FOREVER
Year Six
Part One
Subtitled: James and Lily kiss and make up…almost
Dedicated: This is to all the people who thought I could do it, even when others thought I couldn't.
Lily scowled fiercely at reflection as she got ready for dinner. The ribbon that she had been attempting to put in her hair was not only not staying in place, but also when it was, it was lopsided. She sighed in frustration and ripped the ribbon from her hair.
"That's it!" She muttered and jerked the brush through her hair. "I'm going to braid it." Lily had barely begun to braid her hair though, when there was a faint tapping on her window. She sighed again and opened it, for the owl to get in.
Lily stared, confused, at the owl. She had been expecting a letter from Anna or Roslyn, but the majestic owl, lounging on Lily's bed, was definitely NOT Lightning (who was neon) or Narcissa, Lily's owl, whom Lily had sent to Roslyn a few days ago.
Lily shook her head as she untied the thick parchment from the owl's talons and hoped against hope that this owl wasn't a ministry owl containing Petunia's death or her expulsion from Hogwarts.
Just then there was a knock at her door. "Hey, you're Aunt wanted me to check on you and see if you're almost ready." He said. "What's that you've got there?" Her Uncle Cruis asked noticing the letter in her hands for the first time.
"My OWLs!" Lily grinned as she skimmed over the contents.
"How'd you do?" He asked and held out his hand to take a look at the parchment.
Lily looked up and handed the paper to him. "Really well." She smiled. "Except for Herbology of course, but that really couldn't be helped."
Her Uncle smiled as he read over the letter. "Lily, this is great!" He said grinning and pulled into a hug. He smiled and handed the letter back to her. "You should be really proud."
Lily nodded as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I am." She said seriously and folded the letter up.
"Well I'd better finish getting ready. Wait until your aunt hears how well you did! She'll be thrilled." He paused at the door. "Let's just hope Sirius did half as well, eh?" He winked with a laugh.
Lily giggled. "Good luck with that!" Lily grinned at the thought of her cousin's OWLs. They probably weren't half bad, considering Sirius always scored well on tests and Anna had made him study like mad. Though, now that Lily thought about it, she seriously doubted if Sirius studied anything besides Anna.
She stared critically at her reflection and finally smiled, satisfied, as she finished her hair with a flourish. Tonight was Sirius' birthday, and everyone would be coming for dinner except for Remus. He wasn't going to be able to make it tonight for…er…various reasons. The full moon was in few days and he was feeling majorly under the weather. Mrs. Lupin had consented to let two of Remus' friends stay with him over break. Peter, James, and Sirius had drawn straws and James had lost so after the party that night, Sirius would be flooing to Remus' for the rest of break.
Lily smiled one last time at her reflection before heading down. It was only four-thirty and even though the part started at six, Lily knew that people would start arriving any minute. Believe me, Lily was definitely excited about 2 hours of shaking people's hands, and that was even before she got INTO the ballroom. If there were half as many people this year as there had been last year, Lily wouldn't have been surprised in least of her hand fell off by nine o'clock. She sighed one last time, pasted a smile on her face, and prepared for an insane amount of "nice to meet you's"
*****
Anna had seen the Black's main hallway on regular days, and while elegant, it couldn't hold a candle to the sight she saw now. The room seemed to have taken on a glorious glow and the detailed enamel patterns that trimmed the walls, danced happily around the room. Directly opposite Anna, was a beautiful Elf Scene Tapestry, that Anna, if she knew her friend at all, had been Lily's touch. She giggled at the thought of her friend's obsession with art.
Smiling slightly, Anna began to move her way through the massive crowd. Which, she realized, after she had cut about ten people, was actually a procession line into the ballroom. Anna couldn't help but raise her eyebrows as she looked at all the people. She was willing to bet that Sirius probably hadn't even met half of them, let alone know them. She caught a glimpse of Sirius through the crowd. His usual silly grin was replaced with a look of utter boredom. She watched him for a minute, giggling as he was grudgingly introduced to a multitude of his father's friends and business associates. They filed one by one into the ballroom until finally she reached the door.
"MS. Anna Fisher of London." A house elf's voice rang out.
Lily, who was standing near the middle of the greeting committee, turned and grinned. Finally, someone from he generation!
"It's so nice to see you dear!" Mrs. Black said, and instead of offering Anna her hand like she had to everyone else, she drew her into a hug.
"Hello Anna!" Mr. Black boomed, and shook her hand genially. "Maybe you can save Sirius from this torment, eh?" He asked and winked amicably at her before turning to the man behind her and shaking his hand.
Lily was standing next to Mr. Black, grinning. "They know about you and Sirius." She explained before hugging Anna.
"Obviously." Anna commented wryly remembering the wink and the warm hug she had received. "I can't believe he winked at me!" she whispered
Lily laughed. "He does that, it means he likes you. We'll talk later, k?" She said, eyeing the rather stiff looking man who was next in line and was looking quite put out.
