Disclaimer: I own nothing, of course!
**TheBlackCrayon – This one's for you!**
Illicit Love
Chapter Seventeen
Letters
It had been weeks since that Potions lesson in which James had realized that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with none other than Lily. He had suddenly become more nervous around Lily and sometimes he couldn't help but avoid her because the butterflies in his stomach would be horrid.
He was going to ask her to marry him. That much he knew he wanted to do. He was going to ask her on Valentine's Day, as it was the most romantic day of the year. He just didn't know how to go about asking her.
He knew he wanted it to be perfect. To be somewhere beautiful, somewhere magical, somewhere unforgettable. And he was so occupied with these plans (or the lack there-of) that he had been distracted in all his duties, and especially when it came to being a boyfriend.
Lily, of course, was getting the wrong signals. She imagined that he was staying away from her like she was the plague. He wouldn't touch her, and was often rubbing his stomach when he was around her, making up the excuse that his stomach was aching.
So, she panicked. Which resulted in her staying away from him.
And of course, James got the wrong signals from that.
A week before Valentine's Day, Lily made a mention of it coming up to James, saying it would be the first they would spend together. James dropped his fork on the floor and convulsed as if his stomach was being ripped to shreds.
James made some excuse about forgetting to grab his homework and ran out of the Great Hall.
"It's Saturday!" Lily yelled at his retreating back. He either didn't hear or pretended he hadn't heard. "What's his problem?" Lily asked Sirius after James disappeared.
Sirius shrugged, biting into a peach.
"He's afraid of romantic holidays?" Peter suggested.
"You – you don't think he's gotten…I don't know…tired of me, do you?"
"No!" Remus and Sirius replied quickly. Lily narrowed her eyes at them. That answer was a little too quick for her liking. But it didn't seem as if they were trying to cover on James's behalf, so she took a swig of her pumpkin juice and then folded her arms moodily.
"I just wish I knew what was going on," she said. "He's done this before. When he had something major to tell me. Maybe I should find him."
"He'll come around, Lily," Peter said. "It's not like he's likely to break up with you or anything."
But that was just what Lily was worried about.
The morning post came in a swoop of owls, dropping letters and packages to their owners. A large barn owl dropped two letters off in front of Remus. He picked them up and said, "One for Sirius" – he passed it to Sirius – "and one for…S.S. Delaney?"
"That's for me too," Sirius said. "It must be from my mum – she's the only one who's still insistent on calling me by my birth name."
"It sounds like a ship when it's put that way," Remus said with a grin. Sirius knitted his eyebrows and shrugged darkly.
"I blame this entirely on her, you know, this teasing," he said. And took the letter from Remus's hand. He opened the first and started reading.
"Oh lovely," Sirius said with a smile. "Elíha just had her baby – I've got a new brother. I've always wanted a brother. They named him Julio Glòhän. The second name means 'Prince' in the form of Elfish Elíha claims to speak."
"That's wonderful," Lily said. "I wish I could have another sibling. I've got the one, but Petunia doesn't seem to want anything to do with me." She frowned. People had been acting that way with her lately. Or at least just James was.
Sirius tore into his second letter, then let out a groan about having to read the words in Gaelic.
"She does this to hack me off too," he muttered. "She knows I don't read Irish so well, yet she insists on making me learn by writing all her letters in it."
"I know a good Translating Charm," Remus said. "But I feel inclined to let you suffer for a for a day or two of trying to just get through the first paragraph." He smirked and Sirius glared.
"Hey look," Peter said, "that looks like a hawk."
Sure enough it was a hawk. It dove gracefully through the high windows and weaved in and out of the rafters before coming to rest on the Gryffindor table in front of Remus. The letter tied to the hawks leg was actually for Remus this time.
Remus untied the letter off of it's leg, and offered the bird a bit of toast, which it didn't accept, but instead took a beakful of scrambled egg and took off.
Remus opened the letter and read:
My brother Remus –
I am in America. I wished to inform you that I was safe and that I have met up with the girl I was telling you about, Hannah. It is amazing here, and nothing like anywhere I've ever been. Of course, I've never been outside of Europe, so it is hard to make the statement true.
I miss you, Remus. I'd miss you even if I was still at Beauxbatons, but this feeling is deeper because I know it will probably be a long time before I see you again. Unless you choose to join us here in the States.
I have found a job at a record store, and have found more fun in the roller skating clubs and the colorful lights than I have in my life at school. I am living, of course, in the Muggle world, which isn't too bad. I've told the people closest to me that I am a werewolf, and they seem to believe me. Or they seem to think that I've been smoking too much dope and that I at least believe I am. Nowhere else have I gotten as much acceptance as I do here. You might really like it here.
Hannah sends her love. She doesn't know you, but she knows a lot about you, and says I talk about you too much for being brothers. I think she means that she has never seen siblings be so fond of one another. It's a good thing, I suppose, that we are as close as we are. I'm not even as close with Jeanna as I am with you – and she's blood. I guess it's a very special bond between us.
