Lily woke to the sound of distant rain outside their room's window, and to the gentle sound of James's even breathing. Carefully, so as not to disturb him, she turned over to face him. Part of her was surprised to see him there, because marrying James Potter in 1743 sounded like a bizarre dream more than reality. But there he was, solid and real; beyond that, the pleasant soreness she was feeling was reminder enough that last night had happened.

Her gaze travelled over him. His hair was even messier than usual, sticking up every which way. He looked different without his glasses, although not a bad way. His newly crooked nose suited him, Lily thought. She resisted the urge to kiss him, and instead watched him sleep, filled with a strange warmth.

After some minutes, James's eyes blinked open. They focused on Lily, and a slow smile spread across his face.

"Good morning," he murmured.

She kissed him softly. "Good morning."

He let out a huff of laughter.

"What?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"I was just thinking how much James-from-a-few-years-ago…or even James-from-a-few-days-ago… would have loved to see this: Lily Evans willingly kissing him. He would have died of happiness."

"You'd better not die," Lily said with a mischievous grin. "Not now that I've figured out how good you are in bed."

"Please let that be a hint that you want to-"

After, they lay beside each other, Lily's head rested on James's shoulder.

"Petunia would be so angry that I got married before her," Lily said, a bit absently.

She felt rather than heard his small laugh.

"Two hundred fifty years before her," James said. "Also, excellent pillow talk, Evans. Nothing quite as intimate as talking about your sister."

"Shut up, Potter."

"Right."

"James?"

"Yes?"

She propped her head up, her hair falling loosely as she looked at him.

"I didn't think I would ever be happy again, not after my parents died," she said. "I don't know how you do it, James, but you bring this… light with you wherever you go. You make the bad things not matter as much."

"I try."

She shoved him lightly. "Modest as ever."

His smile faded, and she felt a twinge of concern.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings…"

"No, it's just… I was thinking. Younger Lily didn't like me very much. She would have been miserable to see the future."

Lily laughed. "Yes, I think she would have been."

"But you like me now…" James said. He hesitated. "What changed?"

Lily shrugged. "We did."

He was quiet for a moment.

"Don't think about the past," Lily said. "You grew into a person I admire and love. Isn't that enough?"

"Oh, absolutely," James replied, finding her hand with his. "So… you love me?"

Lily hadn't realized what she'd said at first, and so she stared blankly at James for a second. Then, she meant to brush the comment off, but found she couldn't, not when she could see the vulnerability in James face. He may have been pretending to be casual, but she knew her answer, or lack of one, would matter.

"I do," she said.

A house elf brought them breakfast, and they ate together at their small table, dressed only in their robes.

"To think I was so worried I'd do it wrong," Lily said as they ate.

James didn't have to ask what she was talking about. "'It' was happy to be done, regardless," James said with a grin.

Lily froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. "Does that mean I was bad at it?"

She looked so worried that James burst out laughing. "No, no. Definitely not. Quite the opposite. Although, practice makes perfect… if I say you're bad at it, does that mean you'll want to go again?"

Lily smirked. "You are insatiable."

"Is that a yes?"

There was a sudden knock on the door. The knocking continued after a brief pause, with an urgency that changed James's annoyance to dread. Wordlessly, Lily grabbed their wands and tossed James his. James threw open the door, his wand raised. Cait was at the door, and she walked in without invitation, ignoring James's wand entirely.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, hurrying to meet her friend.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," Cait said shakily. "Oh, Merlin, I don't know how to tell you this."

Cait's worry was contagious. James shared a look with Lily, who looked as panicked as he was.

"What?" James demanded.

"I've been looking into those stones at Craigh na Dun. Asking around, looking into the castle's library."

James just looked at her blankly. "Why are you looking into-"

"Lily told me you're from the future," Cait said shortly.

"What?" James said, outraged. "Lily!"

Lily avoided his eyes. "Sorry. It just came up…"

"It came up?!"

"Never mind that. You can argue about it later," Cait said.

"What did you find?" Lily asked urgently.

Cait took a deep breath. "So I know you three have assumed that you can go back to the future anytime you please…"

James's chest constricted. "Please… please don't say we can't."

