THE KING ARTHUR COMPLEX
HER WITH A CAPITAL "H"
October 30, 1977
James Potter was tall, a few inches more so than Sirius. But if anyone asked who was taller, the immediate answer would have been "Sirius Black, of course," for Sirius had the effect of seaming taller than he really was.
Sirius measured in a six feet even. His dark hair generally needed a cut, but somehow it always looked wrong the first few weeks after he had it trimmed. He had a sinister smile, a smirk really, which gave him an absolutely evil look that could send chills down anyone's spine, and it didn't help that he had an ever present flicker of mischief in his eyes. This made him look as if he were always up to something, which, of course, he usually was.
A lot of that look had come form his father, a known dark wizard in his time, but it could be said that and equally large amount of that devilish charm came from the part of Sirius that liked to rebel, and found fun in breaking the rules. He had always had a way with the ladies, and had a reputation for seeing several girls at a time. Seeing, of course, wasn't really the word; very little of what he did was visual. This all ended when he started "seeing" Lily near the end of their last year at Hogwarts.
Lily was fairly tall, about their friend Remus Lupin's height; perhaps a bit taller. James, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew would all acknowledge that she was "pretty," but they had been fairly good friends with her since third year, and it was hard to switch over to more fitting terms such as "stunningly beautiful" after so many years. Stunningly beautiful certainly was more fitting. Her bright red hair, which fell in soft curls down her back, her emerald green eyes, long lashes, and delicate freckle dusted facial features left her the classic Irish beauty.
Which leads back to James. James was a tall thin, but muscular man. He had dark hair, and quite captivating coal eyes. Unfortunately, his eyes were hidden behind the glare of his wire rimmed glasses, his hair was naturally messy beyond even magical control, and rather than tall thin and muscular, he often looked like a pole when he gave up eating in favor of working. Work left him very little time for a social life anyway, so he didn't see that his potentially good looks had gone to waste in a dark office.
For awhile, he had worn a mustache, temporarily adding some interest to his face, and his life in general, until his friends unanimously decided that he looked ridiculous with that "dead caterpillar" on his lip. He had looked ridiculous with a mustache, but his face seemed bare without it, and that mustache had been the most interesting thing to happen to him, six months in either direction in time. He was almost sad to see it go, having to remind himself that it was only a mustache, and a ridiculous looking one at that.
James was a model student, and ideal employee. He paid fairly good attention in class and at meetings, although he couldn't help but lose interest every once in a while. He was smart, making good grades in all his classes, and extremely athletic, both qualities making him desirable for the position he held with the Phoenixes. But wasn't quite sure of himself. He never had been, and he was well aware of the uncertainty. There was only one thing he had ever been sure of in his entire life. He was convinced that he would never be sure about anything else, the way he was sure that he was in love with Lily Evans.
Not that it really mattered now that She was marrying Sirius.
She, with a capital S. She was the one he sat up and wrote letters to late at night, knowing that She would never read them, because She was in love with someone else, and he wouldn't dare send them. His letters to Her—with a capital H—would be burned, or stuck in a desk drawer where She would never find them. She was the one who kept him up at night, and She was the one who's face occupied his dreams.
Not that it really mattered now that She was marrying Sirius. She, with a capital S …
"Hey, Lily, congratulations!" Arthur Weasley was saying. He had just walked into the lounge used for the Phoenixes, and had a strange grin on his face. A knowing grin. "If you plan to get married anytime soon, I suggest you start planning now. You wouldn't believe all the different things there are to choose from. Of course, Molly slapped me when I said we should have eloped. She spent two years planing one day. The Years from Hell." He shook his head, as a few people chuckled. They had all heard about "The Years from Hell," and they had turned into something of a joke.
"Two words Lily: Simple. Wedding," Sirius told her. There were a few more titers as Arthur began to shake his head again.
"That's what you say. She's been planning this since she was old enough to think of such things. Pretty soon she'll be asking about invitations and pew bows, and other things that no one really cares about but the bride. If you want to make it easy on yourself, every time she asks if you like this cake or that cake, this ribbon or that ribbon, just say 'Whatever you like is wonderful, dear.'" This time everyone in the lounge—even James—laughed.
After that, the lounge faded into light conversation. James tried to focus on the papers he was going over. Notes on Malfoy Manor, a possible cult meeting place for the Death Eaters. … He'd had them for days, something Lily had agreed to do after going over some suspicious dark arts equipment found on the Manor's grounds. But he just couldn't concentrate. His eyes kept drifting away from the pages and over to Lily.
Her hair was dangling in front of her face, like a curtain blocking her eyes from the world. She was concentrating very hard on some piece of paper or another, which she would squiggle on every few seconds with a muggle ball point pen. Arthur Weasley had taken the spot next to her on the love seat she had occupied for nearly an hour now. He was leaning in to speak to her. It was hard to tell where one red head ended and the next began.
Arthur must have said something funny, because at that moment, he leaned back against the back of the love seat and smiled hugely at the ceiling. Lily's back shook with silent laughter. Her head was propped up on the heel of her hands, with her elbows on the papers in her lap. Suddenly, she jerked up and without looking back, whacked (it was more of a tap really, but it would have been a whack had she not been weakened so be such hard laughter) Arthur on the stomach with the back of her hand. While, no doubt, this was intended as some sort of punishment for what he had said, all Lily succeeded in doing was making Arthur laugh harder. Soon, James didn't need to be discreet about watching her across the room; almost everyone in the room was looking her way—although in a somewhat irritated manner—looking for the source of the laughter that was filling the lounge.
Remus Lupin, who had been trying to sleep over in one of the corners, looked over groggily, trying to find out who was making all the noise. When he saw Lily and Arthur, he just smiled and shook his head before adjusting his position, and hoping to get back to his oh-so rudely disturbed nap. Lily had that effect on people, making them want to smile right along with her. She had an incredibly strong happy presence, and when she was near someone, it made him feel as if he had a lot to smile about. No one could be angry with Lily for long.
James certainly couldn't.
Everyone went back to their work, and Lily and Arthur finally calmed down to the point where one or the other would only giggle (Arthur Weasley sounded very strange when he giggled) occasionally. James was trying, once again, to concentrate on his papers, when he noticed that there was someone missing from the room.
Where had Sirius gone? He'd been there just a minute ago when Arthur had come in … but now he was nowhere to be seen …