Chapter 29 – Lost Without You
"Are you sure you want to be doing this, Padfoot?"
Sirius rolled his eyes as he placed a few of his belongings on the shelf in the bedroom of his new flat in London. "Yes, Prongs, for the millionth time. I can't live at Potter Manor forever— not to mention, you probably wouldn't want me to. It's about time I get my own place. Besides, now you can feel free to ask Lily that question you've been itching to ask her for the last month."
James looked over at his best mate in surprise and then quickly looked out the bedroom door to where Christina and Lily were chatting and making a list of all the things men don't think to buy for a new place so he could be sure they hadn't heard Sirius. He turned back to him, clearly not amused, since he had found that the girls were still lost in their own conversation. He hissed back at him quietly, "How do you know that I've been thinking of asking Lily anything?"
Sirius guffawed. "Please. If Lily's not staying at your place, then you are staying with her. It's been that way for a while now too. Plus, I just know these things."
James nodded wearily, but then a new thought occurred to him. "You're not moving out just because of that, are you?"
Sirius scoffed, loudly this time. "NO ALREADY!"
James looked out at the girls, who were now eyeing the both of them curiously. He just waved innocently back, causing them to roll their eyes at their immature boyfriends and go back to whatever they had been talking about. He then turned back to Sirius with a glare this time. "Fine, then. I get it. I know you want a place to call your own. I suppose I wouldn't want to deal with you and Christina all of the time, when things come to that anyway."
Sirius looked ill. "I'm quite happy to hear that because frankly, I'm sick of you and Lily. Talk about gross."
James laughed. "Right."
They were both quiet for a bit as James enlarged some of the things in one of the remaining boxes before handing the items to Sirius so he could place them wherever he wanted them. Sirius eventually broke the silence, saying softly, "So when are you planning on asking her?"
James furrowed his brow. "I don't know. I mean, isn't it too soon anyway?"
Sirius gave him a look. "You do realize that almost all wizards and witches end up marrying someone within a few months out of Hogwarts? Frank, Alice, my cousins… I heard Diggory and Wittier got married quickly too. There have been more I'm sure, but I don't read that section of the Daily Prophet."
James still didn't look appeased so Sirius continued, "Well, why not then? Are you afraid she'll say no or something? Because you're being completely stupid if it's that. The girl is head over heels in love with you, although I'm still wondering how it ever happened in the first place. I can still remember the time you got slapped in the middle of the Great Hall in sixth year for asking her out for the 118th time because I dared you to see how many times you could ask her out in one day."
James smiled reluctantly at the memory, but he sighed as he tried to think about what he would say to Sirius. He had never lied to him, but there were some things that Sirius didn't know because he didn't know Occlumency. Sirius had no idea that Voldemort was particularly curious about James and the Potter family line. James still wasn't positive he wanted Lily to have to deal with all of that just to be with him like he wanted her to be. "It's not exactly that… I mean, what about all of this stuff going on with Voldemort? Who gets married in the middle of an on-going war? I guarantee we're all on his hit list, what with Bella, Malfoy, and whoever else in his camp." He paused before adding quietly, "He already came after my parents."
Sirius frowned at this. "So you think he'll go after Lily to get to you? I'm not going to say it isn't possible, Prongs, but at the same time, wouldn't you rather be happy together? Besides, I don't think anything would happen to her without something happening to you first, you and that bloody nobility of yours. And then look at Frank and Alice. They are also doing stuff with the Order, and they got married."
James tilted his head as he thought over what Sirius had said. He supposed that was true. "Maybe I will then. I don't know. What about you and Christina? You two seem quite happy together."
Sirius smiled. "Things are good. We were going to—"
He broke off when he noticed Lily heading over towards them. She smiled at them both when they looked her way. She paused near the bedroom door. "Hey, Christina says she's starving. Any chance you boys would like to take us out to lunch, considering Sirius has no food yet?"
Sirius gave her a salute. "Food for Chrissy. Got it."
Lily giggled as she watched Sirius run past her, and she shared a look with James when they both heard Christina yelp from somewhere in the kitchen. James stepped up behind his pretty girlfriend and left a few kisses on the back of her neck because her hair was pulled up in a ponytail for a change. She shivered a bit before turning to look at him. He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear, "So lunch?"
Lily nodded, trying to keep herself calm. She had no idea how James could have such an effect on her, but she liked it. A lot. She ran her hands down his strong chest for a moment, a bit lost in his hazel eyes. They were interrupted, as usual, by Sirius, "Oi, lovebirds, Chrissy needs sustenance! We must leave!"
James chuckled to himself as he grabbed Lily's hand to lead her outside so they could apparate somewhere to eat. Perhaps it would be a good thing for Sirius to move out. Maybe there wouldn't be as many interruptions.
