A Bumpy Road to the Altar

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. The rest belongs to the genius, J.K. Rowling.

Note: First of all, thank you so much to all the seven people who reviewed the last chapter! I haven't been able to update since I went into a computer-deprived vacation, but it was fun, since we went white-water rafting and….okay, since I don't want to be hunted down by readers wanting to read the chapter but can't because the author has launched into an alternative, no-relation story, I'll stop here. And I probably have around….only 3 more chapters to go. So, here's the chapter, everything is revealed here. Please read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Deadly Revelations

James nervously paced the white tiles of the Muggle Hospital, waiting for any news about Jason. It all seemed so surreal; one minute he was walking, and the next thing he knew the boy that was said to be his son got hit by a car. Conflicting feelings flitted through him, anger, shock….

But most of all, guilt.

He knew why Jason was out there---he wanted to catch up to him, to say a goodbye, or something like that. It was his fault.

His heart was pounding at the possibilitiesJason could be severely hurt, a complication or other could arise, or he could…..no, James tried not to think of the last possibility that had entered his mind. He refused to.

A man in a white coat suddenly approached him, and James vaguely remembered Lily calling a Muggle hospital man a…what was it? Oh yes, a 'doctor'. Funny name, but right now, he was too upset to care.

"Are you Mr. James Potter?" The man said, his voice kind. James nodded.

"How is he?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"Surgery went well, thank goodness," The doctor said. "He suffered multiple injuries, but he should be fine. He's stable now, but he's asleep, we've moved him to a private room, and his mother's watching him. Your son is very lucky to have survived, sir, it was a close call."

Relief flooded through James as he sighed thankfully. "Thanks, doctor," He said. "Can I….can I see him?"

The doctor nodded. "Of course. Follow me."

He led James through the corridor, until at last he came upon an open door and bid James to go inside. James entered, and tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat as he looked at the sleeping boy, who, even with the various injuries scattered across his small body, looked angelic as he slept.

Jason's mother was watching her son with a stricken face, but once she caught sight of James, she stood up, slammed the door shut, and turned to him with a fearsomely furious expression on her face.

"How could you do this?!" She yelled. "This, James, is all your fault! If you didn't run out angry like that, he wouldn't have gone after you!"
"Don't yell so loud, he might wake up," He said quietly, knowing that she was mostly right.

"I'll do whatever I bloody want to, this is my son we're talking about here!" She looked near to hysterical. "He almost lost his life today, you prat, and it's all because of you! Wasn't it enough that you had subject him to emotional torture by not being a father to him for the first four years of his life? Wasn't it enough that you had to make me suffer by leaving me? Why did you have to do this to him, to us?"
"Look, I'm sorry, alright? It was unintentional, and believe me, if I had could have done or said something differently a few hours ago, I would have!" James's voice was rising now. He already had too much to deal with, and her repeated accusations were becoming to overbearing for him.

"No you wouldn't. You would have done everything to make sure your precious Lily was safe," The woman's tone was spiteful. "You're pathetic, James, to place a woman on top of your priority list before your own son."
"You don't have any proof that he's my son." It was the wrong thing to say.

The woman beat his chest, tears running down her face, angry. "Stop saying that! He is your son, he is! You never should have left, James, you never should have! All of these would never have happened if you didn't!"
"You cheated on me!"

"One moment of weakness, James, that's it. I thought you loved me, I thought we were stronger than to let something as petty as a one-night stand come between us!" By the volume of her voice it was surprising that Jason was still asleep.

Disgusted, James pulled away from her. "You're wrong," he said. "Maybe I did love you, before, but it was nothing compared to how I felt for Lily, you had to realize that. And no matter how much I love a person, honesty and loyalty are some things I value very highly, and you ruined my trust the moment you brought that guy to your bed."

