Disclaimer:
AN - THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER BEFORE HIATUS! It's very bits and pieces-y, and is relatively short - but i wanted to get it out. Lily and James are still at the wedding, Sirius and Cat are still trying to dis-engage themselves (see if you can spot the friends reference) and there are troubles to come... read on to find out.
Also, i'm having trouble with letting go of this story - i don't want to put in on hiatus! so next chapter might not be the last one - we shall see.
ENJOY! and review :)
Chapter 37 - Warning Signs:
"I still feel like an absolute idiot in this dress," Lily said to James, half an hour later at the reception. The wedding ceremony in the garden had reached its conclusion and the guests had been redirected to the large ballroom (which had been skipped during yesterday's tour) for the reception dancing, toasting and dinner.
"I think you look absolutely lovely, Lils," James said, eyes twinkling, "Even if you do somewhat resemble a blue meringue at the moment."
"Why thank you, Mister Potter, you don't look too shabby yourself."
"Careful, Evans, that was dangerously close to a compliment," James chided. Lily just rolled her eyes at him and smiled.
"You know you are my boyfriend now. You've met my parents, my sister and my extended family. I think it's safe to say that I care about you, James. Compliments sorta come with the territory."
"In that case, let me rectify my past comment," he said suavely, "You don't just look absolutely lovely. You look beautiful," he took one of her hands in his, "Let's dance."
He led the blushing Lily onto the shiny parquet floor and held one hand firmly in his, placing the other at a respectable height on her waist. He began to move slowly and steadily to the sappy wedding music, concentrating very hard on not crushing Lily's feet. For someone with obvious confidence with girls and coordinated skill on the quidditch pitch, James Potter was a rather pathetic dancer.
No more than thirty seconds into their dance, Meredith and Greg waltzed by gaily, with Greg whispering subtly (or so he thought) to James that it was he that should lead Lily, not the other way around. Luckily the next song was a slow number so Lily gratefully put her arms around James and rested her head on his chest.
"You having a good time?" she asked sleepily.
"Yeah, sure. I was just thinking about… oh, never mind," he said, assuming that something would interrupt him anyway should he try to speak about his feelings.
"Mmm, me too," Lily replied with a slightly dreamy smile.
"You seem to be particularly happy," James said, pulling away slightly so that he could better examine her, "I thought you were dreading this day."
"Oh, yeah, I was," she replied, "I thought I'd be sad because I'm losing Petunia. But I guess I can see that she's happy now with Vernon. And who knows, maybe this time apart will do us good and she'll grow up a bit and learn to accept things. Plus the ceremony was just so moving - despite the stupid dresses - I just… I can't be unhappy for her," Lily said, trying to find the words to communicate exactly what she was feeling. Luckily, James could read her like a book so she didn't really have to explain.
"I'm glad Lils," he replied, drawing her back into him for the rest of the song.
"And I suppose it helps that you're here, too," she added, although it most certainly was not an afterthought.
Then the music changed.
"Fantastic! The Beatles!" James exclaimed, pushing Lily out then spinning her back in quickly (a move Remus had shown him in preparation). She giggled foolishly and in the background all that could be heard were those wonderfully appropriate lyrics "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah-"
"Moony, I've worked out how to break off the engagement!" Sirius exclaimed as he burst into the silent study area of the library, earning himself several shushes and an evil glare from Madam Pince.
"Padfoot!" Remus hissed, "Be quiet!"
"Sorry, mate, but I have to tell you something," Sirius whispered loudly, throwing himself down on the hard wooden chair across from Remus. "Ouch! Who makes these chairs so hard?"
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" Remus continued to whisper.
"She won't find me in here. It's the last place she'd look!" he replied triumphantly.
"Huh? What she?"
"Cat, of course," Sirius said, looking over his shoulder anxiously as if saying her name would summon her out of thin air.
"Why are you avoiding Cat?" Remus asked, completely nonplussed.
"Because he wants to break off the engagement," Peter said, appearing in the seat next to Sirius.
"Merlin!" Remus all but yelled, "Peter, you frightened the pants off of me!"
"Shush, Moony, you'll get us kicked out," Sirius said.
"You're one to talk," he muttered irritably.
"But, as I was saying, Padfoot is trying to get Cat to break off their engagement since he's too chicken to do it himself," Peter continued, unperturbed, "She's been nagging him for the past two days."
"Okay, firstly where did you come from just then? And secondly, since when are you so observant?" Sirius said.