James looked at his watch for the millionth time as he waited for Lauren to get whatever else she needed for seventh year. He had already told her she could use some of his books and whatnot, considering he had often underlined all of the important things already, but she still had had to go and get some other supplies. He wanted her to hurry up and get home so he could go do a bit of things on his own. He would never leave her by herself, especially right now because of everything going on, even if she was an incredibly talented witch. His thoughts were broken when he heard her sarcastic voice remark, "You know, I should move even slower if you're going to act like that."
He looked at her amusedly. "Thanks, but no thanks, Lauren. You know that I could've gotten all of your stuff for you without you, but you insisted on coming. Haven't I told you that it's dangerous to be out right now?"
Lauren gave him a look. "I know of the danger, Jimmy. Besides, I'm not the only one shopping for Hogwarts. There are tons of students about. Come on, I just need to go and get a new set of robes, and then I'll be done."
He nodded and signed off on the things she needed from the store they were in before heading with her to Madam Malkin's. He waited while she got fitted for a new set of robes as he absentmindedly looked at his watch again. He pushed the 6 button, curious about what Lily was doing. The Lily hand was placed firmly at the number 2 spot, which used to read 'school' but now read 'order work.' His brow furrowed for a moment as he wondered what she could be doing, but then he remembered that she had said she would be working on potions for most of the morning. She was probably continuing her polyjuice potions or working on Remus' potion. Remus had given her a few suggestions based on his experience with her current concoction, which had made her curious, so she had told him that she had an idea for something new, but it would take even longer to brew and probably wouldn't taste as good. James had no idea what she had been talking about and was as lost as Remus was as to her new ideas. He pressed the 6 button one more time to replace his watch's normal face and was happy when Lauren walked out a few minutes later with her new set of robes all boxed up. "Ok, Jimmy, I'm all done now."
James sighed. "Good. Send all of your things home, and then apparate there yourself. Tell Lily I still have a few things to do. She should be in the potions drawing room."
Lauren waved her wand at her things before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me come out today even though you didn't want me to. I really don't like being stuck in the house, you know."
James ruffled her hair. "You're welcome, sis."
Lauren gave him a wink before apparating away. He sighed and looked around Diagon Alley with sad eyes. He had already been through both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade looking for the perfect ring for Lily, but he had had no such luck. It wasn't his fault he was picky. He was thinking about apparating to London to look around in the muggle shops when his gaze came to rest on Gringotts. It had been a very long time ago, but the memory suddenly came back to him like it was yesterday. His father had taken him when he had been about six to a side chamber in Gringotts which led down to the goblin village, located directly below Diagon Alley. He had been sworn to secrecy of its existence because wizards and witches were typically not welcome. There were few wizarding families that were, but the Potter family had always been one of them.
He causally made his way toward Gringotts as he struggled to remember the side chamber's location. He could just apparate back to Potter Manor and ask his father's portrait, but showing back up at home would likely cause questions from both Lauren and Lily that he wouldn't want to answer. He somehow knew it to be on the left side, but there were no visible doors to be found. However, there was a rather large overgrowth of trees, bushes, and vines. He stepped into the shadows and disillusioned himself before making his way closer to the wall, pushing his way through the growth to try and look for any identifying features along the wall His hands didn't seem to pick up any magical traces. He was beginning to give up hope when he came to a single rose bush, which had grown up the Gringotts castle wall very slightly. He stared at it, remembering it to be significant, but he had no idea why. He gently plucked a rose from the bush and then heard a quiet voice whisper into the wind, "Password?"
James was startled. Password? What the hell was the password? He had no idea. He had been six at the time. Plus, he was sure it had been changed since then, considering it had been twelve years. He spoke hesitantly, "I'm unfamiliar with the password, but I am a friend of the goblins and have been here once before a long time ago. I am the remaining heir to the House of Potter and Peverell."
There was no sound for a few moments. "Prove who you say you are."
James' brow furrowed. There was enough tree cover so people out in Diagon Alley wouldn't be able to see him. He undid the disillusionment and then cast a spell on the ground leaving a burned shape of the Potter crest. There was another few moments of silence until there was a faint glow on the wall in front of him in the shape of an archway. "You may pass through, Master Potter."
James was a bit hesitant, but after messing up the Potter crest on the ground, he stepped through the archway. His eyes came to rest on an old goblin clearly interested in his presence. "Master Potter, we have not seen your family here in a long while. What brings you here today?"
James smiled slightly. "I was wondering if I could visit your shops? It would be most appreciated."
The old goblin nodded. "Feel free, Master Potter. You and your family are always welcome here. For future reference, the password was and should continue to be 'Godric Gryffindor.'"
James' eyes widened a bit. No wonder his family would always be welcome here. He made his way through the village of goblins and was the only wizard around. He was happy he had thought to bring his black cloak and could keep his identity to himself, although he was positive most of the goblins knew of which wizards or witches that were allowed in their village. He stopped briefly at each of the shops, taking note that only female goblins ran the stores, mostly because all of their male counterparts were upstairs running the bank. He finally found an out of the way jewelry store and made his way inside. He was quite happy that they had made all of their shops accessible for wizards despite being about two feet shorter than most wizards themselves. The female goblin shopkeeper looked at him curiously, although with a smile. "What can I do for you, Master Potter?"