He stole another look at Jason. "Look, I have to go, I don't want to cause any more trouble than I have to. I'll come back when my schedule permits it."
"Yes, go, run home to your darling fiancée," Again, the bitter, spiteful tone. She turned to Jason before looking at James with hard eyes. "James, at this point, all I want is to see my son happy and well. You at least have to visit him everyday, I don't care if you still don't believe me. You owe him that much."

And that was it. James knew that the woman was right, no matter how he hated to admit it. He found himself nodding. "Everyday, then. I'll see you two tomorrow."

And with that said, he left the hospital and once found a safe spot, Apparated to his apartment, where he had every intention of consuming a bottle of whisky and destroying his furniture.

..------..

It was already late; the clock on Lily's bedroom door read 12:45. But Lily couldn't sleep. She was tossing about on the covers, trying to block out the angry rumblings of thunder and the flashes of lightning as the storm raged on during the night. A loud rumble of thunder was suddenly heard by her, and she shivered.

Ever since she was a little girl, she never liked thunderstorms. It scared her, and she would always want someone else with her during those times. A flash of lightning rolled by once more, and Lily let out a short scream.

Sighing, she got up and put on a dressing gown. Carefully, she walked out of her room and Apparated to James's apartment. They were still fighting, she knew, but she needed his comfort as of the moment. As far as she was concerned, her pride could go to hell for now.

His apartment was dark when she arrived (Although his apartment was protected, he had placed a special charm so she could pop in whenever she liked). She walked to his bedroom. Her hand rested on the smooth, cold doorknob, but before she could turn it, she stopped herself.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself. "I shouldn't be doing this, I'm twenty years old, for goodness' sake, and James will surely laugh at me for being scared of a little thunderstorm. Besides, we're still fighting, maybe he won't take kindly to this surprise".

But a flash of lightning and thunder hit the house, and the pitter-patter of the rain became heavier, and Lily jumped, both startled and scared. On impulse, she turned the doorknob and stepped inside James's room, closing the door softly behind her.

"James?" Lily called out softly, jumping as thunder hit again. "James?" she called out again, louder this time.

Suddenly, the bedside lamps turned on, and Lily looked to see James slowly sitting in bed, putting on his glasses, yawning. But when he saw her, he snapped awake. "Lily?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "It's one am, what are you doing here?"

She walked over to his bed and replied, "I couldn't sleep. This is going to sound silly but…I'm afraid of thunderstorms. Have been since I was a kid. So I was wondering…..could I stay with you? Tonight?"

James sat up straighter to stare at his fiancée. "You're scared of thunderstorms?" he asked her interestedly, as if wondering how someone as strong as Lily could be scared of something like that. Even through the dim, Lily could see that his mouth was curving into a teasing smile, and she was beginning to feel irritated. Suddenly, a very loud clap of thunder rolled by, and Lily gave a short scream as she hugged the nearest pillow tight. James's teasing immediately left him.

"Hey," he said softly. "Don't worry, I'm here. Of course you can stay with me, I don't mind at all. But….I have on more question, though. Are we still fighting? Do you still want to marry me? Because I know I do".

Lily slowly shook her head. "No, I don't want to fight anymore, and yes, I want to marry you still…and I'm sorry. I've realized that you were right, I can't let a few petty mishaps drive me away from a lifetime of happiness. So I don't care if we get married in jeans, as long as we get married, it's fine."

James laughed, happy for the first time since he left Jason's house. "Great! I'm sorry too for yelling….but, Melissa contacted me this evening. She says that everything can still be fixed, so we don't have anything to worry about." He paused before saying, "Wait a minute, didn't you say that you didn't want to stay in the same bed with me until we were married? Something about…removing temptation?" A roughish smile curved his lips again. "I didn't expect you to break your own rule."

"I didn't expect a thunderstorm either, now scoot over," Lily retorted. Giving a short laugh, James moved to the right and Lily climbed in with him. James took off his glasses and the both of them lay down beside each other. "Good night," she murmured as she closed her eyes, liking having someone else with her, although it really undermined her principled somewhat.

