Chapter Twenty Five
"You're both here so I take it that you both understand what you're getting in to?" inquired James, looking at the two girls who sat across from him in front of his office desk. It was evening and their first official meeting.
"Are you going to train us to be like Aurors?" asked Callie.
James scowled. "No, Aurors are trained to capture and to kill. I will be teaching you how to stay safe. How to, in all situations, make sure you aren't the ones who are killed."
"Do you think we will be?" asked Lily, bravely voicing what Callie wouldn't. James glared at her softly. Why did she have to ask stuff like that? Why did she have to make him think about that?
"If you don't pay attention to me, then yes, there is a possibility of it, I'm not going to lie," answered James, avoiding Lily's eyes. "But if you do what is told, and you know how to get back up, then I think you'll be fine."
"What exactly will we be doing?"
"Just what I was about to get on to," smiled James, although it was more like a grimace. "Most of the time, it will be all about trying to get information about the other side. The more information we have, the more we can do to help people. It's hard though, there are people under the Imperius Curse, there are people we don't even know about and then there are people who like to pretend they're big evil Deatheaters when they're not."
"So we'll be like spies?"
"Partially," said James, frowning slightly. "It's not a glamorous job – I hope to Merlin, you don't have the wrong idea about this. It's mainly a lot of sitting around, waiting for something to happen. Occasionally, though, something does happen and the order will be called in to help; to fight. You need to be prepared for every eventuality."
"When are we going to start?" asked Lily. "Your office isn't really set up for a combat scenario."
"The Easter Holidays are due to begin," said James, leaning back on his chair. "I don't see the point in starting something if we have to delay it for a couple of weeks. I thought it would be best to meet today just to make sure we're all on the same page. Do you have any more questions?"
Lily and Callie shook their heads.
"Good, well I've collated a list of all your duties and mine as well and it seems that Wednesday is the best evening for our lessons," explained James. "Is that okay?"
"It's fine with me, Professor Potter," responded Callie. "What do we tell other people though if they notice we have lessons? It's hardly like we can say we need the extra support."
"We can say, we're interested in becoming Aurors," suggested Lily helpfully. "And that as an Auror, Professor Potter, is tutoring us so we can pass the entry exams."
"That will work as long as we don't get anyone else wanting to sign up," said James. "We can figure it out properly if it comes to it. The first real meeting we'll have is the first Wednesday back at school. There's not really anything else I can say, other than keep safe over the holidays and make sure you tell no one."
Lily waited until Callie had left before scraping back her chair and getting up to lean against the desk in front of him, with her arms crossed. "You still don't sound happy about doing this. Reluctant would be the word I'd use."
"That's because you know I'm not happy about this," quipped James, resting a hand on her waist. "But I have realised that there's nothing I can do about this and that to be honest you're probably safer in the Order."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"
"The Order is like a support network," explained James. "Practically all of my friends and family are in it, and I trust them to look after you."
"Does this mean I'll get to meet the rest of the infamous Marauders?" asked Lily, her curiosity peaked.
"Well you've already met the best one of all," winked James, making Lily chuckle. "But you could meet them quite soon, if you wanted to."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what are you doing over Easter?"
"Petunia has made it clear that I'm never welcome in her house, so I'll be staying at Hogwarts presumably," answered Lily dryly.
James placed both of his hands on her waist, and looked up at her with a hopeful smile. "I've been thinking that you should stay at my apartment, with me, over Easter. We could have a whole two weeks with no secrecy."
"You would really want me to stay with you?"
"Of course I do," grinned James. "The only downside is that my friends, Sirius and Remus will be there for most of the time. They kind of moved in after I started teaching. Remus pretty much lived with me anyway to be honest, he's got a problem which means it's hard for him to find a job, so I let him crash at mine. Sirius just gets lonely."
"I don't mind," smiled Lily. "It'll be nice meeting them, well meeting them properly. I remember them from when you were at school."
"Yeah, they're great and they're going to love you," exclaimed James. "I've told them all about you, and they're looking forward to meeting you properly. They want to know the girl who's changed me for the better."
Lily blushed. "I hope they don't have high expectations."
James pulled her down towards him, and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Lily, you're better than any expectations."
James opened his apartment door to Lily nervously. It was strange. He had been with Lily for months now and yet it felt like a first date. He had never shown her anything of his personal life before – it had only ever been her showing him the bits of her life. He felt vulnerable taking her into his apartment, it made it all real.
He closed the door behind him and leant against it as Lily looked around the lounge. It was a typical guys' room with big black leather couches, a table which had the remnants of a poker game on it, and muggle television which James had set up after Sirius had discovered football. He wished he'd decorated with a bit more of a feminine taste. Maybe a few cushions or coasters.
"So this is my humble abode," smiled James.
"Humble?" chuckled Lily. "This is a huge apartment. Are you going to show me the rest of it?"
"Of course," obliged James, grabbing a hold of her hand and pointing to a door to with his other. "Through there is the kitchen but that's not exactly important, follow me."