"I finally worked out the disillusionment charm, remember? And I notice things more than you guys give me credit for. And Moony, in answer to what you're about to ask, yes it is cowardly of Sirius to go about this the backwards way, and yes he still loves her - he's just worried about forsaking his bachelorhood." Peter paused for breath, enjoying the slightly stunned expressions on his friends' faces, "And, yes, I know what forsaking means and no, I haven't been reading the dictionary, I've been assimilating Moony's vocabulary."
"Woah!" Remus said with an appreciative grin, "Peter, that was amazing. I can see why you take divination now."
"Thanks."
"Hey, hold on a minute. It's not that cowardly," Sirius said indignantly.
"Yeah, it kind of is," Peter replied, giving Sirius a pitying look.
Remus Sirius Peter (Cat later on)
Anyone care to explain?
Why are you writing notes?
Well I, for one don't want to be kicked out of the library for talking. I would think you wouldn't either - considering you're trying to avoid someone-
And the last place you'd be caught dead would be the library.
But Cat is a smart girl, so we'd better make this brief before she comes looking for you.
I'm glowering at you, Moons, just so you know.
Thanks. Now I believe you were telling me about a plan of sorts…
Oh, right! I knew I was in a good mood for a reason.
And…
I just have to out-wedding her!
Out-wedding?
Yeah, out wedding.
I get it
Really?
Nope
Ha bloody ha.
Then explain it!
Well, it may've escaped your attention, Moons, considering the unholy amount of time you spend by yourself in the library-
Hey, who says I'm always by myself?
You were by yourself when we got here
Well she has quidditch today.
Hold up! WHAT? THERE'S A GIRL!?
No! I didn't mean it like that!
Moony has a secret girlfriend!
You're right. A secret studying, quidditch-playing Ravenclaw girlfriend.
Ravenclaw?
They have the pitch booked for this afternoon.
Very observant!
Well, is it?
I don't know what you're talking about…
Tell me!!
Weren't you telling us about out-wedding-ing?
I was, wasn't I? Well, you know how Cat's been driving me batty these last few days?
Clearly I didn't.
Well, I did. But that's not the only reason you want to out-wedding her, is it?
No. I just can't get married. Looking back on it, I think it was a rather rash decision to make-
You think?
No need for sarcasm, Mister Moony.
Well, really Sirius, it was a rather foolish thing to do in the first place.
I loved her, though. Still do, come to think of it.
Then why don't you want to get married?
I'm seventeen!
I can see your point. So why don't you just tell her that you aren't ready?
Because she's a girl. She wouldn't understand. And she'd hate me!
I don't think you're giving her enough credit.
I'm with Moony. I think that honesty is always the best policy
Listen, I've already made up my mind to get her to break off the engagement. This way she doesn't know that I want out and she can't place any blame on me. I know it's cowardly but what can you do?
Tell the truth
That was rhetorical, Wormy.
Fine, fine. Let's assume that we agree with your genuinely stupid intentions to get Cat to break off the engagement (but not break up with you). What is your plan exactly?
I out-wedding her.
…
She's been on and on about weddings ever since Prongs and Lily-flower left. So I figured I'd give her a taste of her own medicine.
Actually, she has been rather wedding-focused. I noticed that a breakfast the other day. Remember when she was saying how those little muffins would be perfect at your wedding breakfast?
Wedding breakfast?
Yeah, this girl has gone way out of control!
And I have been too. Just now I told her I was going to go off and plan some surprise stuff for the wedding and you should've seen her face!
You know, from what I've heard… if I didn't know better, I'd say she was trying to put you off a wedding, Pads.
Huh? Why?
It seems to me that she's doing exactly what you were thinking of/trying to doing to her.
Out-wedding-ing?
Yeah. Think about it, Padfoot. She's always talking about the wedding and about how big she wants it to be. You said so yourself, she wants frills and bows and all.
Cat isn't a frills and bows girl
Exactly!
By golly, you're right!
By golly?
That sneaky minx. I knew I was marrying her for a reason!
But, Sirius, you're not ready to be married.
Yeah, I know. But it doesn't stop me from thinking she's fantastic. I mean - she's just as cunning as I am!
Yes, and that worries us all…
So should I still try to out-do her?
Definitely!
I'm not so sure.
Come on. It'll be funny. Besides - she doesn't know that we know. Sirius might still have a chance of getting Cat to break it off instead of doing it for himself.
I don't trust the dishonesty of this plan
It's the dishonesty that makes it so utterly brilliant!
Well, whatever floats your boat - just don't push it too far.
