FROM THIS DAY FORTH
Part 3
Chapter 11 - Romance
When everyone arrived back at Lily's apartment, there were several
minutes of emotional reunion, mostly between Felicity, Kat and Sirius. But when
Felicity finally finished her show of emotion, she turned business like.
"Amy,
you've got to get back to the hospital," she told the child.
"Couldn't
I just stay here?" Amy asked, reluctant to leave the cosy sitting room. Unlike
James, Lily had taken time to make her apartment into a home from home, and
consequently it was decorated to suit her tastes.
"I'd love
to have you stay, Amy," Lily began, "but you must be tired, and you need to get
your medicine. But I tell you what,"
"What?"
Amy asked eagerly.
"When
Flick says that you're well enough to leave the hospital for the weekend, I'll
arrange for you and Kat to come here for a visit. Okay?"
"More
than okay!" Kat said, happily. "That's great! Will we be able to see the
animals at the zoo, and go to the museum, and swim again?" Kat had stayed with
Lily before.
"It
depends whether Amy wants to or not." Lily said. "But I'll send both of you an
owl, and you can both tell me what you want to do, and I'm sure we'll be able
to work something out."
Whether
it was the promise of mail, or the prospect of staying with Lily for the
weekend, Amy was satisfied, and she and Felicity left for the hospital. Kat
climbed on to Lily's lap, and drowsed, sleepily.
"When
Flick gets back we'll send you off home to Mum and Dad." Lily said, brushing
some stray curls out of Kat's eyes.
"Will
Aunt Evie and Uncle Hugo be mad at me?" she asked, worriedly.
"Of
course not, precious. They've been really worried about you, and they'll be so
happy about seeing you that they wouldn't dream of telling you off."
"It
wasn't my fault." the little girl yawned. "That man took us, and I told him he
couldn't that it would upset Flick, but he wouldn't listen." she nodded her
head violently, blue eyes flashing with indignation.
"I know
it wasn't your fault darling." Lily soothed. "And Flick will be back soon, and
then you can go home." And when Flick arrived that was exactly what happened.
After hugging Lily and smiling at James, Sirius and Remus, Flick and Kat
disappeared from sight, Flick disapparating them back to the house of Lily's
parents. Before much time passed, Remus and Sirius also left, pleading fatigue,
and James and Lily were left alone.
"And
Thump thinks that you're the brains behind the outfit!" Lily scolded James as
soon as their friends had left. "Really clever you are. So intelligent that you
managed to get yourself a night in a cell." She paced the room, hands on hips,
green eyes darkened in anger. But the anger wasn't directed at James, and he
knew it. It was aimed at those that had left him, and Sirius, Kat and Amy in a
freezing cold box for a night. So when she passed him, he caught her hand, and
pulled her on to the sofa, next to him. Lily's eyes softened when he looked at
her for a split second, before she glared at him tiredly.
"Look
Lil," he began, ignoring the look she was giving him. "While we were waiting
for you, I was thinking."
"You
thought?" she said, astonished. "Where's my diary. I need to write this down.
James Potter thought! The only thing you ever think about is playing jokes."
but he knew she was teasing, and anything was better than a glare, even a joke
at his expense.
"I'm
serious Lily!" he exclaimed.
"Now I'm
really scared!" she laughed. "Who are you and what have you done with the real
James?"
"Well if
you don't want to know..." he was offended.
"Of
course I want to know. Unless it involves dungbombs. Then I'd rather not,
unless someone is aiming at me, and if they are, I may never speak to you
again!"
"Have you
ever thought about getting married?" he asked earnestly.
"I
thought you'd already proposed!" she said, waving her engagement ring under his
nose.
"I'm
not talking about that," he explained. "I'm talking about the actual marriage
part. You know, the bit where you walk down the aisle looking like a meringue,
and everyone tells you how lovely you look, but they're lying, because really
you look like the fairy from the top of the Christmas tree. That sort of
married."
"James,
when I agreed to marry you it did cross my mind that I might be expected to
wear a meringue for the day, so I have to say that yes, I've thought of getting
married."
"When?"
His next question stumped her.
"I don't
know," she admitted.
"Look,
Lily. It's like this," he explained. "The only people who aren't tearing their
hair out because we haven't set a date are us. Even Sirius keeps going on at me
about finalising some details."
"Bless!"
Lily smiled. "It's the softer side of Sirius that no one gets to see. I didn't
know he had it in him."
"Well he
does. So I wanted to know what you thought."
