Chapter Thirty-Four

Dinner with Vernon was nice, if not a bit boring. After all, he did most of the talking, which centered on the new promotion he had just gotten at work. "The youngest junior executive in the whole company," he said, several times. But he did ask after Mum, and I got to gush about Lily for a bit, so it wasn't entirely one-sided. To be honest, I didn't even mind that he talked so much. It meant I didn't have to summon the energy required to really converse with someone.

He took me home, where Mum and Emma were chatting in the lounge. And then he asked me to dinner the following week, and the contented look on Mum's face made it utterly impossible to say no. So, I went on another date with him, which turned into another, and another, until I found myself with a boyfriend I hardly knew. Who hardly knew me, since every time we were together, Vernon took over the conversation. He spoke of his job, or his family, or his new company car, or the raise he got, or how impressed the senior executives were with his work. He could be very charming, often bringing me flowers or some other gift, though deep down, in my innermost thoughts, I couldn't help but wonder if it was more to show off his money than to actually make me happy. After all, the expensive hothouse orchid was two days after I had told him that my favourite flower was a daisy, after Mum. And the fancy chocolate orange the day after telling him I disliked anything citrus. At least he remembered it was something to do with citrus, I supposed, so that counted for something.

Mum was ecstatic, knowing I had a boyfriend. In her mind, it meant I was moving on from Gid. I couldn't tell her that I still ached for my dead fiancé, that I was only dating Vernon to make her happy. That every time he kissed me, I wanted to run screaming from the place. That there were some days I wanted to join Gid, and only the thought of what my doing so would do to her and Lily stopped me. But Mum was so happy, and Vernon was always so charming around her. He brought her flowers nearly as often as he did me, and when he got down on one knee, oh so properly, with a gigantic diamond in one hand, in our lounge, her beaming face made me say yes to his proposal. I accepted his ring, and his kiss, and the lump of dread settling into my stomach. If it made Mum happy, I could do it.

So that's how I greeted Lily at Kings Cross for Easter hols a week later, with a huge ring that I was still unused to twisting on my finger. She squealed when she saw it, grabbing my hand to inspect it, before she even hugged me. "Tuney, it's huge!" she gasped. "And I can't believe you didn't even tell me!"

Her attention to it drew her friends' attention to it, which made me blush. "I wanted to surprise you," I lied. "But Vernon wants to have dinner with you, and James, of course," I added, though I may have been stretching the truth a bit again. I'd been the one to push for it, needing my sister's support through what would surely become another long evening with my fiancé.

James froze, looking from me to Lily to Sirius, like he was asking for help on how to get out of it. But Lily didn't let him. "We would love to," she replied firmly, glaring at her boyfriend, even as she took his hand again.

"We would love to," James parroted, still looking a bit frantic. "I was just a bit surprised. I didn't realize, er, that you were engaged already."

"Just last week," I said, forced smile stretching my lips. "I wanted to surprise Lily, so I hadn't told her yet."

"Congrats, Petal," Sirius said. He swept me into a fierce hug, which sadly, I melted into. His hug, even completely platonic, was far more reassuring than any gesture the man I was engaged to marry had ever given me.

"Thanks, Sirius," I mumbled into his shoulder.

James hugged me next. "Congrats, I'm happy for you," he told me, then added quietly, "I need to talk to you later."

The way his eyes now danced between Lily and the ring on my finger, I had an idea of what he wanted to talk about. "Why don't you boys come over for tea tomorrow?" I suggested, a significant quirk of the eyebrow raised at him. "Mum would love it, and Nic will be home by then."

Sirius groaned. "You know Selwyn hates me," he complained, but he still managed to smile at me.

I waved his complaint away. "He does not. And besides, we're all adults now. It's time to put childish pettiness aside and treat each other with civility, if we can't manage kindness."

He laughed and kissed my cheek. "For you, Petal, I suppose I can try."

…

Tea went well, with all three boys on their best behavior. I did notice some slight unease between them, but all three were utterly polite to each other. Well, James and Sirius teased each other constantly, but they were polite to Nic. And all three were perfectly solicitous to Mum, catering to her every whim. In fact, they made it into something of a competition to try to get her whatever she needed first. It was quite amusing, and Mum (and I) laughed far more than the previous months combined.

James volunteered to help me with the dishes, washing them while I dried and put them each away. Mum still insisted we do them by hand, even if we could do them with magic, so it gave us plenty of time to talk. And Nic was a dear, keeping Lily with the rest in the lounge. I had asked him for this favour, and he had reluctantly agreed.

"So, James, you wanted to talk to me," I reminded. I knew exactly what he wanted to talk about, and I desperately wanted to talk about anything else. It brought with it too many emotions that I wanted to avoid, envy that Lily had someone who loved her so much, grief that I didn't have Gid anymore, loathing at Vernon's ring on my finger, marking me as his. But I couldn't do that to Lily, so I forced myself to have the conversation.

James, for his part, looked incredibly nervous. "I want, er, I mean, that is, I just, um, I'm not sure, rather-"

His adorable fluster soothed some of the worse emotions for me, bringing out a smile without any say on my part. "You want to ask Lily to marry you," I supplied, and he looked shocked.

"How did you know?" he asked lowly, eyes darting to the doorway.

"Big sister's intuition," I whispered, grinning more now. "And it helps that you've been in love with her forever."

He flushed a bit, but it seemed to help him calm down, as well. "Yeah, I suppose that's true," he mumbled. "But I don't know how to do it."

Nudging his shoulder with mine, I went back to drying the dishes. "Just ask her. Just the two of you. No audience, no expectations. Just the two of you. And she'll say yes," I assured him with another grin. "She's mad for you, too."

"Yeah?" he asked, far more relaxed now.

"Yeah," I promised.

We worked in quiet harmony for a moment, until James broke it. "Are you mad for Vernon, Pet?" he asked, quietly, hesitantly.

Against my will, my gaze flew to his. "Of course," I said quickly. "Of course, I'm marrying him."

"Alright," he said, almost like he was placating me. "I just- Well, I saw you with Gid, and you glowed, Pet. You were ecstatic. And you just don't seem the same way with Vernon."

"It's a different kind of love," I said, scrambling to try to say something that would convince him. Because if James wasn't convinced, then there was no way Lily would be. "But I'm happy, James, don't worry about me."

He bumped his shoulder into mine, this time. "You're going to be my sister, Pet, of course I'm going to worry about you."

We finished the dishes then, and not a minute too soon. If I'd had to stay there, under his scrutiny, another minute longer, I might have given myself away. As it was, I managed to smile, forcing it to grow larger. "I'm happy, promise."

AN: I know it's a bit short, but it was the right place to end the chapter. And there was Pet/James bonding! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. The next chapter will be the dinner with the two couples, and I'll be trying to keep it as canon as possible with how JKR outlined it. I'll be working on it and posting as soon as possible! Thanks for still reading, and a big thanks for the reviews!