"I'm not sure," Cait said. "But from what I understand, the stones don't just carry you between 1978 and 1743. There was one wizard who was locked away for insanity, because he claimed to come from 1842… this was in 1571. He also claimed that he'd been to 1432 before that, which makes me think he tried to get back… unsuccessfully."

Lily was very pale. "So we're stuck back in time?"

"Not necessarily," Cait said. "A witch claimed she had figured it out. She said that it mattered which stone you touched, and when. So if you ever want to go back, you have to touch the right stone at the perfect time."

"We touched the stone on August 8th," James said. "I remember."

"Does that mean we would just have to touch it around the same time on August 8th of next year?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure," Cait said. "But I was able to track down the name of the witch who had written about it, and the good news is, she's alive."

"We need to find her, then," James said immediately. He turned to Lily. "I know we said we'd change the past, and we'll still do that. But it would be nice to know we can get home afterwards."

Lily nodded grimly. "Who's the witch, Cait? How do we find her?"

"Her name is Pascale Malfoy. She lives in Paris."

James's eyes widened. "As in Paris, France?"

"We'll send a letter," Lily decided. "Um… how's your French, Cait?"

"Atrocious. But I can write the letter for you."

Lily hugged her. "Thank you, Cait. You must have been up all night."

"Just about," Cait said. Then, she grinned, looking them both up and down. "You two must have been up all night as well."

"Just about," James admitted.

"James!" Lily said, her face flushing.

"Well, I'll leave you two to catch up on your, um, sleep." She winked.

"She's nice," James said, once he was left alone with Lily again.

"I'm sorry I told her about the stones," Lily said in a rush. "I said something without thinking, and-"

"It's fine."

She bit her lip. "Really?"

"It worked out okay. I mean, she's trying to help us. We'll just be careful to not tell anyone else."

Lily buried her face in his shoulder, and he held her tightly.

"What if I got us stuck here?" she asked, so quietly that he almost missed it.

James kissed the top of her head. "I can think of worse things."

"Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Definitely."

"But what about your friends, and your home, and-"

"I'd miss them," James said carefully. "And I'd miss showers-" Lily made a noise of agreement, "-and more comfortable clothes, and countless other things. But if I'd rather be here with you, even if it means never having any of those things again. I don't regret following you here. I never could."

After having dinner together in their room and drinking the wine they had left untouched the night before, Lily curled up against him on the bed. James's heart had never felt so full.

"Tell me something," he said.

She glanced up at him. "Like what?""Something about you. Something that I don't know."

She was quiet for a moment. "Can it be something terrible?"

"Yes."

"Right before you saved me from that trial… and right after they killed Bertha… Severus Prince told me he would marry me, if I wanted to save myself."

A chill went up James's spine. "That is terrible."

"That isn't the terrible part." Lily took a deep breath. "For a second, I was so afraid that I almost considered it."

James swallowed hard. "Are you telling me that you married me because I was the better option over Severus Prince?"

"No, of course not," Lily said gently. "I would never marry someone I didn't care for, James. I'm just telling you because I want you to know that even though I was a Gryffindor, I'm not always very brave."

"Neither am I," James admitted quietly.

He held her more tightly.

"What are you thinking about?" Lily asked.

"I don't want to tell you."

"You don't have to," Lily told him.

"No… I do."

She waited, expectant, while he gathered his courage.

"When Severus Prince had me in that room, and he was hurting me…"
Lily had stiffened under his touch, but James kept going.

"He told me he would come back. And he told me that when he did, he was going to rape me."

Lily inhaled sharply.

"And I couldn't be brave, when he told me that," James said quietly. "I pleaded with him. And he just laughed."

"Oh God…" Lily shuddered. "He's a monster."

"I'd never felt so completely helpless before. It was horrible."

James focused on Lily, on her warmth as they held each other.

"You faced him again to save me," Lily said. "And I'm not sure I ever thanked you."

"I think you thanked me several times last night…"

She didn't laugh, as he'd hoped. Instead, she sat up straight to face him.

"Thank you, James," she whispered.