"James,
I'm perfectly happy to marry you tomorrow, if that's what you want. But the
point is this. We do what we want, not what other people want us to do. So if
you want to discuss a date, then fine, we'll discuss it. Otherwise, don't
bother. I don't care when or where. I'm only bothered about one thing, and
that's that it's you that I marry rather than some poor guy from the street."
James realised then that she wasn't going to make it easy for him. It was his
decision.
"Why
don't we think about a date? At least then we've got something settled." he
hesitated, and then continued. "When we were caught, one of Voldie's guys held
me at knife point. Dying doesn't bother me. But I didn't want to go before you
and I were legally together."
"I was
hoping that you'd stick around for a while after that." Lily smiled. "Can I
make a suggestion?"
"Go
ahead."
"I've
always wanted a May wedding." she began. "And it's October now, so that gives
us seven months to get things sorted. If I pick the month, then you can pick
the date. Okay?"
"Fine.
How about the last Saturday in May? That means that it'll be closer to eight
months."
"You got
yourself a deal." Lily offered him her hand, but James had other ideas. He
seized it, and then kissed her. She smiled at him.
"I
suggest you may want to sleep. Go home, rest, and come back in the
morning....or afternoon. Okay?" he nodded, and made from the door. But before
he left Lily had one last thing to say.
"Oh, and
James?" he looked at her inquisitively.
"I don't
plan on wearing a meringue."
Chapter 12 - Espionage
James was used to receiving unconventional mission statements, but
this one was particularly so. He and Lily were required to take a trip to
America, where they had jobs at the Department of International Relations.
While holding down these jobs, they were required to spy on the Senator for
Sorcery, who was suspected of having an allegiance to Voldemort.
"Espionage?"
Lily looked at him, startled. "I thought we were supposed to go off and rescue
people from a fate worse than death, not travel around the world spying on
people!"
"Obviously
they got the job description wrong." James told her.
"But I
don't want to spy on people!" Lily exclaimed. "It's rude!"
"True,"
James agreed. "But it's even more rude to forcibly remove someone from their
home and kill them. And that's basically what being a Death Eater is. And if
we've got this mission, then I find it highly unlikely that the Senator for
Sorcery isn't a Death Eater. So we basically have no choice."
"But-"
Lily began, but James interrupted her.
"I know.
We can refuse the mission. But do we really want to? He's a bad man, and we
need to collect evidence to stop him helping 'his Royal Highness' to world
domination."
"I see
your point." Lily was resigned. "Okay, I'll do it. But I'm not happy."
"A fact
that I'll report to Thump." James said, solemnly, blue eyes twinkling.
"Don't
you dare!" Lily exclaimed. "If you tell him, he'll think I was scared, and I'll
end up behind a desk in an unheard of department!"
They left
for America the next day, and were quick to arrive at their accommodation, a
house in rural Washington. The house was white washed and well furnished, and
both James and Lily had to admit that it had a homey feel.
The next
day they began their work. Lily sat down at the desk she had been assigned, and
then did a double take. Sitting opposite to her was a girl of her own age with
nut-brown hair and grey eyes.
"Emily
Samuelson! It can't be!"
"Lily?
What on earth are you doing here?"
"It's the
department of International Relations. I'm relating to you on behalf of the
Brits!"
"But this
is fantastic! How're you? It's been what, four years?"
"You said
it." Lily smiled. "You haven't aged though. Still the same Em. Flick's going to
be so jealous."
"How is
Felicity?"
"She's
fine. She's a doctor now. She lives with us - her dad and step mum were
murdered by Voldemort just after we finished our NEWT's. And Kat's all grown
up, and such a cutie. How about you?"
"Dad was
voted out of office a couple of years ago," Emily began, "since then, I've been
dabbling in this and that. I've been working here for six months. Where's
James?"
"How did
you - Never mind. Do you want to meet up later?"
"Sure.
Where do you live?" Lily gave Emily their address, and then set to work,
smiling. Emily Samuelson had visited Hogwarts when she was in her final year.
The daughter of the American Senator for Sorcery, her father had been in
England on a business trip, and Emily had been a Hogwarts student for a term.
She had known Felicity from the days when they both attended the School of
Sorcery in America before Felicity had moved back to Great Britain. And unless
Lily was mistaken, Emily was no more a member of the Department of
International Relations than she herself was. Emily Samuelson was the contact
that she and James had been told they'd meet.
The bell
to the house rang at 7:30 that night, and James opened the door.
"Emily!
Good to see you! Come on in!" Emily smiled at him, and entered the house.