He smiled sheepishly at her knowing who he was. Apparently, gossip of a wizard in the goblin village traveled fast. "Well, I was sort of looking for…"
The female goblin paid him no mind and immediately brought out a tray of goblin-made rings. "You must be here for a lucky lady. The few wizards allowed in our village often come here to find their engagement rings. Do you know what makes them special?"
James was curious. "No, what makes them special?"
The female goblin chuckled. "Goblin-made products are often infused with magic a wizard could almost never make. That is what makes goblin-made products indestructible, such as that of Gryffindor's legendary sword. However, with jewelry, particularly engagement rings, not only is there magic of that sort, but there is also magic of love. Love is something not understood by wizardkind or even muggles, although your Ministry continues to try and solve its underlying power. Goblins, though, have found a way to manipulate the properties of love in such a way that whenever a goblin-made engagement ring comes into contact with the witch it was designated for, it will seal itself with that witch if she is true. If not, then the ring will refuse the witch."
James looked at her in surprise. "Wow. That's amazing, although I have no doubts about the witch in question."
The female goblin nodded with a smile. "I can tell by your eyes. Eyes like yours can only occur when love is equally reciprocated." She then gestured to her many rings. "I have all of the jewelry from the village in this store. I guarantee you will find what you are looking for here."
James looked down at each of the many rings she had laid out for him to look at. They were beautiful, far more beautiful than he would have found anywhere else, and each ring was made unique. Goblins had always been the best at manipulating metal and gemstones. His eyes gazed over the many variations, but they soon came to rest on one. It was exquisite. There was a square cut diamond in the center, but there was also two emerald stones, also cut like a square, with one sitting on each side of the large center diamond. The emeralds were shifted so they looked more diamond-shaped in contrast with the center square. It was like having Lily's emerald eyes looking back at him. The goblin-made metal was darker in color than most gold or platinum rings, but to James, it just made the color of the gemstones jump out at him even more. The metal wrapped around the stones in an intricate pattern, like a vine of some kind. He was sure Lily would love it. He pointed to it. "That one."
The female goblin chuckled as she picked it up and placed it in a beautiful black and gold box for him. "You know, I think that ring must've been made just for you. It was just finished yesterday."
James gave her a pretty smile and thanked her profusely for her help. He made sure to give her his vault number, but she just waved her tiny hand at him. "We all know your vault number, Master Potter. Now, you go and make your witch very happy. I hope to meet her one day."
James was ecstatic as he made his way back through the village, nodding to a couple of goblins who gave him warm smiles. He met the old goblin at the side chamber gate once more. "Thanks for letting me in."
The old goblin nodded back to him. "Anytime, Master Potter."
James made his way through the archway, pocketing his purchase snugly within his cloak. He disillusioned himself as he made his way back towards Diagon Alley. He stopped briefly, noting that it was late afternoon, early evening. He looked over at Knockturn Alley, realizing that this would be the perfect time to try out his plan. He flicked his wand over himself a few times, altering his appearance considerably. He changed his hair so it was a bit longer and shaggier, changed the color to a dark red-brown, altered his glasses so they looked more sophisticated, changed his eye color to dark brown, altered his facial structure, and made his body type a bit less athletic and wirier. He also made sure to transfigure his watch because it would be a dead giveaway. He made sure there were no other identifying features before placing his hood on his head and undoing the disillusionment. He briefly felt the effects of his magic, ensuring he had been changed properly before making his way towards Knockturn Alley.
He had never been down there personally, but Peter had given him a rough lay-out after sneaking around in his animagus form for the last few days after work. He had mentioned that he hadn't gotten any real information, but had taken notice that certain supposed Death Eaters frequented a pub called Death's Day deep within the dismal area. James kept his head down and made his way through the tightly-confined streets, a little unsettled by the darkness shadowing over the streets from the buildings being built so close together. He sneered at a few hags who attempted to engage him in conversation or tried to sell him things. At the sight of his sneer, they backed away instantly. James grew less worried by this, happy that growing up around snooty pure-bloods was going to come in useful. He eventually found the pub and was dismayed when he saw that there were some vampires hanging around outside underneath hoods and in the shadows as they waited for nightfall. This could get ugly if things went poorly. Maybe he should've shared his plan with at least one other person. He supposed he would mention it to Sirius or Lily later tonight so at least one person was aware of what he was doing.
He made his way inside, ignoring the undead patrons standing around outside. They merely looked at him and left him alone. The pub was equally dismal on the inside. He made his way to the bar, and while making an effort to speak with a thick French accent said, "A firewhiskey. Make it a double."
