Chapter 6 - Coming Home
James reported into the office before he apparated to his parents' house. He was glad to be on English soil again. And even happier to the fact that in a few minutes he'd be able to see the people he cared most for. Especially Lily. He missed being able to see her whenever he wanted to.
James landed on his parents' walkway, and walked up to the door. He wondered if anybody was home from work yet, seeing as it was only noon. James pushed the door open and stumbled back from the force of being attacked by a beautiful red head.
"James," Lily sighed happily. Her man was back, and he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She was happy with the world at the moment.
James closed his eyes to savor having her in his arms again, buried his head in the crook between her head and shoulder, and inhaled her scent. "God, Lils." He croaked, tears burning his eyes. "I love you so much, baby. I can't handle not being able to see you, hold you, talk to you. I can't," he whispered furiously.
Lily sniffed and ran her fingers through his messy hair. "I know, I know."
Someone from behind Lily cleared their throat loudly, causing the newly reunited couple to look in that direction and pull back from their embrace.
"Sirius! Remus! Kayla! Aria!" James shouted with joy as he spotted his friends. He raced over to them, and gave Remus and Sirius a hug, and kissed both Kayla and Aria on their cheeks.
Lily walked up to James, and needing the contact, just so that she knew that this wasn't just another dream, slid her arm around his waist and laid her head on his strong shoulder. James in turn, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and brought her closer to his body.
James looked down at Lily and smiled. He missed being able to touch her so much that he didn't think that it was possible for him to let her go for more than a few minutes. He bent his head slightly and lovingly kissed the crown of her head before he directed her to the nearest room so that they could all sit down.
"Where's my parents?" James asked as he sat down with Lily in a large lavender armchair, settling Lily comfortably in his lap.
"Your Mum is out with my Mother doing something. She didn't know what time to expect you, but she should be returning anytime. Your Father is at work for the time being." Lily informed him, not opening her eyes, or moving from her spot on James' lap.
James nodded his head, and stroked her sides' absentmindedly.
Lily sighed and curled into his embrace even more.
"James!" a voice called from the hallway.
James grinned, but waited in his chair, not wanting to disturb the peacefully resting Lily. As Tiffany Potter rushed into the room, James' grin grew broader as she came over to him, and bended so that she could hug her son, and she didn't even care that Lily was stuck in between them.
Tiffany Potter pulled back and looked at her sons face. "I missed you baby." She cried. James smiled boyishly. "I missed you too Mum," he told her.
Alexandra came into the room and looked at her daughter, who was half way asleep in James' arms. "Lily, honey, why don't you get a bed? And I'm glad you're back in one piece James, sweetheart." She told James as she bent over to kiss him on the cheek.
"No. I'm not going anywhere without him." Came the stubborn voice of Lily Evans.
Alexandra shook her head and sat down on the sofa next to James and Lily along with Tiffany.
"So-" Sirius started.
"What was it like?" Kayla finished.
James smiled and launched into the story of what Egypt was like.
~*~*~*~*~
Five days after James' return, Lily found that they were almost completely moved into their house. All they needed to do was find sheets for some of the spare bedrooms, and carpets, and some other small things like that.
Lily spun around in what was her and James' room and sighed happily. They were going to make their love last, and nothing could take it away from them, she just had this feeling deep down in her gut that they would live a long, happy, peaceful life.
Lily jumped a little as she felt a pair of strong arms that were covered in the darkest of blues wrap around her waist and lean her back into him. 'James,' her mind sighed as she recognized the scent that he wore.
"What are you sighing about, beautiful?" James whispered into Lily's ear as she looked out one of the windows in the room that overlooked the cliffs.
"I'm just so happy James. It feels as if everything is finally coming together for us, as if there's nothing else that can tear us apart," Lily whispered, as if scared that she was going to jinx herself, which she had a habit of doing.
Lily felt James nod, and settled into his muscled chest. "Lets go out tonight," James suggested while looking out of the window. "Dancing, or dinner, or the movies, or something."