Tell Mum and Dad that I miss them too, and Jeanna and Lukas and all their children. It's difficult to write letters to them all, but they are in my heart.
Though mostly you are.
Maybe you'll come see me soon?
Your brother,
Pierre
Remus felt the tears well in his eyes. More than anything he wished he could see his brother. He was right, they wouldn't see each other anyway if he was still at school, but there was that thought that it would be a long time before they would see each other again, and that's what made it hurt most.
"What's the matter mate?" Sirius asked Remus, concern in his eyes.
"Oh, I've just received a letter from my brother," Remus replied, swiping hastily at his eyes. "He left school this year and went off to America. Excuse me," he said, rolling up his parchment and exiting the Great Hall.
"He's really broken up about it, isn't he?" Lily said, watching him go.
"Well, they're really close," Sirius replied. "And" – he lowered his voice – "they're both werewolves. So, they've gotten on perfectly since their parents have been married. I've met him a couple of times, and he's a really nice guy. You should see the way the two of them act around each other. Nothing like James and Jessica."
"Speaking of Jessica," Lily said to Sirius. "What happened between you two?"
Sirius's cheeks turned pink, but he answered, "We decided it was too weird to be together any more than those few times because she was a few years older than me. Besides I'm her brother's best mate, that makes me practically her brother. So we decided not to have nay kind of relationship."
"Hrm…I'm sorry," Lily said.
"No, I mean, I see what she means, because James and I were always going around hexing her with our parents' wands and we'd throw her in the Hole, and she'd torture us. So, it made more sense."
"I know what you mean," Lily said. "Nick VonBurryn had always been like the brother I never had. During primary school I had always thought I was going to marry him because he was the boy next door, but when I went back over the summer, I realized he was too much like a brother to me to have any interest in him. Besides, I had James. Except I'm almost feeling like I'm going to have to go back to dreaming about Mr. Boy Next Door because James is giving off weird vibes." She frowned.
"I'll marry you before you even think about marrying that weirdo," Sirius said. He had once read one of the letters that he was always sending Lily since that summer, and they were all about his organic science classes or about how he thought everything was a conspiracy. "It'd be a shame if our Head Girl married a Muggle anyway."
The three of them finished their breakfasts without much more talking, and headed up to the Gryffindor Tower. Once they reached the common room, Sirius left to chat up a girl in sixth year, and Peter left to his dormitory to get his homework. Remus was sitting in the corner, scrawling on a piece of parchment. James was nowhere in sight.
There was a scream – high-pitched and probably Peter's. Lily grinned slyly and stood.
"What was that?" Sirius yelled across at Lily. She just grinned and called back, "Consider yourself amazed," and pointed to the stairs to the boys dormitories.
Sirius and Remus jumped up and raced up the stairs, followed by Lily and then a many other curious Gryffindors. They reached the top of the staircase, where Peter stood, his back against the door to the seventh year boys' dorm. He looked rather shocked and quite winded.
Winded, that made Lily laugh. Given what she knew was in there.
"There's – there's a – a – hurricane in there," Peter said breathlessly.
"A what?" Remus asked.
"A hurricane!" Peter cried.
"Get out of the way," Sirius said impatiently, pushing Peter aside. He grabbed the doorknob, turned, and pushed.
And sure enough, there was a raving storm going on inside the room, complete with lighting, thunder, rapid winds, and rain.
Sirius stared with his mouth agape. He closed it, then opened it to speak again, then closed it again. He repeated the process several times before he decided to such the door and turn to stare at Lily with wide eyes.
"You – you did this?" he asked. He stuttered something else incoherent, then opened the door and looked into his dorm again.
"I had a little help from James," Lily replied.
Remus, as shocked as he was, was rather proud of her, and stepped forward to clap her on the back, saying, "Nothing anyone else has done to this man has gotten him speechless. I think you've proved yourself."
Lily beamed. "I like to think of it as Hurricane Lily. May it destroy your days and nights, just like you've destroyed many other people's."
"This is really good," Sirius finally said, shutting the door again. "Now. How do you reverse it?"
"It doesn't reverse."
"I beg your pardon," Sirius said.
"It just has to pass," Lily replied. "Conjure yourselves umbrellas and make sure you've got a Soundproof Charm on your beds."
"Nah, we'll just crash in James's room – this is all his fault anyway. He spawned the demon in you."
"No, I think you spawned the demon in me. But, go ahead and crash James's rooms, I think he's sleeping in mine, if our plans are still a go."
Sirius opened the door one more time, his image illuminated by the flashes of lightning. He shut it again, and moved to kiss Lily on the cheek.
"You were right. You can out-prank me. I consider myself amazed."
Lily beamed wider, and followed the rest of crowd down the stairs, hearing congratulations on her performance all the way down.
* * *
Valentine's Day had arrived.