The barkeep gave him a curt nod before pouring his order. He glanced around the pub inconspicuously. He found himself a bit unnerved by the fact that Lucius Malfoy was there with two men James had never met, most likely some of the older followers that Dumbledore had mentioned. He took his drink order after throwing out a few sickles and grabbed a paper off of the edge of the bar before making his way toward an empty table. He could practically feel Lucius' cold grey eyes on him. Apparently, outsiders were not welcome here with open arms. Good to know. Lucius made his way over before asking authoritatively, "Who are you?"
James glanced up casually, his eyes hard with a look of disdain. He made sure his French accent was the first thing he would notice, "What's it to you?"
Lucius' eyes narrowed. "You're French. We don't get many foreigners around here. You must be pure-blood too."
James looked bored. "Does all of this have a point, or can I continue with my drink in peace?"
The two older men behind Lucius snickered. Lucius looked infuriated at being bested. He held out his hand. "Lucius Malfoy. You'd best know my name around here."
James looked him up and down, not taking his hand, his dark brown eyes still cold. "Jean-Pierre Lametz. I suppose you can call me Pierre."
Lucius' eyes widened at the name. It was an important last name in France, related distantly to the Grimaldi family, who were royalty in Monaco. James chose it for a few reasons. There was the fact that it implied royalty, pure-blood ties, money, and sophistication, but also because, just maybe, Voldemort had been able to trace back the Potter family line on his own a bit. The Potter family was related distantly to the Grimaldi family as well, but much further back to when an actual 'Grimaldo' female married a Potter. This was why the Potter family continued to have property in France and in Monaco. He had found all of this out when he had been mulling around in the Potter study during some of his free time. Lucius' friend piped up, "Royalty?"
James turned his cold gaze to his friend. "Distantly."
The same friend nodded to Lucius before turning back to James. "Well, Pierre, would you care to join us? Have you heard of the Dark Lord?"
James frowned. "I have heard of one called by that name. I hear he is doing noble work, purifying wizardkind of the filth."
Lucius' other friend raised his glass with a sneer. "Hear hear. I'm Theodore Nott, by the way, and this is Evan Rosier."
James got up and made his way over to their table, taking a seat in a relaxed fashion before turning his nose up snootily. "I trust you all are of the same mind, then?"
Lucius smirked. "That we are. It is nice to find someone knew who thinks similarly. Most persons who come around here are of that mind."
James looked on with a sneer. "That is why I do not waste my time in places where the company is mixed."
Evan looked him over. "So tell us, what brings you to England?"
James looked over his white blonde hair and dark eyes. This was clearly a relative of Sirius' aunt, Druella Black, formerly Rosier. This unnerved him. He had heard stories about the Rosier family as a boy. They were not a family that played with their victims. They killed persons outright with no thought. James fought to remain calm and collected as he forced himself to speak about things he would never utter in a thousand years. "France has become a collection of half-blood and mudblood twits. I thought England would be more suitable, but I was sadly mistaken. This is the first place I have found that is not crawling with the filth. I am amazed to see that this change is taking place within the magical community here as well. Perhaps your Dark Lord has it right."
Theodore Nott smirked. "We agree. Perhaps you could join us in our endeavors?"
James frowned. "I'm afraid I like to look out for myself first, a trait I hear you Brits call a Slytherin quality. I do not think I would be all that useful to you."
Lucius nodded. "That is true, for the most part. If you change your mind, you know who to talk to."
James slammed the rest of his firewhiskey along with his new 'friends.' He gave them a smirk. "I shall consider your offer, but do not expect my answer to change. I suppose if there were small things I could do to help you on your way, I would not be opposed. Your mission is one I support."
Evan nodded his way. "Pleasure meeting you, Pierre."
Lucius and Theodore echoed his sentiments before they made their way outside and apparated away. James held back purposefully, looking back over himself. He was positive he just got tracked and would be watched as he left. James ordered another firewhiskey and summoned the paper he had been reading from the other table. He pretended to read about Knockturn Alley news, which included rallying of vampires and werewolves. He was gladly going to bring this to Dumbledore. He would have to get rid of his tracking charm or charms before he left first and would have to do it carefully in case he was being watched. He placed his wand in his left hand as he turned through the newspaper. He used his right hand to concentrate on anything inherently magical. He eventually discovered a magical trace on his left shoe, his cloak, and his ear. Clever, but not too clever. He wandlessly got rid of them and double checked himself. He was sure he would be safe to apparate away, but he still would go somewhere else before he went home first, just in case. He nodded curtly to the barkeep before exiting the pub.
He quickly apparated to Hogsmeade and then walked purposefully over to the side of Honeydukes so he could be alone. He checked himself more thoroughly and still found nothing else wrong with him. He then cancelled his transfigurations before apparating home. As soon as he landed in the living room, he was surrounded by worried persons, all clamoring him with questions. Lily, Lauren, Remus, Christina, and Sirius were all looking at him expectantly for a rather detailed explanation for why he had been gone for about six hours. He looked them all over, particularly Lily, who was looking rather upset. "What?"