Anna nodded quickly. "I'll be waiting inside, fending off my numerous dance partners." She said laughing and, eagerly moved onto James.
James did not look like he was having a good time. The wizard in front of Anna, who was rather large, had shook James' hand so hard that his glasses had gone askew. He was just putting them back correctly when she got there.
"Hey." She said, laughing at him as he fumbled with his glasses.
"Hello nice to..." He scowled at put them on again and looked up. "Hey Anna! I thought you were some bloody ministry wizard."
"Having fun?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, loads." He said sarcastically. "That man just might find himself covered in dungbombs by the end of the night. " James said darkly, glaring at the retreating figure in front of Anna.
Anna smiled tightly and decided that it may be best if she moved on and talk to James again when he was in a better mood.
"Hey you." She said and hugged him quickly.
"Its about time you got here!" Sirius said, looking really frustrated. "I've said hello so many times, I'm about to rip my bloody head off!" He scowled. "Not to mention that my hands gone raw."
She winced sympathetically, "Well…" She paused, trying to think of something cheerful. "Happy Birthday!" She finished brightly, unsure what to say.
He smiled. "Thanks." He kissed her quickly. "You better head on in there, I'll be in there as soon as I can." He glanced over at James who was being hugged to death by a particularly fat relative of Sirius' "Believe me." He said urgently. "As soon as I can!"
*****
Lily glanced at the empty room and sighed happily. So okay, maybe it hadn't been perfect, but the party sure had been fun. It was nearing 6 am and the last guest had just been shown out. She yawned and grinned tiredly at James who was half asleep in the chair nearest to her.
Suddenly, Sirius bounded in with as much energy as he had had hours before when he had been twirling Anna around the dance floor. "Hey you guys!" He said brightly as he gathered his things together and dragged them toward the nearest fire place. "Well see ya." He reached for the pot of Floo Powder.
"Byyyyye." Lily yawned.
James just waved in response.
There was a bang and Sirius was gone.
"Guess its just us." James said lazily, his head still in his arms.
Lily tugged on a piece of stray red hair, thoughtfully. "Guess so." She said and stifled a yawn.
"So," James said and lifted his head. "What do you want to do?"
Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Are you crazy? James its 6 in the morning."
He shrugged and smiled mischievously. "IS it?" He asked, an idea obviously forming.
"Yes!" Lily said growing alarmed. That look could only mean trouble.
Suddenly, James seemed to have found some energy and he jumped up. "Come with me!" he cried and grabbed her hand and dragged her out the nearest set of doors.
"James where are we --." Suddenly Lily froze. "Wow." She gasped and sat down.
"You like it?" He asked excitedly and sat down next to her.
She nodded earnestly. "James this is…wow…this is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen."
"It IS pretty cool, huh?" he asked, sounding satisfied and sat down next to her.
The colors stretched endlessly over the horizon and the Black's extensive (we're talking acres and acres here) made the picture complete with it's own dash of green.
All Lily could do is stare. "I've GOT to paint this!" She cried suddenly and dashed inside.
Seconds later, Lily reappeared with her pencils and drawing pad. She sketched the scene, her eyes intense with emotion. As the scene began to fade, she sat back, satisfied.
"Did you get enough to paint?" James asked and looked over her quickly done sketch.
"Yeah, its pretty much all there, and I'll remember the rest." She grinned goofily. "Thanks James." She said quietly and smiled shyly at him.
He grinned. "No problem."
They sat in silence for a moment. "Well." James said finally, "I don't know about you, but I'm beat."
"Hmm?" Lily asked distractedly as she sketched a tree with more detail. "Oh, yeah, I'll be in, in a minute." She said absently and started to draw furiously.
James hid a smile. "alright, I'll see you later, then."
"Mhmmm." She mumbled and frowned at her tree.
*****
Lily burst out laughing. "How could you let your room get so dirty?"
James shrugged and laughed at himself. "I dunno, I never really thought about it. It wouldn't even be a big deal if Cruis hadn't come in here. Its not even that messy, he just over reacted.
Lily laughed even harder. "Over reacted? He came in to say good night and nearly killed himself tripping over all your stuff."
A week had passed since the party and Lily and James had been hanging out everyday doing various things. They WERE going to go flying but Lily's aunt and uncle told James that he wouldn't go ANYWHERE until he cleaned his room.
"James!" Lily squeaked as she held something wet and brown up by her nails. "What is this?"
James looked at it thoughtfully for a minute. "Um… a sock…I think."
"James this is DISGUSTING!" She cried and flung it into the laundry basket.
He laughed. "Yeah it is pretty gross, isn't it."
Lily rolled her eyes and muttered something about "men!". She leaned over and began to clean under the bed, while James tackled his desk. "Hey, What's this?" She asked as she pulled out a small wooden box.