"Goodnight," he murmured back as he kissed her forehead and, lying down, closed his eyes as well as the two sank into sleep. Somewhere along the night, James moved closer and placed an arm around her waist. And for the first time since she was five, Lily was able to sleep through a thunderstorm without being waking up in the middle of the night once.

..------..

When James woke up the next morning, he turned to find Lily gone, the crumpled sheets the only indication of her leaving. Still yawning slightly as he put on his glasses and got up, he walked to the bathroom to take a shower, noting, with some satisfaction, that the storm had cleared.

Once he had dressed, he took his wand to fix the covers and prepared himself to leave his room. As he stepped out, he could smell the distinct aroma of sizzling bacon, and he smiled to himself.

Lily was standing by the stove, using an old-fashioned spatula to cook breakfast, humming softly to herself. She suddenly felt a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and she turned to face James, who had his head perched on her shoulder, and smiled.

"Morning, love," James murmured. He stared at her expression and added, "You look happy today".

"Well, the storm is gone, I've slept through the thunderstorm for the first time, and we're both awake. And I will thank you--" her voice suddenly sounded stern as she swatted James's hand, who was reaching for a strip of bacon, away. "To complete my happiness by waiting for everything to be served before eating". James merely laughed as he walked to the table, waiting for breakfast to be served, knowing that if every day were like this, married life would be wonderful indeed.

An owl swooped inside as they had breakfast, bearing a letter addressed to James. He read the letter, and slowly his expression turned guarded as he read the eight words written inside.

Jason's asking for you. Get over here now.

He stoop up, much to Lily's surprise. "I have to go," he said.

Lily frowned. "James, you've hardly eaten. What's wrong?"

He wanted to tell her about Jason's accident, but instantly he realized that telling her would prompt her to pose more questions that he knew he would leave unanswered and therefore spark another argument. So, he decided to lie, no matter how heavy his shoulders were from the lying already.

"Work. They need me now."

Her frown deepened. "It's Sunday. Can't you leave later? We've hardly talked."

He sighed. "Sorry, love, but I really have to go. It's important. I hate it, but I have to go. I'll see you later." And after kissing her on the cheek, he Apparated out of his apartment, leaving Lily alone with James' uneaten plate of food.

Her frown deepened even more, and a mixture of hurt and anger surged through her again. She had seen James' anxious eyes and on-edge movements. And that meant only one thing.

He was lying.

..------..

Lily was getting worried.

It had been a week and a half since the thunderstorm incident, and James had been acting distant and anxious, and she knew he was hiding something. In an effort to turn their relationship to the way it once was, she had proposed that they move in to their new home and live there until the wedding, so they could spend more time with each other after work. James agreed, and within a day, they were living in one house, trying out how married life might be.

She thought that that was the end of it, that once they lived under one roof James would go back to normal. But it wasn't the case. He would always come home late, with the look of a man who was carrying the world's burden on his shoulders. She found herself eating alone every night, and sleeping in a cold bed. She didn't like it at all.

When she would ask him about it, he always said that it was work. Lily wanted to believe him, really she did, but she had asked the security in charge of who entered and exited the Ministry, and he had said that James left early from work now. And she had asked Sirius if there were any more Death Eater attacks, but he had also said that while things were not quiet, it wasn't really red-alert danger, so James should have been free to relax.

So what in blazes was going on here?
One possibility kept popping up in her head: That James was having an affair. It seemed impossible, she kept arguing with herself, after all they had been through, but now, she really didn't know what to do or what to believe anymore. It would certainly account for his distant and distracted behavior around her, but somehow, she had a gut feeling that there was more to it than that. Still, the thought was driving her mad.

So she decided to follow James.

She stole James's invisibility cloak form his trunk and, putting it on one late Friday afternoon, she watched him leave the Auror's department. Heart thudding wildly in her chest, her mind was screaming, "You shouldn't do this! Just trust him!" But she had already started, and damn her if she was going to stop now. So she followed him out of the Ministry.