James was nowhere to be found.
Lily sat around in the common room, watching the flakes of snow flutter past the window. She sighed and wistfully hoped that sometime today James would come out of hiding and possibly say something to her. She would even deal with a handshake, as he'd be touching her, but it was probably too hopeful to wish that he'd snog her senseless.
She looked around at the hideous pink decorations, and frowned, wishing she was one of the lucky girls that got asked to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride across the school grounds. Or even to go ice skating on the frozen lake. But James had still avoided her at all costs.
Lily heard the portrait hole swing back, but didn't look at who the intruder to her peace was until he tripped over the hole and fell, swearing loudly as he went down.
"James!" Lily cried, getting off the armchair and running towards him. She helped him up, and was surprised when he took her in his arms after he was to his feet.
He led her over to the loveseat close to the fireplace and sat her down, where he made Lily's dream come true and snogged her until she was neatly senseless. Afterwards, when they were breathless, they snuggled up together and watched the fire dance in the grate.
"I'm sorry about the past few weeks," James finally whispered in her ear. "I've had really important things on my mind other than the N.E.W.T.s."
"I understand," Lily said. "They tell me you're afraid of romantic holidays."
"Well, it's not that," he said. "What it is…well…I wrote it in a letter, you see." He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a folded piece of parchment with a large heart on the top. "But don't open it now, wait until you get back to your room."
Lily nodded, and nuzzled herself deeper back into James's embrace. How could she have panicked earlier? she wondered. How could she have let herself freak out about his motives? The letter obvious wasn't going to be one of break up, not with that heart on the front, and certainly not with the way he had snogged her. She smiled softly and stared at burning embers of the pink- and red-charmed fire.
This was perfect. More perfect than she had hoped for.
* * *
When Lily arrived back in her rooms after several more hours of snogging and cuddling, she reached into her pocket and extracted the letter James had written her. She unfolded the parchment and started reading James's small, tidy scrawl. She smiled and sat on her bed.
Dearest Lily –
Are you sure you're not a Vampire, because I feel that you've taken my heart before I've ever gotten a thought about it in. I wouldn't have it any other way, of course, but I want you to know what is true, despite the goings-on in my mind: I love you.
I have been intrigued by you since the day we first met, and I have been in awe of you since I first started to get to know you. And I have been in love with you since you stood by me no matter happened over the summer, during the year, and even this past week.
I started realizing this by a mistake I made. It's rather childish, you might think, but it really got my brain going. On our Potions assignment, after I bottled our Potion, I wrote on the label Lily and James Potter. Reading what I had written after I realized what I had done made me panic at first. First of all, because it was a mistake, and second of all, because I knew that I wouldn't have written it if there wasn't some form of truth behind it.
What I'm getting at, Lily, is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Of course we'll have bad times, but I'm willing to take up the bad with the good. We've already had a share of hard times, and arguments, but we've withstood those, and if we can make it through those, we can certainly make it the rest of our lives!
Happiest of Valentine's Days to you, my love. And I apologize for being such a freak the last couple of weeks. The reality of what hit me, really…hit me, I guess. But I'm always going to love and support you, and I hope you will do the same for me.
I love you!
Love always and forever,
James
P.S. And of course, I have a formal proposal waiting for you tomorrow. Meet me by Greenhouse 5 whenever you decide to roll out of bed in the morning.
Lily sighed and hugged the letter to her chest.
There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to show up and said greenhouse whenever she rolled out of bed – if the butterflies in her stomach would let her even sleep tonight.
* * *
A/N: This chapter didn't take as long, did it? I'm pretty proud of myself, if I do say so!
Next chapter, there will be a marriage proposal! Isn't that exciting!
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THANK-YOUS
* * *
Marzoog – I missed you! Yes, it is quite a relief that Lily isn't a Dark Diva. Although I would have wished to have been one if I were her.
Hey There
Hermione Granger63
LadyLupin1020
Trickster-Jaina-Fel
Uknowwhoslittleprincess – I love those jokes, especially excuse #14. "It was his father's fault". Lol. You are always the greatest! Was the soon enough for you? ;o)
AshliRyTe
Cara-meLisSa
Cheeky Girl
Tezka
Anarane Anwamane
Kitteh
DemonWitch666 – Yeah…I want to be a Vampire too. That would be so cool! :o)
TheBlackCrayon – Last, but not least! I saved you for last, because I wanted to thank you for you honesty and your email reply! Eep! I hope I wasn't the one biting your head off. If so, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude. This chapter is just for you, dear. And I hope I can get the next one out just as soon.
* * *
THANK YOU!!!
* * *
All righty, all reviewers shall receive the privilege of doing my back-to-school shopping for me. Doesn't that sound exciting? Better yet – you can just go to school for me! It'll be a lovely experience, taking all of Lavender's AP and Senior-Year courses.
Or maybe not.
;o)
Review anyway!
~Loves from Lavender