James looked over his shoulder quickly and did a double take. "Uh…." He said nervously as the color drained from his face. "I don't think you want to see that, Lil." He stepped forward and reached out to take the box.
Lily frowned at him suspiciously. "Yes I do." She said stubbornly and lifted the lid. "OH!' She said softly and pulled a small brown music box from it. She lifted music box's lid and three laughing eleven year olds appeared in wizard 3D. One was tall and tan with thick brown hair. Another was short with thin light brown hair and mischievous blue eyes and the last one was also short with thick red-gold hair, green eyes and a shy smile. The girls were standing in front of the common room fireplace, where the picture had been taken. Suddenly they all opened their mouths and a song filled the room.
Oh yeah, I'll tell you something,
I think you'll understand.
When I'll say that something
I want to hold your hand,
I want to hold your hand,
I want to hold your hand.
Oh please, say to me
You'll let me be your man
And please, say to me
You'll let me hold your hand.
Now let me hold your hand,
I want to hold your hand.
And when I touch you I feel happy inside.
It's such a feeling that my love
I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't hide.
Yeah, you've got that something,
I think you'll understand.
When I'll say that something
I want to hold your hand,
I want to hold your hand,
I want to hold your hand.
And when I touch you I feel happy inside.
It's such a feeling that my love
I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't hide.
Yeh, you've got that something,
I think you'll understand.
When I'll feel that something
I want to hold your hand,
I want to hold your hand,
I want to hold your hand.
The girls finished triumphantly and gave each other thumbs up and high fives. One, Anna, began to tickle Tina who started to laugh uncontrollably. Lily stared on, tears threatening to fill her eyes. She shut the box softly and began to sift through the rest of the contents James had had locked up in the original box. The box held letters, pictures, and birthday presents.
"James," She said, her voice shaking dangerously. "What are these doing in here?" She held up the music box in one hand and letters in the other.
"Er…" He said, now looking VERY nervous as he ran his hand roughly through his hair.
"These are my things! These." She pushed the letters to him. "Were from my parents and Tina!" tears spilled silently down her cheeks. "And THIS," She pushed the music box to him. "Was a birthday present from Tina!" She watched him, her eyes begging him to explain to say there was a mistake.
James sighed heavily and sat down. "Don't cry, Please! Sirius and I just thought things would be easier for you if you didn't have these things around to remind you. You know, out of sight, out of mind." He watched her carefully for a sign that she was okay.
"So you just decided to go through my things?" She said sharply, eyes flashing dangerously.
James gulped. 'Lily we were just trying to help, honest."
Lily stared at him for a moment, her eyes searching for the truth. She nodded slowly. "Okay. Look, I'm going to put these away and I'll be back to help in a little bit, k?"
James nodded. "Wait. Lily." He called as she reached the door.
"Yeah?" She asked tonelessly.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded rather unconvincingly and slipped out the door without looking back.
*****
Lily hugged her knees tightly to her chest and took a deep breath.
"You're going to get over this, you have to get over this!" She whispered over and over again to herself in a vain attempt to believe it. She closed her eyes to improve her concentration and all she got were her parents faces flashing over and over again in her mind. Frustrated, her eyes flew open.
"UGH!" She cried, angry at herself for not being normal, angry at her parents for dying, angry at Tina for being so young, angry at them all for never saying good bye, angry…
Lily picked up the nearest pillow and flung it wildly just as there was a knock at the door.
"who is it?" She called, her voice suddenly flat and tired.
"James."
Silence
"Can I come in?" He asked after a minute.
Silence.
"Yeah." Lily finally.
The door opened slowly and James walked cautiously through. "Hey." He said quietly, watching her to see if she was okay.
"Sorry I didn't come back…I just…uh…got caught up…" Lily struggled for an excuse to explain why she never returned to finish cleaning James' room. The real reason wasn't something she really cared to discuss, right then.
"Oh I don't care about that." James said cutting her off. "Its just that you missed dinner, and the house elf said you were sick, I just wanted to see if you were okay." He eyed her suspiciously as she didn't look sick in the least,
Lily sighed and ran a hand raggedly through her hair. "I'm not sick." She announced after a minute.
"Yeah, I kinda figured." James said, smiling wryly.
"I just needed to think things through."
"Do you want me to leave?"
"Do you want to go flying?"
James and Lily asked at the same time and started laughing.
"Yeah." James said grinning. " Let's go flying,"
Lily smiled and gathered herself together. "I thought you might just take me up on that." She said archly. "Just don't get any funny ideas about locking me in the broom closet with you!" She waggled her finger warningly at him.
"Oh and like getting locked in the broom closet was SO successful for me last time." He rolled his eyes. "My jaw still hurts."
"Baby!"
*****
"Lily, What are you doing?" James asked looking absolutely horrified.
