet. "Only, we're magic, so one of us is levitated and has to fall out of the sky," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I already regret this."
"Well, since you're the one with the trust issues, and I'm far to heavy for you to catch me, I guess I'll be catching you, then," James said.
"I suppose so," Lily said apprehensively.
"Come on, Evans. This is all about trust. Yes, it's scary, but I promise I won't let you down."
Lily's only response was a heavy sigh, and she shut her eyes in preparation for James' levitation spell. James was rather nervous himself. He knew he would easily catch Lily, that she wouldn't be in any actual danger, but knowing that it was up to her to trust him was what was such a worry.
"Okay, you ready?" he asked. She nodded in reply.
Wingardium Leviosa, James thought, wordlessly lifting Lily into the air.
After a few seconds, James decided it would be as good a time as any to let Lily fall. She emitted a small scream as she fell two feet into James' waiting arms, her arms automatically wrapping themselves around his neck. After a moment she opened her eyes.
"You screamed," James said.
"It was scary," Lily said defensively. "I'm not a quidditch player, remember? I hate heights!"
"You screamed because you were worried I wouldn't catch you," James said sadly.
Lily didn't have anything to say. She offered an apologetic half shrug, causing James to sigh and place her gently on her feet. Lily reluctantly removed her arms from around his neck, her hands lingering over his shoulders longer than strictly necessary.
"We could try again," she said quietly.
James nodded, once again lifting Lily into the air and letting her fall. This time she fell without a peep, landing in his arms again. She opened her eyes to see James smiling broadly.
"You didn't scream."
"I knew you'd catch me," Lily said quietly, her eyes flicking unconsciously to his lips and back. She knew she should disentangle herself from James as soon as possible, lest she do something foolish, but she was finding it very difficult to think straight. She could feel his arm muscles tensing where they held her in place around her waist and underneath her knees, she could feel his heart beating where her chest was pressed up against his, and she could feel his breath tickling her face as he looked down at her.
A moment passed as James looked down at Lily and she looked back up at him, and before he knew it she was kissing him. Or he was kissing her, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that it was happening and it felt good and right and it meant more than any other kiss he'd ever had. Lily moaned slightly as though she was giving into something she knew she shouldn't, and James pulled her in closer against him. He stepped backwards, causing the pair of them to topple backwards onto the couch, still joined at the lips. Just as he pulled away and began kissing the hollow of Lily's neck - which made her make sounds he hadn't heard in months - he heard the front door slam. Lily must have heard it too, because suddenly they were on opposite ends of the couch, unable to make eye contact.
"No physical contact," Lily whispered as though admonishing him, before smoothing down her hair. James didn't really care. As far as he was concerned, they had made great progress. Lily trusted him at least a little bit. And it was clear she was still attracted to him. Maybe couples therapy wasn't such a bad idea after all?
He stood to leave just as Cat walked into the room with Anna and bags full of indian takeaway.
"Hey, James. You staying for dinner?" Anna asked, breezing past him and settling herself on the floor next to the coffee table.
"Just leaving. Ladies, Evans," he said by way of farewell, hurrying out of the apartment, lest he spend too long thinking about the noises Lily had been making only moments before and publicly humiliate himself.
Lily just nodded, avoiding his eyes.
"Good session?" Cat asked, grinning suggestively in a scarily Sirius-like manner.
"Don't want to talk about it," was all Lily said, going to the kitchen to get plates for their dinner.
When she was out of the room Cat and Anna exchanged knowing glances - no matter how much Lily had tried to hide it, her friends had a pretty good idea of what she and James had been doing before they walked in. Maybe it wouldn't be so long before things were back to normal after all.
AN - So there you have it, predictable, reliable fluff. More action with the trainee aurors and Anna getting mixed up in some bad stuff next chapter. Until then, stay tuned and please review if you have a moment :) Happy Fanficcing!
Oh, and as always, suggestions are welcome. Or predictions. I enjoy reading both. Hope you are all well :)