Lily and James traveled to Gryffindor where Lily applied for the Gryffindor Ministry's position of bookkeeper.
The paparazzi were having a field day.
"Ms. Evans?" A thirty-year-old slim witch raised her blonde eyebrow at the young woman sitting in front of her. "As in Prince James's girlfriend?"
Lily looked at her confusedly. In spite of her obvious confusion, she nodded. "I'd like to apply for a junior bookkeeper position. Here's my résumé and my recommendation letters."
The woman's dull blue eyes grew wide. "But won't you be living at the palace?"
Lily thought about it for a moment. "I suppose, if James asks me to move in. We just graduated, you see."
Lily handed her the slips of paper that she had hoped would properly guarantee her the job. The woman looked it over carefully, tucking her chin-length blonde hair behind her ear, but then she gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Evans. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Grace Stamp."
"Hello, Ms. Stamp." Lily said politely.
"Your résumé is impressive. All the papers publicize you as some sort of ambitious, stupid bitch but—Oh, oops." Ms. Stamp stopped and looked away embarrassedly.
"Oh, don't worry. They're pretty much right. Well, the bitch part might have changed since James came along. He called me a spoiled brat, a bitch, all the things you can imagine and yet.." Lily trailed off.
"He swept you off your feet?" Ms. Stamp suggested wearily. Lily nodded and smiled.
"James was never one to give up." Lily explained. "And I suppose he never will be."
"You really are quite smart, according to all these records. And you managed the Gryffindor Quidditch team for several years?" Ms. Stamp asked, returning to her professional ways.
"Yes. Putting James on the team had to have been the hardest thing I imagined at the time, Ms. Stamp." Lily sort of looked away, amused at the memory.
"I don't see why letting you join the Ministry would be a mistake. You start on Monday." Ms. Stamp told her. "And you can call me Grace."
Lily smiled happily. "Thank you so much, Ms.—Grace."
And she hopped perkily out of the office.
Grace Stamp got out a piece of parchment as quickly as she could. "Dear AJ, you won't believe who I just hired. Lily Evans, Prince James's girlfriend and our possible new queen! I cannot believe how sweet and smart she is! Come by after she's gotten used to life here and I'll introduce you! Yours truly, Gracie."
"This Lily of yours.. Same girl I met at the English Ministry Ball several years ago?" Queen Godrica asked as her nephew followed her throughout the halls of the palace, and James, with his hands respectively clutching one another behind his back, nodded.
"Yes, aunt." James replied.
"Charming, witty girl. Glad you snagged her." The Queen said, stopping to admire a rose. "Is she working?"
"Just got hired as a bookkeeper." James answered dutifully.
"Head Girl, prefect for two years, managed the Quidditch team to their wins? Obviously high society- Are her parents Muggles?" The Queen stopped looking at the rose to appraise her nephew.
There was something different about him. He had always been raised to be the best, to know the most, to act the wisest, to have the most class, but he had always had a disconnection with his heart. But now, he sort of smiled at her, a smile that he surely had not had when he had come back from Europe, a smile that expressed a heart broken and healed over and over again.
"Yes, aunt." He was definitely smiling, as if her questions amused him.
He had grown taller and definitely more muscular- That had to be the supreme physical difference. But there was something there. Something his eyes hadn't shone for before, something his lips didn't smile for before.
"Do you plan on marrying her?" She asked finally, looking up into her nephew's eyes.
He nodded solemnly. "Every fiber of my being plans to make her queen."
"Does she know?" Godrica asked, her eyes large and hopeful.
"She has a faint idea." James admitted. "I repeat it every day."
Godrica reached up and cupped James's chin. "You, boy, have become a man. A man worthy enough to rule my kingdom if I were to drop dead this instant, and I have this Lily to thank for it."
"Grace, I do believe—Oh, hello. I'm Lily." Lily introduced herself to the rugged man about Grace's age standing in front of her. She offered her hand.
"Adam Frost Junior, at your service." He whispered, kissing the top of her hand. She blushed. "Lily, as in Lily Evans?"
Lily nodded. "I'll go get Grace."
AJ's gaze followed Lily out of the room and he could hardly believe he had just been speaking to the prince's girlfriend.
Grace came in, as bubbly as ever. She hugged AJ and leaned over to whisper, "Isn't she darling?"
"Quite so." AJ answered. "So very…"
"Down to earth?" Grace gushed. "I know."
"Well, she only spoke to me for a moment or so." AJ admitted. "I really didn't have time to judge."
"Lily, dear!" Grace called, grinning at AJ.
"Yes, Grace?" Lily asked, coming in to the room with a few manila folders on the crook of her bent arm.
"Do meet my friend AJ. AJ, this is Lily Evans, the junior bookkeeper." Grace said formally, suppressing a giggle.
"Hello, AJ." Lily whispered with a smile, amused at her boss's antics.
"AJ's got quite an opinion on Quidditch, Lily. He writes for Quidditch Weekly." Grace offered, trying to get a conversation started.
"Do you really? I played the Keeper position for about a year and I managed our team to almost all of its wins." Lily said, that pearly grin of hers growing by the moment.
"Did you really?" AJ demanded with a gasp. Lily giggled and nodded.
"Yes, but it wasn't at all easy with that prick of a boyfriend of mine coming and taking over MY team." Lily joked, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Lily always talks about him like that. But when he sends her flowers or messages, she giggles like she's thirteen." Grace explained.
"I do not!" Lily protested, but a familiar owl flew in and made her blush.
"See?" Grace asked playfully, raising an eyebrow.
Lily squealed, biting her lip to keep from screaming happily.
"Grace, do you care to go shopping?" She inquired as calmly as possible.