Lily smiled happily. In the five days since James had been home they had spent their nights inside, curled up together on a rug, walking along the shore, long nights of passionate love making, and waking up next to each other. "Why not?" Lily asked as she turned around in his embrace to look into his beautiful sapphire blue eyes. "How about we go to a movie, that way we don't have to go through the necessities of changing," Lily suggested, pointing to James' outfit of Grey slacks, and a dark navy blue turtle neck sweater, and then pointed to her outfit, which consisted of a white wool scoop neck sweater, and black jeans.
James smiled and nodded his agreement. "But I want to catch the sunset with you first, is that okay?" he asked as he lead Lily by the hand over to the terrace doors and opened them wide.
Lily wrapped her arms around James' waist, and settled her head against his shoulder as they stood and watched the bright orange globe be reflected by the sea, and slowly disappear into it, leaving a beautiful arrangement of oranges, reds, and dark blues in the sky. "It's beautiful," Lily sighed.
James looked down at Lily's red head, and smiled. "Not as beautiful as you." He told her as he tipped her jaw up. James looked into Lily's eyes as he lowered his head to give her a kiss.
Lily closed her eyes as she felt James' mouth touch hers. Every time he kissed her, she felt like it was the first one. Each one was different. She opened her mouth as she felt his tongue sweep over her lips, and sighed into his mouth as his tongue lightly brushed over hers. She loved the way this man kissed. He made her feel as if nothing else in the world mattered besides her.
James slipped his hands under her shirt and kneaded the muscles in her lower back as he pulled back from the kiss to get some much needed air. "We should probably get going if we plan on seeing a movie tonight." James whispered harshly. Kissing Lily always left him breathless, and in arousal. 'Never fails,' he thought as he became aware of how tight his pant had become.
Lily stood on her tippy toes and nipped James's bottom lip. "Probably. Do you need anything?" she asked as she slipped out of his arms and headed towards the bedroom closet for a jacket.
'You,' James thought silently. "No, I have everything that I need," he told her as he watched her put on a black leather jacket.
"Right then, I have some muggle money on me, so we don't have to worry about that. You ready then?" she asked.
James nodded his head, and grabbed her hand, preparing to apparate them to the Leaky Cauldron. Not that Lily couldn't apparate herself mind you, he just liked doing it this way better.
Lily shook herself a little as her feet landed on the solid floor in the Leaky Cauldron. 'You have to get used to that!' her mind screamed at her.
James started to guide Lily towards the front door, noticing that she was just standing there. "Sorry," Lily mumbled as she noticed him pulling her towards the door and started to walk on her own. Lily blinked as she saw a man fly by her on a bike and let out a long breath that she had inhaled to scream with as she saw the bike come towards her. "And people say that the magical world is dangerous," she complained. James chuckled and threw an arm around her shoulders as they began their journey to the Movie Theater a couple of blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron.
"We're just not used to watching out for their contraptions," James explained as he bought to tickets with the money that Lily had handed him.
Lily shook her head at him. "No, they are dangerous. Period. I mean these people do not watch where they are going!" Lily complained, still a little miffed that she almost got ran over by a 10 speeder. (A/N: Lily almost got ran over by a bicycle. Not one with a motor. Sorry if I confused you on that point!)
James sighed and shook his head. Sometimes Lily could be very hard headed.
Lily and James headed for a seat in the front of the movie theater so that they wouldn't have to worry about people being in the way of the screen. Lily sat down and crossed her legs in front of her, as her habit was. James sat down to her right, and dropped his arm around her shoulders once again, and nudged her head until it lay in a comfortable position on his shoulder.
Surprisingly enough, the couple went through the whole movie without once kissing!
Lily and James got up from their seats as the credits started to roll, and walked towards the exit. "I still don't know why muggles had to invent guns," James told her in a whispered voice, continuing the conversation that they were having while the movie was going on. "Because, that is the one of the few things that muggles have to protect themselves. They don't have wands like we do!" Lily told him in a hushed voice, not wanting anyone to hear them. James rolled his eyes and put on his jacket, checking the specially made pocket that held his wand.