"Well I
wasn't expecting to see you guys!" she said happily. "Perhaps you Brits aren't
as snotty as you're made out to be." she was joking, and Lily and James knew
it.
"Well, to
put matters in a nutshell, the vote against my father was fixed. Dad was
running ahead of Richard Gordon in all the opinion polls, and I don't see how
there could possibly be a reason other than corruption for the sudden change of
heart." Emily's grey gaze hardened. "Well, I joined the American Auror
Association as soon as I had finished school, so by the time Dad was ousted, I
was fully trained. Well, I'm one of the few people that they haven't traced.
Incidentally Lil, don't call me Emily when we're at work - there my name's Emma
Johnson. They'd never let me near the Ministry if they knew who I really was.
Too scared that I'd figure out what they really are, I bet. Anyway, I'm part of
the Auror Underground. Those of us who know about the vote fixing want to stop
it, so we applied to London for help. We figured we'd get it; they don't want
him to be in charge any more than we do. I'll take you to meet the others
tomorrow. Today, I'm supposed to give you your mission brief. What are your
aliases?"
"Too numerous
by far." James told her, grinning, glasses slipping down his nose. "For this
particular outing? I'm John Pitley and Lily is Geraldine Jones." Lily pulled a
face.
"I
thought Lily was a bad name until I started working as an Auror, then they
started giving me all sorts of wacky names, and I realised that mum and dad
hadn't done so badly after all. Geraldine! Yuk!"
"I agree,
Geri!" Emily smirked at her old friend. "Now, the basic plan is this. We need
hard-core evidence that Richard Gordon is a Voldie supporter. The only way
we're going to get this is to get him to confess. Which is where you two come
in. You need to get in touch with the American Death Eaters, and join them.
Then you'll meet Gordon, that's a cert. From what we know, he basically runs
the movement over here. When you meet him, it's a simple case of recording what
he says. Okay?"
"Simple."
James said sarcastically. "One very small problem. Neither of us particularly
wants to join the Death Eaters. We've seen what they do, and believe me, it's
not pretty. I don't think either Lily or I are particularly keen on the idea of
participating in that kind of jaunt."
"And,"
Lily added, "you still have the death penalty over here. If we're caught doing
said acts of corruption and violence, what's the chance of us making it back to
England. Minimal. And I would like to make it to my wedding."
"You're
getting married? Who to? When?"
"Me."
James told her. "In May."
"Ah! How
sweet!" Emily gushed. Then she turned to business once more. "Point number one.
You don't go on the violent rampages, and you'll be fine. Get Lily to pretend
to be pregnant or something." Lily looked at her in shock. "What?" she asked,
mildly. "And if you're caught, then we'll get you back to England somehow - as
long as I'm invited to the wedding!"
"You've
got yourself a deal."
Chapter 13 - The Auror Underground
After work the next day, Emily met Lily and James, and the three
of them set off on the journey to the Auror Underground.
"Hi Geri,
John!" Emily said, grinning wickedly. "Have you had a nice day?"
"Marvellous,
thank you Emma," Lily replied, sarcastically. "Does any one here actually
listen to what you have to say?"
"It's
beaurocracy honey, that's how it works. You wait months for a hearing, and then
you wait for ages more until a decision is made."
They
turned a corner, and Emily grabbed Lily and James, apparating the three of them
away from Washington. After a dizzying flight, the three of them arrived on a
grassy plain.
"Where
are we?" James asked curiously.
"Good old
California." Emily replied. They came to a tree stump, and lazily she pointed
her wand at it. The stump moved, and an opening was revealed. The three of them
entered it.
"It's
actually quite nice down here." Emily admitted. "You know," she began in
wonder, "it's amazing what a little magic can do. This place is better than the
official Auror residence by far. Anyway, I'm taking you to meet Harold first.
He's the chief here."
They
entered a door, labelled with a brass number one, and came face to face with a
man of about seventy.
"Harold,
these our friends from Britain."
"Thanks
Emily. Lovely hair you've got there dear," he said to Lily, making her blush.
"My Joyce used to have hair just like that...before they got her. Well, when
they did, I vowed that I'd work against them, and no one can say I haven't
stuck to my vow. How old are you?"
"Twenty
one sir." Lily replied.
"Young.
You all start so young nowadays. Why you'd want to be an Auror, I don't know."
"Personal
reasons." James said tightly. Lily nodded agreement.
"He got
your family?" Both shook their heads. They had been lucky. "So why fight him?"