When have you ever known me to push it too far?
I am rolling my eyes at you.
Here comes the bride to be!
Change the parchment!!
(New Parchment)
Hey gorgeous - what's up?
Not much. Just wondering where you'd gotten to.
Just studying with my good buddies.
If you can call it studying - he just keeps droning on and on about wedding plans!
It's so annoying!
What? How come?
I figure I should start taking a bit more initiative with the whole wedding thing - don't you? I told you just before…
Oh yeah, you did. Well, I suppose that's good.
What's wrong? Don't you want my input?
No! No, it's great that you want to help.
Good, 'cause I was thinking sooner the better.
Really?
Yep. As soon as we leave Hogwarts.
…
That's not that soon.
You're right. What about next month?
HUH?
What?
Next month?
Yeah. Why not? We're engaged, aren't we - the next logical step is marriage.
Next month is awfully soon, Sirius…
Next month it is!
What - really?
Sure. Like you said, why not?
Didn't you want a big wedding, though? That takes serious planning time. There's the venue, catering, flowers, transport, guests, clothing…
It's okay. I can do it. Besides, I've got the girls to help me. That is, unless you're having second thoughts..?
Of course not! Let's do it! Let's get married!
Okay! I'd better get back to my plans then. See you at dinner
See you
Well, that went well.
She knows that you know!
Again, I'm lost and confused. My brilliant plan failed!
That's because she knows that you know. She called your bluff.
That actually makes sense!
I'm making an effort not to be offended by that comment.
So she called your bluff, Pads, now what?
Well, obviously I'm going to keep pushing her til she breaks. I will go all the way down the bloody aisle as long as she ditches the nuptials before we get to the I do's
Please, Pads, just tell her the truth!
No! I flatly refuse. And I know I can win this. If this is the way she wants to play, then I'm going to beat her at her own game.
You're truly mental, you know that, right?
Sorry, Moony, no time to listen to you and your logic. Got to go plan a truly ridiculous wedding.
You know, sometimes I really pity his future children.
Cat's not pregnant, though.
I'm sighing in exasperation. All I meant was that he can be genuinely idiotic over some things and I pity his future children for the nonsensical genes they will inherit.
Why didn't you just say that in the first place, then?
I'm going to study now.
That was abrupt.
Well, there's only so much foolishness I can tolerate.
Point taken.
"Yum! Good cake!" James proclaimed, before shovelling another forkful of the vanilla wedding cake into his mouth. Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust, but found it hard to keep a disapproving face.
"You know, up until you started eating, you had been the perfect gentleman today," she commented, with a smirk.
"Well, nobody's perfect," James said through the cake.
"You're just lucky my parents are too busy to notice you."
"Where did they get to anyway?" James pondered, taking a gulp of water.
"I think they went back to dan- OH YUCK!" Lily cried. James followed her gaze and chuckled at the cause of Lily's distress.
"They're just snogging, Lils. No need to be so precious."
"That's not snogging. They're practically eating each other's faces," Lily said in horror.
"Well, I think it's sweet," James said, cocking his head to one side observing Lily's parents with a critical eye. Lily slapped him on the arm.
"Stop perving on my parents!"
"I'm not perving," James said in his thoughtful voice, "I am merely thinking to myself that we could probably do a lot better than that."
"You're incorrigible!" Lily admonished, rolling her eyes but smiling all the same.
"And don't you just love it?" James asked rhetorically before pulling Lily on to his lap for a thorough kiss. Several minutes later, they broke apart.
"See, I told you we could do it better than your parents," James smiled, opening his eyes but, to his great concern, Lily's eyes were still shut; her brows were crinkled into a frown and she looked very much as though she was in pain.
"Gosh, I didn't think I was that bad," James said, before realising that something was not right with his girlfriend. "Lils? Lily, are you okay?"
Her eyes opened, though James noticed they were slightly out of focus.
"All of a sudden, I just have this really awful headache," she said dazedly, "I'm just going to go freshen up for a bit, okay?"
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, James," Lily managed a weak smile, "I'm sure I'll manage just fine alone in the bathroom."
"Call if you need anything," he replied, unable to hide his concern. Lily smiled again, truly touched by his concern, "Sure. Be right back."
To amuse and/or distract himself while Lily was in the bathroom, James began to play around with quidditch strategies using various salt and pepper shakers, small butter dishes and the miniature cutlery as his models. Although when quizzed by one of the passing Dursley relatives, James had to improvise and say it was a game plan for lawn bowls (the first muggle sport that popped into his head) which received him some very strange looks.