"Cooking." She said simply.
His worst nightmare had come true.
"Do you know HOW to cook?" he asked skeptically as he eyed the batter with distaste.
She turned and smiled. "Not really. No. Not real food anyway but I CAN make cookies." She grinned and poured the chocolate chips in the bowl.
James was deterred at first by the mention of cookies but he soon came back to reality.
"Don't we have house elves for that sort of thing?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
She turned and watched him amusedly. "Why do you care if I cook or not?"
"He just doesn't want to have to eat them if they're awful." A new voice laughed from the doorway.
"Hey Uncle Cruis." Lily said. "Want some?" She pointed to the cookie batter.
"I'd better not - diet you know," He shot a glance over his shoulder to the dining room where his wife was sitting. "Just came in to get a drink." He put his book down, grabbed a soda and left, shutting the door behind him.
They just stood there for a minute, neither saying anything. James didn't mind the silence though, he liked watching her.
"If you're going to just stand there, youu could help you know." Lily said, eyeing the flour pointedly.
James grinned wickedly. "Okay," he said and took a handful of flour when she wasn't looking. He held the flour in his hand for a moment before walking stealthily up behind her and placing the flour on the top of her head, rubbing it in quickly.
She whirled around, eyes flashing. "James!" she cried and touched the flour on her head gingerly. She set her chin in determination and took a handful of sticky batter and flung it at his face. He burst out laughing and reached for the nearest food before throwing it at her. Before long they were involved in a full out food fight, complete with chasing around the kitchen. Before either new it, James had tackled Lily and was now laying on top of her tickling her wildly.
Lily giggled like mad.
Suddenly their eyes met.
And the world stopped.
James' hands, which had previously been tickling her, fell limply to his side.
Lily, who had previously been fighting him off in between laughs, froze.
After ward Lily tried to figure out what happened. All she knew was that as she was staring into his eyes, something happened. Time seemed to stop and the world stopped spinning. Neither was sure how long they lay there staring into each other's eyes. Lily was terrified by the feelings those two eyes provoked in her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pry her eyes away.
Their lips grew closer…
And closer…
She could hear his heart beat.
He could feel her breath.
And then the door flew open.
"Just forgot my boo -" Lily's Uncle started and then spotted them, lying on top of each other on the floor.
"JAMES, LILY!" he roared just before lips met.
Their eyes broke and James jumped off of her.
"Sir I can explain," James blurted.
"It was my fault Uncle Cruis." Lily cried.
"Come with me!" He yelled furiously grasping them both by the cuffs of their shirts.
*****
"I will NOT tolerate that sort of behavior in my home." He said sternly and hour later in the living room.
"Really, kids." Mrs. Black said quietly, the disappointment apparent in her every move. "We expected better from you two."
Lily's head hung, ashamed. But she wasn't sorry, not really anyway. The only thing she regretted was her uncle walking in before they kissed.
"Go to your rooms, both of you." Mr. Black said finally. They got up and started to leave, as they reached the door he called out to stop them.
"Separately." He added, making Lily blush.
*****
The day to go back to school had finally come. Lily had loved every second of the time she had spent with James, and to be honest, she was going to miss all the time they spent alone together. Since the food fight incident, a few days ago, Lily had been pretty much confined to her room. The car zoomed quickly through the highway and they finally reached King's Cross Station.
"Ready?" Her aunt asked as they reached Platform 9 and 3/4.
They nodded.
"Ladies first." James said, smiling charmingly at Lily.
Lily giggled and stepped quickly through the barrier.
*****
Lily secured her prefects badge and started into the great hall.
Suddenly someone grabbed her arm. "Wait a sec, Lil." Roslyn said pulling her aside.
Lily smiled at her friend. "What's up?" She asked as the crowd pushed and shoved into the great hall.
"What's with you and James?" Roslyn asked, grinning wickedly.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked innocently, a smile playing on her lips.
Roslyn rolled her eyes. "You know perfectly well what I mean. You two were flirting the whole ride here."
"We were?" Lily asked in a very bad attempt to be surprised.
"You're avoiding my eyes." Roslyn pointed out and, if possible, grinned wider. "Come on Lil, don't hold out on me, you guys were all over each other the whole time."
Lily shrugged mysteriously and walked quickly into the crowd, grinning.
"SO?' Anna asked as she walked up behind Roslyn. "What did you find out?" She twirled a piece of her brown hair impatiently.
Roslyn turned to her, grinning like a mad man, "I think she likes him."
Anna grinned back. "PROJECT!!!" She squealed excitedly.
A/n - Okay, sorry that was so late. I had kind of a stressful week. Okay I currently have 265 reviews. lets see if we can make it to 280 by the next chapter. A surprise for the reviewer who's review is number 280!! (Hint, Hint, I'll put them into the next chapter. ::grin:J )