"Because
he's evil sir." James said. "And I'm not going to sit by while some arrogant
prat tries to rule the world. He kills without need, innocent people, he
doesn't seem to care whether they leave orphans, or bereaved parents. It's all
one huge game for him. Him and his Death Eaters. They kill for sport. And I
can't condone that."
Harold
looked startled, and then he smiled and clapped.
"Nicely
said Mr Potter. You're a lot like your mother. Idealistic, some might say, but
full of goodness. Don't gape at me! I'm the one who organises all this stuff.
Of course I know your names. Yours and Miss Trevallion's. And I'm guessing that
the fate of Felicity Evans parents influenced your decision to join the
industry."
"Actually
sir," Lily began, "it was more a case of knowing what it's like to be helpless
than anything else."
"Of
course. You would be the Lily Trevallion that testified at Endommager's trial.
Pity about that. I knew his parents. They were good people. I don't like to
think about what they would do, knowing that their son was in Azkaban. But I'm
digressing. I have it on good authority that you two are among the brightest of
Britain's stars. Not from Horace Thump, I hasten to add. I don't know how he
ended up as a higher up. He's a barmy old codger if ever there was one. Oh, you
may laugh, Miss Trevallion," Lily had covered her mouth with her hand, to hide
her giggles, "but it's true. He's never done any practical work. Anyway, I do
have a mission for you two, and I have no doubt young Emily has informed you of
it. I appreciate its risky work, but you have my word that neither of you will
come to any harm. And if you feel you're in jeopardy, come here. We're more
prepared than anyone knows, and you'll be safe. No one with any evil intent can
get here. I developed the rebounding spell myself, and I have to say, it's
incredibly effective."
"Thank
you sir." James said, respectfully, although he couldn't help but smile. This
man reminded him of Albus Dumbledore, only Harold seemed to be slightly more
serious minded. Not that Dumbledore wasn't serious minded, he just hid his
inner thoughts well.
"I'll
call Emily, and she'll take you to see everyone." Harold told them, and within
seconds Emily had appeared. She grinned at them as they left the room.
"What do
you think then? He's a dear, bless him, but terribly eccentric. He knows my
dad, they're school chums. I suppose that's why he let me join the Auror
Underground."
"He
reminded me of Dumbledore." Lily admitted. James nodded agreement. "But I can
see where you're coming from. He does seem to be rather a love."
"We turn
left here," Emily explained, as they came to a junction, "and then I'll
introduce you to some of the others. We have all sorts, and I'm the youngest of
the regulars. Only Lily's younger than me, so she's temporarily the baby of the
group. Here we are!" she opened another non-descript door, and James surveyed
the scene before him. The people in the room ranged in age from slightly older
than him, to ancient, and they were relaxing, some indulging in conversation,
others in chess.
"Guys,
these are Lily Trevallion and James Potter. They're over from Britain." A man
with eyes of a green that could rival Lily's own smiled at her.
"Seems
all those stories we hear about how much better looking our chicks are is
wrong!" he said. "Daniel Adams." He extended his hand. Lily took it, and smiled
back.
"How long
have you been working here, Daniel?"
"Couple
of years." He shrugged. "Don't like Richard Gordon, he's a two faced- well,
let's just say I don't think highly of him. I'd just finished my training when
he was voted in, so I joined the underground. Since then I've been trying to
get him out of office."
Lily sat
down at a table and conversed with Daniel while James went with Emily to meet
some of the others.
"Hi!" a
girl with dark hair and olive skin said to him happily. "I'm Kimberly Russell.
Most people call me Kim. I work on the law enforcement team. We make sure that
innocent people aren't hurt when Gordon's goons go on the rampage." Her eyes
darkened, so that they were almost black. "Sometimes we're too late."
"I know
the feeling," James sympathised. "Lil's best friend's an orphan. Voldemort
murdered her parents. Now it's just Flick and Kat left."
"You
remember Flick Evans, don't you Kim?" Emily asked. "Brunette, pretty, practical
joker. She left after fourth year for Hogwarts." Emily turned to James. "Kim
was Head Girl. Flick used to drive her nuts."
"That
Flick! I pity you if you were at school with her." Kim said, in heartfelt
tones. "I feel sorry for her though. Wasn't her father going out with Margaret
Jones?"
"They got
married." James explained. "And Flick's sister, Katherine was born. She was
only eleven months old when Voldemort got them."