He knew that anything he said at this point was probably going to be wrong, but that must've been high on the wrong list. Lily's pretty green eyes flashed. "JAMES! How dare you just disappear for hours on end! Sirius went to meet you when Lauren said you had things to do by yourself. You should not be traipsing around by yourself! And then, he comes back to tell us you had DISAPPEARED! Do you have any idea how worried we were?"
Everyone else seemed content to just let Lily rant at James, even though they had felt the same worry. They all kind of backed up when Lily began her tirade. James' face was clearly surprised and slightly pained, hearing the girl he loved yelling at him for the first time in a long time. He gently reached out and touched her shoulders, causing her fury to deflate a bit. "Lily, I'm sorry. Really. I didn't know Lauren would tell anyone to come meet me. I left the area not long after she apparated away." He turned to the others as well. "I'm sorry."
Lily looked at him, her face softened. "Then, where did you go?"
James made eye contact with Sirius who seemed to understand one of the things he had been doing so Sirius interrupted, "Well, it must've been important. I know you said you had somewhere to go. I figured it had something to do with the Order so I was going to go help you."
James sighed, taking his message to mean that he had probably wanted to help him with the engagement ring search because Sirius knew that he had been having problems. However, he ran with Sirius' metaphor, which happened to be true. "I had an idea about Knockturn Alley, and I went and did it. I found out nothing really useful, yet anyway, but I can confirm Evan Rosier, Theodore Nott, and Lucius Malfoy are all working with Voldemort. I also brought this back."
They all looked at the Knockturn Alley newspaper, which was covered in stories supporting Voldemort's cause and the stuff about recruiting vampires and werewolves. While everyone was looking over the stories in the newspaper, Lily turned back to James and hit him in the chest. "Don't you make me worry like this ever again."
He gently grabbed her hands and leaned down to meet her eyes, which still seemed a bit worried. "I will do my best not to make you worry. I really am sorry."
Lily smiled slightly. "Good. You should take that to Dumbledore. He would want to see it. What did you do to find out this information anyway?"
His brow furrowed, showing his unease over what he had just done. "I transfigured myself. I became a friend to their cause. They appeared to like me, but I was tracked. I got rid of everything before I left for Hogsmeade. I did another more thorough check there before coming here."
Lily frowned, her green eyes still looking worried. "They didn't recognize you? Are you sure?"
James nodded. "No, they had no idea it was me. I've been around enough pompous pure-bloods my whole life, I knew how to act like one. I pretended to be French as well."
Lily still looked skeptical. "If you say so. Just…be careful. And next time, tell someone where you will be!"
James leaned over and kissed her softly. "Ok, I promise."
Sirius looked over at his best mate, who was lounging moodily in his living room. They had gotten out of training early that day so they had just gone over to his place to wait for the girls to get off work. However, after a few games of Exploding Snap, he had noticed that James definitely had things on his mind. Along with their Auror training, the two of them had been sneaking off occasionally to Knockturn Alley, only this time together. James would pretend to be Pierre while Sirius came in separately as his own persona, some guy named Ray O'Conner. While Pierre was at least well liked by some of the Death Eaters that frequented the area, Ray was not and was left alone. The two of them liked this better though because Sirius could watch out for them playing tricks with James— not to mention that if Sirius had become a friend to them, his lack of knowledge regarding Occlumency would be detrimental. Sirius could've used the invisibility cloak like they had originally wanted to do, but because of the prominent presence of vampires and werewolves around the area, his presence would have been found instantly regardless so it was better for him to just be there as someone else.
But right now, Sirius was sure that the only thing troubling James was a certain redheaded witch with one hell of a temper. He had no idea why his best mate was terrified of someone so tiny. He supposed he was frightened of her too, although he wouldn't admit that to anyone. "So how long has it been?"
James just sighed, looking defeated. "Two weeks, four days, and almost one hour."
Sirius couldn't help the smile that started to grace his face. James gave him a look, but this only made his grin spread faster. It wasn't long before Sirius was laughing his ass off at his best mate's expense. James was not amused. Sirius eventually sobered up and just asked him, "Why in the world haven't you asked her yet?"
James looked frustrated. "It just hasn't been right."
Sirius snickered quietly to himself. James had told him that he had gotten the ring the night he had gotten it; however, he could not for the life of him buck up the courage to ask her. It was rather funny. "You do realize she's like 5'4" and only about 115 pounds at most, right? Without her wand, what could she really do to you if you ask her? In fact, I bet she will be incredibly happy about it and will snog you senseless so what exactly are you afraid of?"
James growled at him. "I am NOT afraid of asking her."
Sirius just laughed. "YES, you are."
"Not."
"Are."
"Not."