"That's like asking a dragon if it cares to breathe fire." AJ drawled sarcastically. "Bye, Gracie. Must get back to the office."
"Why the reason for this sudden shopping spree? Not that I'm complaining or anything." Grace asked, sliding into one of the chairs in front of Lily's desk.
"Oh, if you don't want to go to the palace tonight for cocktails, we don't have to." Lily said simply, returning to her work.
Grace squealed and started jumping up and down. "You don't mean THE palace, do you?"
"No, I mean the palace of Buckingham." Lily replied. Grace looked confused. "Muggle thing."
"Let's shop!" Grace cried, and the two bounded out of the office.
"Everyone was there- Lead singer of the American magical pop group Sweet Charity, the head of the records office, the Minister of Magic, famous Quidditch commentator Sirius Black, the host and hostess Prince James and Queen Godrica, and all eyes were trying to get a glimpse of Lily Evans, the prince's girlfriend and alleged fiancée."
Rita Skeeter yawned. She had definitely not seen Lily Evans since her Hogwarts days, and there had been only a few months since they had both graduated.
She scanned the room. It was truly like an average cocktail party. The guests were laughing, chatting, and then the white French doors with inlaid gold opened up.
"Miss Lily Evans, junior bookkeeper, and Grace Stamp, chief bookkeeper." Somebody announced in a scratchy voice.
Rita noticed that Prince James, Queen Godrica and their minister were too deep in conversation to notice the young beauty.
She wore black. Her straps were probably made of velvet cord, and they tied into two tiny, perky bows. Her skirt ended about an inch or so above her knees, the sparkling fabric making a delicate ruffle on its edges. Her shoes looked like they were made of glass, and her friend, dressed in a coordinated ensemble of lavender satin, seemed to gasp at the room's size.
And its contents.
Lily had the top half of her hair pulled away with the rest of it, crimped and wavy, flowed softly onto her shoulders and back.
"Lily Evans enters the room and instantly finds the leader singer of Sweet Charity, hugging her. The girl does not search for her royal boyfriend but instead strikes up a conversation with Sirius Black."
"Lily, you look more radiant than ever." Sirius told her truthfully.
"So, you do have taste." Lily observed with a playful smile.
"England has been dreary without you raising hell." Sirius admitted.
"I thought you and Remus could do well enough." Lily reminded him, her smirk slowly growing on her face.
James looked up, and his aunt let him go along on his way
"What a distraction, this party." She had muttered playfully.
James scanned the room and found Lily automatically. She was talking to Sirius animatedly and she looked like- She looked perfect.
He walked briskly across the ballroom with an amused expression on his face.
"You're causing quite a stir, Princes.." He began, but she put a finger to his lips, slowly closing the gap between them.
"You might make them think something they oughtn't." She murmured, giving him a soft kiss. "You look wonderful."
His arms snaked around her waist, and her arms linked around his neck, both in an effort to lift her up a bit. "If I look wonderful, you look like a goddess."
"Well, thank you, Your Highness." She whispered with a giggle. "I don't have to call you that, do I?"
"Why not?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
She shot him a look.
He lowered his head to steal a kiss. "Of course not."
"Because that sounds like an awful lot to scream." She said huskily, getting a very sultry look in her eyes.
"Save it for the wedding bells." Sirius snapped.
"Al lright, Wunka Sewyous." Lily muttered unhappily, putting a mocking pout on her face.
"Those two, honestly.. Have to pry them apart with a crowbar. Or a Hurling Hex." Sirius was saying under his breath, and James was about to say something, but Lily put a finger to his lips.
"So, Sirius. How's life with Nadia going?" Lily inquired innocently, and their friend blushed, muttering something about needing another drink. She looked back at James. "Problem fixed."
A/N: Go out and read gitarstrng's fic, A Glimpse Beyond the Stereotypes, one of which (Mandy smiles like an idiot) is based on ME!!! My BFF wrote this character in there called Alexis (MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!) and besides Alexis being the star of the show (gitarstrngs glares at Mandy), I mean, co-star, it's a really cute G/D that I (MEEEEEEEEEEEEE) helped out on.
P.S. The Gilded Lily, by Helen Argers, (the summary
from Amazon.com)
From veteran historical novelist Argers (Noblesse Oblige, not reviewed, etc.),
a love story that reads like a boxing match with many bruising rounds. Set in
the months before and after the 1876 Centennial, in the heart of the Gilded
Age, the story is lavishly embellished with period furbelows. Details of
fashion--bustles are hot; society hostesses vie to give extravagantly glitzy
parties--pad the rather schematic tale of ``Gilded Lily'' Nina De Bonnard. As
it begins, the beautiful, rich, and independent-minded Nina is spending the
summer in the family mansion on the Jersey shore. She has scads of suitors and
no intention of marrying any of them. But when worldly Jordan Windsor returns
from Europe, she finds herself reluctantly attracted. Since true love cant run
smooth, the two are kept apart by deception for most of the narrative--Jordan,
for example, in order to help his brother (whos in love with Nina),
deliberately courts Ninas younger sister Adele, then ends up breaking the
younger siblings heart and angering Nina. The would-be lovers are also
obstructed by rumor (Jordan is supposed to be engaged to another), by illness
(Nina takes sick and cant recall the promises she made in her delirium to the
visiting Jordan), and by sundry machinations: malicious letters are sent, other
messages not delivered. Along the way, Nina creates quite a life for herself
when she flees the shore for the city and becomes a chronicler of fashionable
life for a newspaper under the moniker of The Gilded Lily. Jordan also
discovers a taste for journalism and politics in Washington, while he tries to
forget Nina. . . which of course he can't. More glitter than gold. --