"Poor
kid." Kim said, brown eyes filling with tears. "I know what it's like growing
up without parents." James was about to reply, but the sound of a resounding
slap cut of his words. There was sudden silence when everyone turned to see
what had happened. Lily was standing nursing a red cheek, while a girl with
platinum blonde hair and a face caked with make up pouted at her.
"Don't
think you can get away with it you stupid fool. He's my boyfriend. I've seen
you making moves on him. No one crosses me. I'm warning you."
"Poor man
if he's going out with someone like you." James winced on hearing his
girlfriend's icy tones. Lily was an incredibly warm person, but when roused she
could become an ice queen. He knew it was only years of practice that prevented
her from attacking her attacker. "And for your information, I have a perfectly
good boyfriend of my own, I don't need your cast offs." And with that she turned
her back on the girl and returned to her conversation with Daniel.
"That's
Cynthia Rutherford. She'd be a good Auror if she weren't so tarty, and didn't
go after all the male Aurors we have. Poor Daniel is no more enamoured with her
than he is with his mother, but she's decided they're an item, and nothing he
can says will stop her." Emily told James.
The evening that
followed was uneventful, save for the evil looks that Cynthia shot at Lily.
Lily ignored them, and when she and James left later, both agreed that the
Auror Underground was all right, if a bit insane.
Chapter 14 – Result
"Why do I think this is a really stupid idea?" Lily asked James as
she concealed the invisible flashless camera in her black robes, and propped a
mask on her forehead. "More to the point, why do they insist on wearing this
ridiculous face-mask? It's not like we don't know who they are. Is it just to
intimidate people, because if it is, they really need to get out more."
"Lil,
they need to get out more, full stop. They support Voldemort and have nothing
better to do than terrorise unsuspecting targets."
After a
month in America, Lily and James were ready to act. They had infiltrated the
Death Eater Movement. It was difficult not to interfere, but they weren't there
to arrest the American Death Eater's – that was the American Auror's job. They
just needed enough evidence to incriminate Richard Gordon. And it wasn't going
to be hard to get it. The man was keen to attend the next meeting, and Lily's
job was to get photographs of him with the Death Eaters. James, being the more
ambitious, had gone for the more recording him admitting that he supported the
Death Eaters. Although, as Lily pointed out, it wasn't like Gordon was making a
big secret of it.
"Come on
James!" Lily exclaimed, looking at her watch, "we'll be late!"
"And that
would be tragic." James intoned, tongue in cheek.
"Absolutely
devastating." Lily agreed in the same tone, then grabbed his arm and pulled him
out of the house. Old habits die hard and it was ten minutes into the journey
when James said;
"Why
don't we just disapparate?"
"Because
that's too simple, and I forgot." Lily told him sweetly. "But since you mention
it, we could give it a go." So the two of them disappeared, and ended up in a
rather dark and dreary room nursing glasses of champagne.
"Great
decorations." Lily said to the Death Eater on her right.
"Wilsak
spent all afternoon doing them," he informed her.
"Lucky
old Wilsak," James murmured in Lily's ear. She promptly choked in an effort to
disguise her giggles.
Before
either of them could speak again, the Senator for Sorcery appeared, and silence
fell on the room. He began to speak,
"My
fellow Death Eaters," he began, and Lily zoomed in of him using the invisible
flashless camera, "we are here to help our Lord and Master to achieve his goal
of world domination. We have the power to make that goal realistic. Please,
raise your glasses to Lord Voldemort." Lily looked at James in shock as Voldemort
appeared. James moved his head slightly, nodding towards the door. As Voldemort
spoke, the two of them edged their way to the edge of the crowd of Death Eaters
in the hope of escaping before they were compromised.
"…Even as
I speak there are people who wish to undermine me," Voldemort's harsh voice
intoned, "but we will succeed. I am the heir of Slytherin, the most powerful of
the Hogwarts four. Arguably the most powerful wizard ever to grace the earth.
Fools like Albus Dumbledore and Joseph Samuelson don't stand a chance. We will
fight and we shall win. Use whatever force you feel is necessary, and if you
face death, remember it is for your cause…" Lily and James didn't wait to hear
more. They disapparated.
The news
threw those at the Auror underground. Voldemort's presence had not been
anticipated.
"Have you
got any photos Lil?" Emily asked, worried.
"A whole
film," Lily informed her. "Richard Gordon is going to be just another Death
Eater when the public gets hold of these."
"What
about you, James. Have you got any audio?"
"The
whole thing. You lot were all going on about how dangerous it would be! It was
easy. Press record when he started, and let the tape run. Which means we
probably have what Lil and I heard of Voldemort's speech on tape to. But never mind."