Lily, meanwhile, was startled by her wan reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her hair, from all the dancing, now hung limp about her face and shoulders, her normally glowing face was deathly pale and her vibrant green eyes appeared slightly bloodshot. Gripping the marble basin, she felt another incredible wave of pain wash over her and she doubled over, her knuckles turning white with the pressure. She shut her eyes tight against the pain, but immediately regretted doing so. Behind her eyelids she saw the images of her nightmare: she and James sitting on the family couch, the door being blasted open, James' dead body, a baby (whose name she couldn't remember) in a crib, a flash of green light - it was her dream all over again. Only this time it was more vivid than ever before. Although it took all her self control, she snapped her eyes open and let the pain of the headache return in full force. She needed comfort and rest. She needed James.
"Lils, you'll never guess what just…" James trailed off as Lily approached him looking pale as ever. She tried to smile reassuringly at him but it ended up looking more like a grimace of pain.
"It's just a headache," she tried, feebly, but James could see through her instantly.
"No it's not," he replied with a frown, "It's like when you have the nightmares, isn't it?"
Lily didn't need to reply - her eyes told James all he needed to know.
"Do you want to stay here?" he asked. Lily shook her head and grimaced a little more.
"Okay, let's get you home. And by home, I mean Hogwarts. I really think you should see Madame Pomfrey about these headaches," he insisted, latching onto her arm to support her, but Lily resisted slightly.
"I can't just up and leave my sister's wedding! We need to see off the happy couple and we've paid for one more night in the rooms."
"I really don't think your sister or your parents would mind if you left a bit early. You're sick. You know, you're probably coming down with the muggle flu or something. It's a pity they still haven't found a potion for that yet," he mused, "But, seriously, they won't mind that you're going home to get better. They wouldn't want you sick."
"Yeah, I suppose," Lily sighed, "But how are we going to get back? Neither one of us can drive-"
"I could try-" James cut in, excitedly, before Lily shut him down with a violent head shake of disapproval.
"Firstly: I'm too young to die, Secondly, so are you and my parents would kill you if you stole their car."
"Who said anything about stealing? I was more thinking borrowing without permission for an undetermined amount of time," he grinned. Lily just rolled her eyes, as was her custom.
"We'll just have to apparate - that's what I got my license for in the first place," she said resignedly.
"Are you sure you're up to it?"
"What other choice do we have?" she snapped. "Sorry, I'm just tired."
"That's okay. Let's go say goodbye to your parents, then," James suggested softly. Truth be told, he was a bit worried about side-along-apparition with Lily in her current state. He dearly hoped that she wouldn't splinch him or, worse, herself. Sirius' warning from the previous morning had completely slipped his mind. Lily, similarly, had forgotten Severus' warning - despite how she had hoped it was a lie, she knew enough to take caution all the same. Unfortunately none of this came to her mind when she was focused on apparating the pair of them back to Kings Cross for the adjoining portkey.
After a stiff goodbye between the sisters and a sincere 'get well soon, dear' from the parents, Lily and James walked to the back of the large, now dark garden where the actual ceremony had been held. Lily took hold tightly of James' hand.
"You know how to apparate, don't you?"
"Evans, that is a ridiculous thing to say. Of course I, James the marauder Potter, know how to apparate! Just because I don't have my license-"
"Okay, okay, I get the picture," she said, flapping her other hand to shush him, "Just hold on, alright?"
"You got it, boss!" James did a mock salute before he felt Lily's hand jerking away from his own. He grabbed on tight and immediately felt that horrible squeezing sensation - like being forced through a very tight rubber tube. With a loud pop they appeared in a dingy side street in inner London.
Lily wobbled dangerously and James caught her in his capable arms to steady her. Muttering her thanks and dutifully ignoring the pounding inside her head, Lily stepped forward to examine their surroundings.
"Hold on… this isn't where I was headed," she said in a worried voice.
"Don't stress. You're probably just a bit off because you're not feeling well," James suggested, "You can't always do 100 percent, Lil."
"That's not why I'm worried, Potter. I actually don't know where we are," she said.
"Why's that a problem? You're with me. I'll protect you," he grinned, before Sirius' words came rushing back to him. "Oh no!" he murmured.
"What?" she asked sharply.
"Listen, Lily, don't freak out, okay? But-"
But he was cut off by Lily conjuring a bucket out of nowhere and promptly spilling the contents of her stomach into it. James tried hard not to show his disgust, but it was difficult - he had an irrational fear of vomit.