"So, they could be a peaceful race!" James joked.
Lily opened her mouth to comment on that just as her work pager went off. "Damn it!" Lily swore as she looked at the message. Lily swore again as she realized that she had to go in and turned towards James with a guilty look. "I'm sorry James, but they're calling me in." she told him.
James sighed and nodded his head. He knew that she had her job to do, but he still didn't like knowing that she worked nights. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then?" he asked her. Lily nodded her head and looked into his eyes.
She stepped closer to him, not caring if they were on a crowded street, and lifted her hands to wrap around his neck, and pulled his head towards her for a kiss.
The kiss wasn't passionate, but soft and dreamy. "I'll see you later, okay?" she whispered against James' parted lips.
James nodded, his brain still too fried to conjure up any words. She still had the power to fry his brain with one kiss, and it amazed him. He knew her body like he knew his own, she had kissed every inch of his body, knew it like she knew her own, yet one kiss from her could still drive him into overdrive.
"I'll miss you. Call if you can't make it, okay?" James asked as she stepped away, and went towards a deserted alley so that she could disapparate into work.
"Okay! Bye, I love you." Lily said as she waved her wand.
"Love you too." James told her seconds before she disappeared.
~*~*~*~*
Lily rushed to the Intelligence section of the Ministry, only to see it swarming with people.
"What's going on here?" Lily asked a guy who was walking by her.
"Big case load, and if you happen to be Lily Evans, I feel sorry for you." The blond haired man informed her before rushing off.
Lily gulped. 'What did I do?' she wondered as she went towards the office in which she had been assigned to, only to see Mr. Johnson sitting at her chair.
"Ah, Miss Evans, you must be wondering what all of this about?" Mr. Johnson questioned as he saw Lily standing in the doorway.
Lily nodded her head and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.
"Well, you remember your theory on the illegal items that have been sold? Well, we believe that you are right, and we want you to head the research of how to make this potion, and what is needed." He informed her with a bright smile.
'Wait!' her mind screamed. 'I have to find out about an Invincibility Potion! Just great! Those are harder than hell to find! Nice going Evans!'
"Of course sir. But if you don't mind my asking, where am I to look for this information?" she asked.
Mr. Johnson smirked. 'Smirked?!' Lily thought. 'Oh, this can't be good.' "In the Ministry's banned section of books. I'd say that there are only 12,000 books in there." He told her before opening the door. "Oh, and feel free to take some home with you if you wish to do work there!" he called over his shoulder as he shut the door.
Lily groaned and flopped down into her chair. It's not that she didn't mind reading, in fact she loved it, but 12,000 books?! And she was willing to bet that it'd be the last book that she chose that had the answers that she needed. Lily sighed and got up. 'I might as well start now,' she thought as she headed towards the library.
~*~*~*~
Within the next 20 days, no one saw much of Lily. She was either sleeping or working. She barely even had time to say 'Hi' to James or Kayla or anyone else when they came to visit her at work!
But, on the 21 day, Lily finally found the book that she needed.
Within the pages of The Dangerous Potions And How To Make Them, Lily found a very detailed list of the Invincibility potion. Lily marked the page after reading it, and gave it over to Mr. Johnson, who in turn told Lily that she looked like hell and needed the day off. Lily gratefully took the offer and went home to sleep.
Who knew that reading could take so much out of you? Lily wondered as she began to drift to sleep on the couch in James' study. She didn't care where she was, as long as the thing was soft, which it was. 'God, please don't let anyone wake me up for the next 10 years, please?' she thought and fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~
A/N:
Okay, this chapter hasn't gone through my beta yet, so there might be some problems with this chapter, so sorry. But I did get it to you guys by Wednesday! Aren't you proud of me?
Okay, give me 5 reviews and I might start on a chapter sooner.
But no matter what, I will have another chapter out by the end of next week. I promise.
Thanks for reading, and please, PLEASE review!!