Thankfully, he didn't Apparate. Strangely enough, he began walking through Muggle London, and a perplexed Lily followed him, careful not to let the cloak be stepped on by the crowds. It was a hard task, and she was finally thankful when he stopped and entered a big building.

She stared in surprise. What on earth was James doing inside a Muggle hospital?

In a secluded part, she took off the cloak, knowing that, with all the running and wheels around the place, it would fall easier pray to being stepped on. She ran a good distance behind James, and being very careful, followed him to the third floor, her puzzlement deepening with every step.

Once she reached the third floor, she lost sight of him, but the next instant, she heard his loud, angry voice emanating from a room at the very end of the hall. Walking cautiously, she hid behind a column and listened to the loud-voiced argument.

"You are bloody mad, woman, if you think I'm going to do that!" James's unmistakable voice resonated loudly to the outside. "I'm thankful Jason's out of them room for check-up, because I don't want him to hear this, but I want you to. There is no way I am going to leave Lily for you."
"You really are a bastard, James, you know that?" The woman's voice said. Lily frowned; the voice was somewhat familiar. "Stop being so selfish, already, your selfishness is what landed Jason in the hospital in the first place!"
Lily double-tracked. Jason was in the hospital? Did he have an accident? Why didn't James tell her this before?

"I'm not being selfish, you are!" James snapped. "You're using your son to get me back. Isn't it bad enough that you dragged me from my life, from Lily? I care about Jason, okay, I do, but that doesn't mean that I have to break off my marriage with Lily to get married with you instead. I can fulfill whatever parental duties I need to do without being with you instead."

"He needs a family, James, a real one!" The woman's voice was now almost pleading.

"And he'll have it, but not in the way you want," James paused before saying, "You ruined my wedding plans, you're slowly ruining my relationship with Lily. You accuse me of all sorts of things, and while some of them were true, it still doesn't forgive you for what you've done. And I see what you're trying to do.

"You know that I'm guilty about what happened to Jason. And you're banking on my guilt, trying to manipulate me into doing what you want. I had to lie to her, to make her worry, just so I could try to ease my guilt by being a father to Jason, even if I'm not entirely sure that he's mine yet. But this proposal of yours, to leave Lily and marry you instead? That's just bullshit. Well, I'm here to tell you that that isn't going to work. I love Lily, and I love Jason, but I. Don't. Love. You."

The door suddenly slammed open, and an angry James walked out the door. Lily couldn't believe what she had just heard. It was like everything was being revealed all at once, and it was too much for her.

But she needed to know one more thing. She needed to know who the woman was. She heard the clinking of heels coming out of the room, and she snuck a peek to see who it was.

Jason's mother chose at that moment to look up. For a moment, the two women locked eyes, and once Lily saw who it was, gasped in shock-stilled surprise.

..------..

Lily couldn't believe it. She just couldn't.

She was pacing the bedroom floor, a flurry of thoughts and emotions. Everything seemed to have happened so fast, it seemed so unreal, and yet….

She was shocked, hurt, and angry. At James for hiding all of this, at the woman for making her life hell when Lily thought that she could trust her, but most of all at herself, for being stupid enough, for being blind enough not to see the plain obviousness of the whole situation.

Rain was starting to pour again, and that did nothing to calm Lily's feelings. James wasn't home yet, and for the first time, Lily was glad. She didn't want to see him just yet, she was afraid that hell on earth would happen.

She suddenly heard a loud crash of glass from downstairs, which made her jump in surprise, ruining her train of thought. Her heart was pounding; something was telling her that this was not good.

Very cautiously she went downstairs, trying as hard as she could not to make a sound, gripping her wand. She entered the living room, and upon seeing the person there, made all the events of today rush back like cold water, igniting feelings of anger, betrayal, and surprise.

But now, most of all, fear.

"Hello, cousin," a familiar voice said, in a cold, angry tone that made a chill go through Lily's spine.

Katharine Harper had a sinister smile curving her lips, a manic glint in her eyes that Lily had never seen before.

And in her tight grasp was a single, glittering knife.