AN: Please review. This story seems like it's getting monotonous as the action I promised is in this chapter had to be pushed back. I made a timeline and there will be roughly 45 chapters total, but updates will be getting spotty come Wednesday. By then I will have started my senior year which means scholarship and college applications on top of homework in addition to extracurriculars.
"Marlene," Lily whined.
"You can't hold still, this isn't a muggle photo. And fix your hat," her friend ordered.
Lily did as she said, but James grabbed her hands and swung her around. The camera flashed several times as they spun, James arms moving around her waist, eventually pulling her close and giving her a kiss. "Is that good enough, McKinnon?"
"Perfect. My photo album will be complete, but I'll get you a copy," Marlene teases. "Can we get inside? It's freezing."
"You're the one that caught us out here. I was trying to lure James away from that damn Quidditch pitch."
"It's almost lunch time, come on."
James kept an arm around Lily's shoulder as they both followed Marlene inside to the Great Hall. It was a Saturday with hardly anything going on, teachers were gearing up for end of term exams so there was hardly any homework. As a result the Great Hall was packed. The three teens squeezed together at a table and helped themselves to the piles of sandwiches arranged on plates, most likely made with the extra meat from last night's dinner.
In the middle of eating, Lily had a letter dropped onto her plate. She groaned when she saw the purple letter and tore it open unceremoniously. After scanning she threw it across the table and took a drink of her pumpkin juice.
"What is this time?" Marlene questioned.
"Vernon's made dinner reservations at some posh restaurant the night we all go home for Winter Holiday." Lily frowned as James grabbed it to read it himself. Letters from her sister are the only letters she lets him read, Agatha's have been of a more...probing nature since she learned they now have private rooms.
"She doesn't actually mention me by name, just that 'boy you brought to my wedding that Aunt Myrtle despised'. Why don't you bring Remus? He had a rather disarming nature. I would suggest Sirius, but he's rubbish with muggles…." James bites his lip. "David, everyone loves David, right Athena?" James turned to seventh year he was neatly arranging vegetables on her plate.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she answered, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder.
"Sure…" James says and Lily swats his arm before he continues on his playful rant, "better yet that kid you went to the pizza parlor with."
"He has a name," Lily told him in a singsong voice.
"I know, but look on the bright side at least he's not your brother."
Marlene and Athena exchange looks before staring at the bantering couple, trying to figure out what James meant. "You are coming with me," she says evenly. "Unless you can talk your mother out of me going to the ball."
"No!" Marlene shouts, a little too quickly. "I...Well, Scott and I are going to need your help."
"Scott?" James questioned. "Wait...that's your brother." A smirk crossed his face. "Last year Charlotte owled me after the ball to ask about him. Are you trying to enlist the help of the Marauders?"
"Possibly," Marlene said. "But I'll need Lily's help, and Athena's, can you ask you mum about adding her to the guest list?"
"What about Alice?" Sirius inquired as he weasled his way onto the bench beside James. "You four birds are always together."
"Can you come up with a better noun?" Alice questioned. She had came down with Athena, but sat at the table eating nothing, just tensely holding a letter. "Besides, I'll be spending Christmas with Frank. Our families are getting together Christmas Eve." The hand not holding the letter gripped the edge of the table so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked.
"Fine, but..." She shook her head. "It's Frank, I can't tell you anything else." Getting to her feet she walked briskly out of the Great Hall, trying to avoid drawing attention of the other students.
"So, let's talk about this Scott and Charlotte thing," Lily said, switching the subject and trying to act as normal as possible to detract attention from Alice. She wasn't like James, if she followed her out Alice would turn bright red and lock herself in the bathroom. "I have a feeling I'm going to be used as bait for those blokes Charlotte's mum is trying to set her up with."
"Can you blame her?" Sirius gave her a smirk and James hit his shoulder. "What? I don't care if she's your girlfriend, I have eyes."
"Black, can you please try not to divert the conversation?" Marlene questioned as she tucked hair behind her ear. "Anyways, Scott was transferred to France and Charlotte moved out of her flat a few months ago."
"Wait, wait, are they even engaged?" James interrupted. Lily was about to ask him why he was objecting, when she remembered Charlotte's parents.
"Not exactly," Marlene said slowly. "Her parents just thought she wanted more independence...Things are rather delicate at the moment, especially since Augustus got declared one of the Wizarding Worlds most eligible bachelor's by Witches Weekly and he has his sights set on her."
"If his eyes were hands, I would have hexed him so fast he wouldn't know what hit him," Lily said as she leaned against James. "And he was so rude. I mean I'm used to James' arrogance…" That was all it took for the conversation to start drifting off. Before long they were all howling with laughter and it was enough to push it all out of their minds. From Alice to the dinner to the ball…
Winter arrived much too quickly. Lily was packing a small suitcase Agatha had sent her so she didn't have to take her trunk home, but could take home everything else she needed. As she packed she looked at the applications on her desk, swallowing harshly. The only one she had sent in was one for St. Mungo's for early acceptance, if she was admitted, her actual entrance to the program was contingent on her NEWT scores. Many schools and training programs implemented it, to get more students through to have skilled people to fight the war. The stress these early acceptances brought was well worth being able to enter the program of your choosing three months early.
"Lily! Lily!" James shouted. He sprinted into her room waving around a piece of Ministry letterhead.