Mistress del Mare
James reported into the office before he apparated to his parents' house. He was glad to be on English soil again. And even happier to the fact that in a few minutes he'd be able to see the people he cared most for. Especially Lily. He missed being able to see her whenever he wanted to.
James landed on his parents' walkway, and walked up to the door. He wondered if anybody was home from work yet, seeing as it was only noon. James pushed the door open and stumbled back from the force of being attacked by a beautiful red head.
"James," Lily sighed happily. Her man was back, and he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She was happy with the world at the moment.
James closed his eyes to savor having her in his arms again, buried his head in the crook between her head and shoulder, and inhaled her scent. "God, Lils." He croaked, tears burning his eyes. "I love you so much, baby. I can't handle not being able to see you, hold you, talk to you. I can't," he whispered furiously.
Lily sniffed and ran her fingers through his messy hair. "I know, I know."
Someone from behind Lily cleared their throat loudly, causing the newly reunited couple to look in that direction and pull back from their embrace.
"Sirius! Remus! Kayla! Aria!" James shouted with joy as he spotted his friends. He raced over to them, and gave Remus and Sirius a hug, and kissed both Kayla and Aria on their cheeks.
Lily walked up to James, and needing the contact, just so that she knew that this wasn't just another dream, slid her arm around his waist and laid her head on his strong shoulder. James in turn, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and brought her closer to his body.
James looked down at Lily and smiled. He missed being able to touch her so much that he didn't think that it was possible for him to let her go for more than a few minutes. He bent his head slightly and lovingly kissed the crown of her head before he directed her to the nearest room so that they could all sit down.
"Where's my parents?" James asked as he sat down with Lily in a large lavender armchair, settling Lily comfortably in his lap.
"Your Mum is out with my Mother doing something. She didn't know what time to expect you, but she should be returning anytime. Your Father is at work for the time being." Lily informed him, not opening her eyes, or moving from her spot on James' lap.
James nodded his head, and stroked her sides' absentmindedly.
Lily sighed and curled into his embrace even more.
"James!" a voice called from the hallway.
James grinned, but waited in his chair, not wanting to disturb the peacefully resting Lily. As Tiffany Potter rushed into the room, James' grin grew broader as she came over to him, and bended so that she could hug her son, and she didn't even care that Lily was stuck in between them.
Tiffany Potter pulled back and looked at her sons face. "I missed you baby." She cried. James smiled boyishly. "I missed you too Mum," he told her.
Alexandra came into the room and looked at her daughter, who was half way asleep in James' arms. "Lily, honey, why don't you get a bed? And I'm glad you're back in one piece James, sweetheart." She told James as she bent over to kiss him on the cheek.
"No. I'm not going anywhere without him." Came the stubborn voice of Lily Evans.
Alexandra shook her head and sat down on the sofa next to James and Lily along with Tiffany.
"So-" Sirius started.
"What was it like?" Kayla finished.
James smiled and launched into the story of what Egypt was like.
~*~*~*~*~
Five days after James' return, Lily found that they were almost completely moved into their house. All they needed to do was find sheets for some of the spare bedrooms, and carpets, and some other small things like that.
Lily spun around in what was her and James' room and sighed happily. They were going to make their love last, and nothing could take it away from them, she just had this feeling deep down in her gut that they would live a long, happy, peaceful life.
Lily jumped a little as she felt a pair of strong arms that were covered in the darkest of blues wrap around her waist and lean her back into him. 'James,' her mind sighed as she recognized the scent that he wore.
"What are you sighing about, beautiful?" James whispered into Lily's ear as she looked out one of the windows in the room that overlooked the cliffs.
"I'm just so happy James. It feels as if everything is finally coming together for us, as if there's nothing else that can tear us apart," Lily whispered, as if scared that she was going to jinx herself, which she had a habit of doing.
Lily felt James nod, and settled into his muscled chest. "Lets go out tonight," James suggested while looking out of the window. "Dancing, or dinner, or the movies, or something."