"Sorry," she said weakly, dabbing gingerly at the corners of her mouth with her hand, "I guess I really shouldn't have apparated."
"Well, I did offer to drive," James said trying to make light of the situation. Lily just screwed up her nose at the bitter, stale taste in her mouth.
"Here," James said, as though reading her mind, going to conjure her glass of water.
"Stop! You can't do magic outside school," Lily reminded him before performing the spell herself. She was beginning to get quite tired and irritable now.
"Now we really better get going to Kings Cross," James suggested.
"We need to work out exactly where we are, first."
"Okay, use the four point spell."
"How is knowing where north is going to help us with getting to Kings Cross if we don't know where we are in the first place?"
"Well, what do you suggest, Evans?"
"Apparently none of my suggestions are valid anyway, Potter."
There was a stony silence between the two - this was one of the many little arguments the pair had had since getting together but the strain of the situation was beginning to show. Then Lily gave an involuntary shudder at the cold air, James took of his suit jacket and placed it over her shoulders and all was forgiven.
"Listen, how about we go into the nearest pub or café, work out where we are, and then we can get back to Kings Cross?" James suggested.
"Sure, but let's hurry," Lily said, not feeling the need to explain why (particularly since she didn't know how James would react to her having kept the conversation with Snape a secret - he was a bit sensitive about that sort of thing).
James caught her fingers in his, alarmed to feel how cool they were, and strode purposefully to the end of the alleyway.
"You know, for someone as daring and as bold as he was, Sirius was really bad at the whole emotions-thing," Harry observed astutely. He had just read Sirius' genuinely ridiculous plan and was trying to recall Sirius ever mentioning this Cat character.
"Well, men usually are," Ginny replied with a cheeky smile.
"But really, all this game-playing," Harry ran a hand through his hair - making Ginny grin, "Why couldn't he just come out and say it?"
"Because he didn't want her to leave him. It says so right there," she pointed to Sirius and Peter's messy scrawl.
"He loves her, though… If I loved a girl half as much as he claims to love her, I wouldn't hesitate…" he threw a sideways glance at Ginny. She continued leafing through the collected notes before saying in a determinedly nonchalant way, "Are you asking me to marry you, Harry?"
"Wha-! N-no! I mean, you're only in school still," he spluttered, turning an attractive shade of pink. Ginny did her best to stay cool, just nodding and trying to look disinterested.
"But, I mean… that doesn't mean that I, erm, don't want to," he said in a voice barely louder than a whisper.
There was a slight pause during which they both blushed, grinned and avoided one another's gaze. The two slightly flustered teenagers went back to reading the notes of their predecessors, diligently ignoring the romantic and/or minor sexual tension that now filled the room.
James,
This is a very short message in response to the information you gave me this morning regarding potential death eater attacks in the city. It is not being officially dealt with at the ministry as there has been no formal warning, and even if I were to make one, there would be no hard evidence to back up the claim. But as a senior auror you know I have a lot of sway in the office, so I sent out Lucy and Ben (who are an item now - about time!) just to keep an eye on things. So far, they have had nothing to report.
But given the lack of attacks over the past week, I am beginning to feel quite anxious that something big is coming.
So please, James, whatever you do - do NOT go into London tonight. I know you should be staying at the hotel with Lily and her family, but I know you - you have a nasty habit of wandering off, and as I've noticed over the years trouble tends to find you. So please exercise some caution. You are my only son. You are all I have left and I do not want you walking into a potential death trap.
Stay safe, son. And have a lovely time at the wedding.
I almost forgot!
As for the stuff about your mother. I told her I loved her when we were in first year; back in the days when she thought boys were 'icky'. She didn't take it all that well. But obviously I told her again (end of sixth year, I think) and it was the bravest thing I've ever done. Tell Lily how you feel. If she really is 'the one' you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Do not squander whatever time you may have with the one you love, because you will come to regret it later on in life.
With love,
Your father.
Unfortunately James didn't receive this message that evening - Ringo was too slow. James didn't get this letter until it was too late…
AN - And that's that my lovlies - please let me know what you thought in a review.
What will happen to Lily and James? How far will Cat and Sirius go to outsmart one another? Who is this alleged mystery girl of Remus'? When did Peter get so crafty/sneaky? And what ever happened to poor old Anna? (altho i don't think she's poor at all)... REVIEW!
PREVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER:
Then there was a deafening CRASH
"LILY!"
... I'm evil! :)