"That,
James, my dear," Emily said to him, "makes the evidence so much more
incriminating. Get your media to Michelle in room 14, and she'll sort it into a
report. Then, then we wait."
And
wait they did. By the end of the week, the news was circulating the wizarding
world. In hushed tones the magical community of America discussed how they had
no idea that Richard Gordon was a backstabber. And in high places there were
demands for impeachment. Demands that the Supreme Court of Wizardry were only
too happy to grant. By the time Lily and James had to leave the USA, Joseph
Samuelson was back in charge. Their mission achieved, it was time to go home.
Chapter 15 - Proposal
Lily and James arrived back in England to find their friends in
good health, and their in trays overflowing.
One day
in early February Sirius and Felicity were out in the English countryside
together. Considering that neither of them were given to soppiness, as a couple
they had their incredibly romantic moments. Their relationship was full of
fireworks. One day they were best friends, the next neither of them could do
anything right.
Flick was
leaning against Sirius contentedly, surveying the scene in front of her.
"Most
people wait for summer before going on picnics." she commented.
"Most
people aren't us." Sirius replied. "Does it really matter what the weather's
like when someone invented a perfectly good charm to keep you at a comfortable
temperature."
"Don't
you ever worry about using magic too much?" Felicity asked. "I mean, people
like Lil's mum and dad manage fine without it. And Lily still does things the
muggle way."
"It
probably has something to do with habit. For instance Lily actually cooks,
while some witches just mutter spells. Lily cooks 'properly' as she puts it,
because that's the way she was taught to. How about you?"
"I wasn't
taught to." Flick laughed. "I sort of picked up tips along the way. Aunt Evie
taught me to bake though. So I suppose I bake the muggle way, and cook out of a
magic cookbook."
"Right."
Sirius looked confused. Then he brightened. "Flick. Will you marry me?"
"Sorry, I
must have drifted off then." Flick apologised. "I thought I heard you propose."
"I did."
"You did
what?"
"I asked
you to be my wife?"
"You're not
particularly romantic are you?" Flick said.
"It
depends." Sirius informed her. "Why?"
"I tell
you what." Felicity smiled. "I'll marry you if you propose properly."
"How
properly do you mean."
"I don't
believe this." Flick raised her eyes to the heavens. "First of all, I stand up,
and you get down on one knee." Sirius did as he was bidden.
"Right.
Now you say something along the lines of Felicity Elizabeth Evans, would you do
me the honour of being my wife?'"
"Felicity
Elizabeth Evans, would you do me the honour of being my wife?" Sirius repeated.
"I'd be
delighted." Flick said, happily. "Not exactly a conventional proposal, but then
we're not conventional, are we?"
"Not
exactly." They kissed, before Flick began to talk, worriedly.
"You do
realise that if you get me, you get Kat too, don't you?"
"I think I can cope with that." Sirius smiled at her. "She'll be the best
mischief maker Hogwarts has ever seen, with the exceptions of moi et mon
partener in crime, James!" He spoke the last with a French accent.
"Heaven
help us all! If you corrupt my sister, I'll have to divorce you!" Flick
laughed.
"You're
planning a divorce!" Sirius exclaimed. "We're not even married yet!"
"I'm not
planning anything just yet." Flick informed him.
"I love
you." Sirius said, suddenly. Flick looked at him, and smiled. Those three words
from Sirius meant much more to her than she'd ever admit.
"I love
you too." she replied. "And we're going to have the best wedding!"
"Don't
let Lily hear you say that." Sirius smirked. "Or she might never speak to you
again."
"Hers
will be equally great, but in a different way. Lil's got different taste."
"Well I
wasn't planning on anything identical."
"I'm so
glad, because if you were James, I might change my mind, and Lily may kill you
for marrying the wrong woman. And I don't think James would be too impressed if
I were Lily."
"I doubt
it highly." Sirius said.
The two
of them sat on their rug, in silence, contemplating the future they had just
agreed on.
"Do you
like children?" Flick asked, suddenly, breaking the calm.
"Do I
like children?" Sirius echoed. "As long as they go home at the end of the day,
they're great." he said. Flick looked at him searchingly, and then she was
silent. "Why?"
"I just
wondered if you wanted any."
"Dozens."
Sirius teased. "One for each month of the year. Then I can call them January
and February and March and April and-"
"I get
the picture." Felicity said, wryly. She smiled, and then went back to her
daydream. The idea of spending the rest of her life with Sirius definitely
appealed to her.