Lily smiled happily. In the five days since James had been home they had spent their nights inside, curled up together on a rug, walking along the shore, long nights of passionate love making, and waking up next to each other. "Why not?" Lily asked as she turned around in his embrace to look into his beautiful sapphire blue eyes. "How about we go to a movie, that way we don't have to go through the necessities of changing," Lily suggested, pointing to James' outfit of Grey slacks, and a dark navy blue turtle neck sweater, and then pointed to her outfit, which consisted of a white wool scoop neck sweater, and black jeans.
James smiled and nodded his agreement. "But I want to catch the sunset with you first, is that okay?" he asked as he lead Lily by the hand over to the terrace doors and opened them wide.
Lily wrapped her arms around James' waist, and settled her head against his shoulder as they stood and watched the bright orange globe be reflected by the sea, and slowly disappear into it, leaving a beautiful arrangement of oranges, reds, and dark blues in the sky. "It's beautiful," Lily sighed.
James looked down at Lily's red head, and smiled. "Not as beautiful as you." He told her as he tipped her jaw up. James looked into Lily's eyes as he lowered his head to give her a kiss.
Lily closed her eyes as she felt James' mouth touch hers. Every time he kissed her, she felt like it was the first one. Each one was different. She opened her mouth as she felt his tongue sweep over her lips, and sighed into his mouth as his tongue lightly brushed over hers. She loved the way this man kissed. He made her feel as if nothing else in the world mattered besides her.
James slipped his hands under her shirt and kneaded the muscles in her lower back as he pulled back from the kiss to get some much needed air. "We should probably get going if we plan on seeing a movie tonight." James whispered harshly. Kissing Lily always left him breathless, and in arousal. 'Never fails,' he thought as he became aware of how tight his pant had become.
Lily stood on her tippy toes and nipped James's bottom lip. "Probably. Do you need anything?" she asked as she slipped out of his arms and headed towards the bedroom closet for a jacket.
'You,' James thought silently. "No, I have everything that I need," he told her as he watched her put on a black leather jacket.
"Right then, I have some muggle money on me, so we don't have to worry about that. You ready then?" she asked.
James nodded his head, and grabbed her hand, preparing to apparate them to the Leaky Cauldron. Not that Lily couldn't apparate herself mind you, he just liked doing it this way better.
Lily shook herself a little as her feet landed on the solid floor in the Leaky Cauldron. 'You have to get used to that!' her mind screamed at her.
James started to guide Lily towards the front door, noticing that she was just standing there. "Sorry," Lily mumbled as she noticed him pulling her towards the door and started to walk on her own. Lily blinked as she saw a man fly by her on a bike and let out a long breath that she had inhaled to scream with as she saw the bike come towards her. "And people say that the magical world is dangerous," she complained. James chuckled and threw an arm around her shoulders as they began their journey to the Movie Theater a couple of blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron.
"We're just not used to watching out for their contraptions," James explained as he bought to tickets with the money that Lily had handed him.
Lily shook her head at him. "No, they are dangerous. Period. I mean these people do not watch where they are going!" Lily complained, still a little miffed that she almost got ran over by a 10 speeder. (A/N: Lily almost got ran over by a bicycle. Not one with a motor. Sorry if I confused you on that point!)
James sighed and shook his head. Sometimes Lily could be very hard headed.
Lily and James headed for a seat in the front of the movie theater so that they wouldn't have to worry about people being in the way of the screen. Lily sat down and crossed her legs in front of her, as her habit was. James sat down to her right, and dropped his arm around her shoulders once again, and nudged her head until it lay in a comfortable position on his shoulder.
Surprisingly enough, the couple went through the whole movie without once kissing!
Lily and James got up from their seats as the credits started to roll, and walked towards the exit. "I still don't know why muggles had to invent guns," James told her in a whispered voice, continuing the conversation that they were having while the movie was going on. "Because, that is the one of the few things that muggles have to protect themselves. They don't have wands like we do!" Lily told him in a hushed voice, not wanting anyone to hear them. James rolled his eyes and put on his jacket, checking the specially made pocket that held his wand.