He led her through a hallway to where there were several doors leading off of it. He started pointing again. "That door is the main bathroom, and those two are the spare bedrooms." He walked through a different door, knowing Lily would enjoy this room.
"Wow," gasped Lily. It was his library. It was nothing special, just a room with a lot of bookcases in it filled with a lot of books but he knew Lily would appreciate it. "You've got a decent collection."
She walked around scanning the shelves and smiling to herself. James grinned. "You can borrow anything you want. Make sure, you put it back in the right place though. You think Madam Pince gets angry? You haven't seen anything yet."
Lily laughed. "Don't worry, I'm good with books. I could stay locked up in this room for days."
"If that's what you want to do, you can," smiled James. "I want you to have fun this holiday."
"Thank you," said Lily sweetly. "That's very kind of you but it wouldn't make me a very good guest."
"Lily, you're not a guest to me," said James, softly cupping her face. "Think of this place as home."
Her face broke out into a radiant smile; the kind that lights up the room. "Are you sure?"
James nodded and pulled her in for a hug. "I know that you haven't always felt wanted or protected as you should have been but here, you always will be. Now I just have one question: which bedroom do you want to sleep in?"
"What do you mean?" asked Lily confused.
"I didn't want to assume you'd want to sleep in the same bedroom as me, so it's up to you."
Lily chuckled. "James, we've been sharing a bed nearly every night since my mother's funeral. I don't think I could sleep in a bed without you now. It would feel empty."
"I was really dreading that you wouldn't want to," admitted James, running a hand through his messy black hair. "It's silly, I know. We should go put your stuff away."
They entered his bedroom, both of them rather apprehensively. James, because this was the most private of all the rooms – it felt as though he was baring a piece of himself to her. He guessed Lily was nervous because of what the bedroom represented and the fact they had officially said they were going to share it.
James took out the miniature trunk and placed it on the floor. He waved his wand and watched as it enlarged to its original size. This was Lily's trunk. He hadn't bothered bringing his own trunk from Hogwarts instead just choosing to wear the clothes he had left behind initially.
"Right, you can either live out of your trunk or put it away properly in the wardrobe and the chest of drawers," said James. "There's plenty of room because most of my clothes are up at the school."
"Do you mind if I put them away properly?" asked Lily. "I can't stand it when clothes crease but I'm useless at household spells."
"Its fine, I'll help," said James, with a smile. The two of them spent a while hanging up her clothes. He couldn't help but enjoy the simple task immensely. It seemed to be an intimate job – only shared by close couples. He'd never done this sort of thing before. His previous girlfriends had never stayed for long enough that they didn't need anything more than a spare pair of panties.
Speaking of panties.
"My, my Miss Evans," smirked James. "I didn't realise you had these beauties hiding away." He held up a pair which had to be the smallest scrap of black lace he had ever seen.
"James!" exclaimed Lily, blushing as she grabbed them out of his hand and quickly stuffed them in the draw. "It's just underwear."
"It's very saucy," said James mischievously, sliding his hand into her red locks and pulling her close. "I like it."
Lily smiled coyly. "Well, I didn't know whether or not I'd have the courage to wear them but if you like them that much."
"I'm too impatient to wait for such an occasion," said James, wriggling his eyebrows. "So let's make one of our own."
He grabbed her by the waist and pushed her gently onto the king's sized bed behind her. The sight of her laying on his black satin sheet with her gorgeous red hair fanned out above her head was making his blood tingle in his veins. He leant down over her and rested on his elbows to stop his weight from crushing her.
"You're beautiful," smiled James. "I could tell you that every day for the rest of your life and I still don't think I'd be able to convey in words exactly how beautiful you are."
Lily crooked her head to the side, with such a soft expression of adoration on her face. "You are too sweet to be true." She thrust her hands into his messy hair and pressed her lips against his. He groaned as he felt her mouth on his and softly slid his tongue against hers.
He slid his hand down her body, savouring the feel of her. His hand found her shirt buttons and started to undo them quickly, pushing the material to the sides to feel her silky skin. She moaned as his hand grasped her bra covered breast, the thin material of the bra doing nothing to hide her arousal. He wanted a view. He wanted to see all of her. He broke the kiss to flip them over, so she was straddling his erection. He pushed the shirt completely off of her, and grinned as she smiled down at him. Smiling and laughing during sex had never happened with anyone but Lily. He grabbed her smooth bare thighs, grateful she was wearing a skirt. He was wearing far too many clothes himself. Evidently, Lily was thinking the same as she started unbuckling his belt. Not quite the order he would have done it in but he wasn't complaining. He moaned when she suddenly stopped, he was momentarily confused. Momentarily.
"Well, this wasn't exactly how I thought I'd meet you, Lily, but hi, I'm Sirius Black. Very, very pleased to meet you."
AN: I'm sorry that it has been months since I have updated :( For some reason, I just haven't been able to write James and Lily. I haven't been able to get into the right mindset for it, and so I've been writing Rose/Scorpius. I plan on updating more regularly now though. I hope my readers have stayed with this story. Thank you if you are one of them.