"Are."
"NOT!"
Sirius smirked. "Sure, you aren't, James. Then, why haven't you asked her?"
James sighed. He hated it when Sirius was infuriatingly curious and relentless. It really annoyed him. "I don't know, ok? I've taken her out, things have been perfect, but then, I just freeze or…something."
Sirius grinned like a maniac. "Yeah, because you're scared."
James jumped up from the couch, pushing him slightly. "I AM NOT!"
That was how both girls found them after they apparated into Sirius' flat together. Lily looked curiously back and forth between her fuming boyfriend and his best mate, who was laughing hysterically on the floor. "Ummm, what's going on with you two?"
James froze. He glanced over at his beautiful girlfriend before shooting a glare at the still chuckling Sirius. "Nothing, Lils. Sirius just knows how to push my buttons."
Christina snickered. "Sirius, leave the poor boy alone."
Those words caused James to frown back at Sirius, considering they sort of implied that Christina might know what was going on. Sirius sobered up and shook his head slightly for James' benefit, causing James to relax some. Sirius turned to his girlfriend with a wink. "But he makes it so easy, Chrissy."
James scowled. "Just wait, Padfoot. I can't wait until you are standing where I'm standing."
The girls just looked at each other curiously when Sirius turned stoic at the thought of whatever James was talking about. They were being uncharacteristically…vague. Lily just pulled at her boyfriend to get him to leave with her, pouting playfully. "Come on, James. I want to take a shower before we go out for the evening. I exploded three potions today."
James smiled at Lily. "I find that hard to believe."
Lily rolled her eyes playfully, but Christina laughed gleefully. "You should have seen her, James! She came to meet me and Shelley for lunch, but she was covered in something purple and sticky that we had to go wash off. She refuses to say what kind of potion she is working with though."
James snickered and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, meeting her pretty green eyes. "Then, we best not ask her about it. Hi, beautiful."
Lily's thoughts about anything else disappeared when she suddenly had James right in front of her. Why did his smile make her forget about everything? "Hi, yourself."
Sirius groaned, covering his eyes. "Stop the madness! Please! I moved out to get away from it all!"
Christina giggled and pushed at James and Lily. "Get out of here! I have to make Sirius forget what we just saw."
James and Lily started laughing at that. James pulled Lily close to him and apparated them both to Potter Manor. As soon as they landed, James leaned down and captured Lily's lips in a much more involved greeting. He eventually pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers. "How was work really?"
Lily sighed. "Fine. I really did explode three potions, but it was worth it though. Good stuff, if I can get it right."
James chuckled, leading her upstairs. "If anyone can work it out, I'm sure you can, Lily love."
Lily shrugged. "So, what about you? You got out early?"
He nodded. "Moody let us out for some reason. I think he had to go somewhere important. He said we'll all make up for it next week though. Sirius and I were going to do some work this weekend so we're not totally unprepared on Monday."
She laughed. "I'm sure he will. He is definitely a no nonsense kind of guy."
He eventually opened his bedroom door for her, telling her to go ahead and take a shower since he already had. He would have joined her if he wasn't such a jumble of nerves. While she was in his bathroom, he quickly changed into a nice pair of jeans and a dark blue button down shirt, finishing with placing a certain gold and black box in his pocket. Hopefully, tonight he would finally ask her the question— at least, that was the plan.
For being a girl, Lily didn't take all that long to get ready. He was lying on his bed looking over some of his Auror texts when she finally did come out of the bathroom some thirty minutes later. She was still fumbling with her clothes, frowning slightly, but James just kind of stared at her. She looked amazing. She was wearing a jean skirt with one of her short-sleeved white blouses with these heeled sandals gracing her tiny feet. Her hair was all pulled up, braided, twisted, and pinned slightly, leaving certain tresses hanging about. Her make-up was light, but he could see a hint of gloss on her extremely kissable lips. Her bright green eyes eventually turned to meet his, and a smile graced her lips. "Are you staring at me, Potter?"
James just nodded weakly. She was killing him here. He made his way over to her, itching to just touch her. As he wrapped his arms around her, he kissed her neck softly and ran his hands over her back before whispering near her ear, "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"
Lily's heart was pounding. He was being incredibly sexy right now. "You tell me enough, I suppose."
James just chuckled. "It's still true. I love you."
Lily smiled at him. "I love you too."
James was about to ask her, but his mind failed to form the words. Instead, his mind was littered with curse words, telling him that he was, more or less, an idiot. A tense smile broke out on his face. "Let's head out."