"So, they could be a peaceful race!" James joked.
Lily opened her mouth to comment on that just as her work pager went off. "Damn it!" Lily swore as she looked at the message. Lily swore again as she realized that she had to go in and turned towards James with a guilty look. "I'm sorry James, but they're calling me in." she told him.
James sighed and nodded his head. He knew that she had her job to do, but he still didn't like knowing that she worked nights. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then?" he asked her. Lily nodded her head and looked into his eyes.
She stepped closer to him, not caring if they were on a crowded street, and lifted her hands to wrap around his neck, and pulled his head towards her for a kiss.
The kiss wasn't passionate, but soft and dreamy. "I'll see you later, okay?" she whispered against James' parted lips.
James nodded, his brain still too fried to conjure up any words. She still had the power to fry his brain with one kiss, and it amazed him. He knew her body like he knew his own, she had kissed every inch of his body, knew it like she knew her own, yet one kiss from her could still drive him into overdrive.
"I'll miss you. Call if you can't make it, okay?" James asked as she stepped away, and went towards a deserted alley so that she could disapparate into work.
"Okay! Bye, I love you." Lily said as she waved her wand.
"Love you too." James told her seconds before she disappeared.
~*~*~*~*
Lily rushed to the Intelligence section of the Ministry, only to see it swarming with people.
"What's going on here?" Lily asked a guy who was walking by her.
"Big case load, and if you happen to be Lily Evans, I feel sorry for you." The blond haired man informed her before rushing off.
Lily gulped. 'What did I do?' she wondered as she went towards the office in which she had been assigned to, only to see Mr. Johnson sitting at her chair.
"Ah, Miss Evans, you must be wondering what all of this about?" Mr. Johnson questioned as he saw Lily standing in the doorway.
Lily nodded her head and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.
"Well, you remember your theory on the illegal items that have been sold? Well, we believe that you are right, and we want you to head the research of how to make this potion, and what is needed." He informed her with a bright smile.
'Wait!' her mind screamed. 'I have to find out about an Invincibility Potion! Just great! Those are harder than hell to find! Nice going Evans!'
"Of course sir. But if you don't mind my asking, where am I to look for this information?" she asked.
Mr. Johnson smirked. 'Smirked?!' Lily thought. 'Oh, this can't be good.' "In the Ministry's banned section of books. I'd say that there are only 12,000 books in there." He told her before opening the door. "Oh, and feel free to take some home with you if you wish to do work there!" he called over his shoulder as he shut the door.
Lily groaned and flopped down into her chair. It's not that she didn't mind reading, in fact she loved it, but 12,000 books?! And she was willing to bet that it'd be the last book that she chose that had the answers that she needed. Lily sighed and got up. 'I might as well start now,' she thought as she headed towards the library.
~*~*~*~
Within the next 20 days, no one saw much of Lily. She was either sleeping or working. She barely even had time to say 'Hi' to James or Kayla or anyone else when they came to visit her at work!
But, on the 21 day, Lily finally found the book that she needed.
Within the pages of The Dangerous Potions And How To Make Them, Lily found a very detailed list of the Invincibility potion. Lily marked the page after reading it, and gave it over to Mr. Johnson, who in turn told Lily that she looked like hell and needed the day off. Lily gratefully took the offer and went home to sleep.
Who knew that reading could take so much out of you? Lily wondered as she began to drift to sleep on the couch in James' study. She didn't care where she was, as long as the thing was soft, which it was. 'God, please don't let anyone wake me up for the next 10 years, please?' she thought and fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~
A/N:
Okay, this chapter hasn't gone through my beta yet, so there might be some problems with this chapter, so sorry. But I did get it to you guys by Wednesday! Aren't you proud of me?
Okay, give me 5 reviews and I might start on a chapter sooner.
But no matter what, I will have another chapter out by the end of next week. I promise.
Thanks for reading, and please, PLEASE review!!
Mistress del Mare