"What is it?" she inquired as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to her feet and spinning her around. Before she could ask again his mouth crashed against her. "James, I have to pack, I'm glad-"
"I got in!"
"In?"
"The Auror Program! I enter in June, three days after graduation." He hugged her even tighter. "Dad said I was going to get in, but it's more real now. I mean, I have to still get five NEWTs, but I can do that. I know I can."
"James, that's spectacular, but...How do you know already? Frank didn't learn until April."
"They need more Aurors," was his only explanation before kissing her again. "Merlin, I'm so happy." He hugged her tightly again. "Everything is so perfect. We're on track to win the Quidditch Cup again, my grades are perfect, my future is set up." He looked at his silent girlfriend. "Don't worry, I mean before I planned on getting an apartment with Sirius, but I want you to come with me."
"With you?" Lily shook her head. "Training is brutal and you'll be gone most of the time, I-"
"You'll get into St. Mungo's, I know you will." He kissed her cheek. "Lil, don't you want this?"
"Of course I do, but I think we need to take a breather, everything is up in the air right now and it's just a lot to take in." She ran a hand through his hair, trying to meet his eyes. "I'm so happy for you."
"Well, I'll be equally as happy for you. I'll talk to mum and dad about choosing a flat for us."
"Us?"
"Of course, we proved that we can live together. Don't tell me that-"
"If the word you're going to bring up with starts with an 'm' and rhymes with "Harry', then I'm going to end this conversation now. I have to finish packing and we have to leave for the train in a half an hour."
"It's not that crazy, my parents got married when they were nineteen."
"They were engaged for a year and had been dating for almost three years before that. Agatha told me."
"So? We're not too young, especially now."
"It's just a big jump," Lily told him and pulled away from him, walking to her trunk and taking a stack of clothes. "I would be willing to make it, though," she whispered. James brought over books, knowing which ones without her asking her.
The train station is the same as last year. Charles greets them along with Agatha, he loads their luggage in the car before Agatha and Lily separate from the group, heading to the apparation point. Diagon Alley is surprisingly empty, few people wander about the street, most are already in shops. The air has a chill to it, cold enough that Lily pulls her knit cap over her ears and slips on her gloves, but it is to be expected for December.
"War scares people," Agatha said, her arm still on her foster daughter.
"I know," is Lily's answer as she passes her a grateful smile. "I know I have to get a dress for the ball, but could you just pick one up? I'm really not in the mood."
Agatha takes a deep breath as they pause in front of the dress shop. She passes her a smile and turns, heading in the direction of a small cafe. "We can wait on your dress robes if you tell me everything that's on your mind."
A faint smile crosses the red-head's face as they open the door, the heat welcomes them in. Inside there are quite a few people compared to the lack of foot traffic on the street. The two witches say no more to each other as they order a pot of tea and plate of biscuits to split between the two of them.
"Can you promise to let me tell you everything before you react?"
"Of course, I'm just glad that you're willing to talk to me, James will only speak with Charles," Agatha says as she tips a bit of cream into her cup.
"Well, James will probably want to tell you this, but he got accepted into the Auror program."
Agatha's reaction is unexpected. Her hand tightens around the delicate tea cup, her lips purse after she takes in a quick breath of air. It takes a few seconds for her to compose herself. "Thank you for telling me, I might not be able to contain myself with him." Agatha's hand finally loosens a bit. "I'm proud, but worried. Godric knows that I spent many sleepless nights when Charles was training, being his betrothed wasn't good enough to be privy to information."
"He wants me to move in with him, I think he wants me to marry him."
"Lily…" Agatha's faces arranges itself into a bittersweet expression with sad eyes and a mouth forcing itself to be upturned. "I always wanted a daughter, but you are so young."
"Nothing has been decided," she quickly adds. "He seems so sure I'll get into St. Mungo's, but as much as I want to be a Healer, I just want to fight. If I marry him I just know that it will..."
"Make him worry about you that much more," Agatha finishes.
"Exactly." Lily reaches for the cream and pours it into her cup, stirring it around before reaching for a biscuit and nibbling on the chocolate edge. This morning was a frenzied mess with trying to wrangle the first years, on the train her stomach was in knots from the conversation with James. "I love him, at least I think I do, but I just...he helped me pick up the pieces after my parents died. He still sees me as that girl and I want to be with him more than anything, but…"
"Will you be able to handle being apart?"
"Yeah," Lily said. "I have a feeling you went through this with Charles."
"Of course I did, I see myself in you. But Lily you will always be family even if you aren't with James."
"This is actually the first time I've even thought breaking up with him and it just feels stupid to be worrying about things like this. We're in the middle of war and I haven't even finished school yet. NEWTs have been moved up to the end of March, I have my interview for St. Mungo's when I get back from break...To top that all off I've got Head Girl duties and I'm sitting here thinking about James." She pushes her cup away from her and chomps on another biscuit. "I feel like everything's all jumbled about in my brain and you know what's odd? When I'm with James, things seem clearer, the answers are easier to find. He may be an arrogant toerag at times, but he has this way of seeing things that is so different from mine...for him everything is black or white, but it helps me find the right shade of grey."
Agatha lips curled upward at Lily, glad her son found the right girl. To her it seemed they were moving too fast, but who wasn't this day and age?