Lily looked at him peculiarly, but took his offered arm. The whole night was filled with similar moments. They had gone out to a nice restaurant, and there were a total of six times where James had started to go for it, but then stopped himself. He was getting increasingly agitated over it. Lily only really started to notice that something was off towards the end of the meal. He had stepped around her questions because he couldn't exactly say he was fine when he wasn't, considering he couldn't lie to the girl. While he liked the fact that he was unable to lie to her due to the Dumbledore family charm, it also was a right pain in the ass sometimes. However, growing up with the 'no lying to an elder' philosophy, he had become a pro at giving not completely truthful answers by being vague or really listening to particular questions or evading questions skillfully. Dumbledore often teased him, saying he had a habit of 'stretching the truth' or looking at things too literally. This was most certainly true.
James had found a nightclub in muggle London, through extensive research with Remus and Sirius, which was similar to the one they had gone to in Miami. Lily perked up at the idea of him willingly taking her dancing. They had gotten there with no trouble, and dancing had made things so much easier because they really didn't have to talk, nor could they really do so with all of the loud music. The live band that had been playing that night was pretty good, but James was still anxious. He had been so distracted that he almost failed to glare at a few guys who had made eyes at his girlfriend. Almost.
However, after dancing and laughing with Lily for a couple of hours, he finally began to relax a bit. This was one of the things he loved most about Lily. She was really the only one that could pull him out of his moods whenever he had them. Sirius and Lauren often tried to use humor, but this really just tended to make him angrier. Before he had Lily, he used to go out to be by himself for a while to let his mood wear off. Now, he just liked to spend time with her, and it always made him feel better.
It was a little after one in the morning when the two of them had made their way outside. They decided to just walk for a while before they apparated home. The streets of London were not nearly as busy; there was only the occasional group of people hanging around. The sky was dark, but the street lamps left faint glows of light on the sidewalks below. Lily was holding onto James' arm as the two of them walked in relative silence together. Her brow furrowed as she thought about their evening. She had had a wonderful time. She loved spending time with James. At the same time though, she knew something was bothering him. He seemed quietly frustrated— not with her, but with himself. She knew that to push him about it would only make him more upset so she had let it be, but she was still a bit wary and curious. He had been doing a lot of stuff down in Knockturn Alley with Sirius, but she had thought he had been telling her about most of that. It had to be something else. "Are you sure you're alright, James?"
James gave her a small smile. "I'm with you, Lily love."
Lily looked at him skeptically. He wasn't exactly answering the question. He had done that a lot during the night. She broke eye contact, still hugging his arm. So much for trying not to push him. Apparently, she would have to be a bit more direct. "You're not ok. I know it, so what is it?"
James didn't say anything for a few moments and gulped quietly to himself. Now was the time. She wasn't going to let him dance around the issue anymore. "I love you, you know."
She nodded. "Yeah, I know."
He stopped walking with her and turned her to face him. "No, I'm not sure you do. I want to be with you every day. I want to make you smile or laugh. I want to wake up and see you every morning. I would do anything in my power to make sure you would never be hurt or upset. You are the only person I would ever want to be with. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."
Lily's pretty green eyes were wide as she looked at him. James took a deep breath before kneeling down on one knee in front of her and pulling out the beautiful ring he had found for her. He continued softly, "Will you marry me, Lily?"
When his eyes met hers once more, it was clear that she hadn't stopped looking at him at all, and she had barely registered what he was doing. She also didn't seem to have glanced at the ring either. Her eyes were a bit teary, and she had brought her hands up to her mouth. As the seconds ticked by, James became a bit more nervous, thinking she was going to turn him down. He broke eye contact and continued to babble on, something he tended to do when he was nervous, "I mean, we don't have to do anything right away if you don't want to. I just want you to know that I love—"
He was immediately cut off by Lily throwing her arms around his neck as she sat down on the one knee that was available and her lips found his. When she broke the kiss, she was still holding onto him and smiling, looking blissfully happy even though her eyes were a tad glassy. "Yes, James, I will."
James still hadn't really heard her. "Yes?"
She nodded, giggling elatedly. That's when James kissed her again, lifting her up a bit and twirling her around. When he finally placed her in front of him, he was sure he had never felt happier in his life. "I love you so much."
Lily's smile was huge. "Not nearly as much as I love you."
He chuckled, but then realized he was still holding her ring. He held it out for her. "This is for you."
Lily finally glanced down at the ring, and her eyes lit up prettily. "Oh my God. This is beautiful, James. Where in the world did you find this?"
James smiled and kissed her forehead, reaching out to pull the ring from the box. "A secret place. I'll show you one day."
He gently slid the ring on her finger, and they both watched as the ring magically sized itself to fit Lily's finger, glowing faintly. Lily's face was full of wonder and happiness as she looked down at the ring, wiggling her fingers a bit. "Wow."
James nuzzled her neck, still smiling. "I agree. You have no idea how much better I feel."
Lily looked up at him mischievously. If she really thought about it, he had been acting a bit nervous around her for a while. "How long have you had this?"
He gave her a look, which didn't really work because he was so happy. He ran a hand through his hair, eventually sighing. He took her hand and pulled her along to continue their peaceful walk under the lights of nighttime London before finally answering her question, "Two weeks, four days, and nine hours."
Lily giggled, despite her attempt not to. It was a bit dark, but she could tell that he was blushing a bit up from his neck. It was incredibly sweet that he had been so nervous about the whole thing. If anything, it just made her fall in love with him all over again. She reached up and kissed his cheek, her lips stopping near his ear. She whispered softly, "I would've said yes no matter what. I would be crazy not to."
That made him smile.
The next morning, after a rather satisfying lie-in, the two of them began to make their rounds to let everyone know. Lauren, being the only other living person at Potter Manor, was the first to find out. She had shrieked loudly before throwing her arms around Lily and then James, telling them that she had been waiting for this moment to happen. Her immensely excited antics drew curiosity from the many portraits in the house so James and Lily broke the news to his parents next. They were equally excited and went to spread the news to the other portraits.
Lily and James then thought they should head over to her parents' house to break the news so they apparated over there. Her mother had smothered them both in hugs, obviously ecstatic with the idea of helping to plan another wedding. Her father had been equally happy for the two of them, shaking James' hand and welcoming him to the family. Her parents had insisted that they stay for dinner so they could hear all about the two of them, the proposal, and how their jobs were going. It was going perfectly fine until Petunia and Vernon had stopped by for a visit. It was more than a little awkward this time around because of the fact that Vernon was well aware about magic now. Petunia had been more than a little put off about their engagement, considering Mr. and Mrs. Evans were quite happy about it. Vernon had remained a bit red in the face for a while, watching both James and Lily's hands as if they were going to do some sort of spell on him. Lily was sure that if she had given the signal, James would have had the time of his life scaring the daylights out of him.
Sirius and Christina had been next. As soon as they were able to get away from the Lily's parents, they had apparated over to Sirius' new flat. James and Lily found themselves laughing hysterically at finding their friends snogging rather passionately on his couch. The snogging part hadn't really been that funny— actually, that part had made them both groan— but what had been funny had been their horrendously red faces afterwards. Needless to say, they were both thrilled with the news. Sirius had given James a knowing smirk only to be silenced before he could say whatever he had been about to say. This had infuriated him, but James refused to release the spell until Sirius stopped smirking. This actually took a full 39 minutes.
By this time, the day had already gotten late so the two of them, rather than continuing their telling spree, apparated back to Potter Manor. Over the next couple of days, more and more people were informed, causing the two of them to get ragged on for being the couple no one would have thought would ever happen. This had just made them both smile. Remus had been equally ecstatic over the whole thing, but James had been forced to silence him as well. Lily had been surprised that Remus even had a devilish smirk, let alone how he was able to rag on James like he did before James was successful with silencing him. James had been bright red while Lily had been left in a state of giggles at hearing some of the stuff Remus was able to spout off. Apparently, James had been just as sweet as she found him to be now back when she had thought he was a prat. She sometimes wished that she had seen that part of him before, but then again, the hindsight kind of made her love for him all the more.
Peter, although not surprised by this announcement either, didn't even try to rag on James about it, merely congratulating him and Lily. He seemed a bit down in the dumps, but had played it off as a work thing. Shelley had been equally excited about everything, but then she had pouted playfully and pretended to be angry with James for stealing away her brand new roommate. Dumbledore had just smiled knowingly when he had gotten wind of the whole thing. All he had really had to say on the matter was the fact that he would have to tell Professor McGonagall that she owed him a galleon. This had made them both laugh, considering Dumbledore had obviously bet on James finally winning Lily's heart.
Lily couldn't remember feeling as happy as she was over these last few days. Even going back to work after their blissful weekend could do nothing to dampen her mood. It was now late Thursday evening, and both she and James were lying out on a conjured blanket near the fountain in James' front yard. They were both lying on their back next to one another, with James running his fingers softly over Lily's hand which rested on his stomach. It was getting late, but the both of them were too comfortable to really do anything about it. They had been out there since deciding to take their desserts outside, which had been hours before. They had talked about everything from ideas for the wedding to work to friends to Lauren leaving for Hogwarts this weekend to the Order to constellations, but were now in a comfortable silence. Lily turned so she could lie on his chest like she liked to. "We should go inside, James. We both have to work in the morning."
James ran a hand over her back for a few minutes before eventually saying, "I suppose."
He sat up suddenly, as did Lily because he hadn't really let go of her. He gently pulled her up to her feet, kissing her forehead. He waved his wand at the blanket, and it disappeared. Lily kept her arms around him as they walked back to his front door. The night air was a bit cooler, but he kept her warm. She was just about to point out the fact that she liked that about him when a bright light flashed in front of them. They both stopped walking instantly upon seeing the phoenix patronus. Dumbledore's voice was rather grave when it rang out, "James, Lily, please floo to my office immediately."
The two of them looked at each other briefly, their faces a bit paler. They took off towards his house at a much faster pace. Something was definitely not right.
