Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the majority of these characters—I sure don't. I just like to play with them on occasion.
Author's Note: Yes, I know it's been awhile and yes, I know this chapter is abysmally short. Please bear with me. I entered myself in the annual National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) contest—my goal is to write a novel (50,000 words or approximately 175 pages) by midnight on November 30th. So until then, that's my major project. However, I felt it wasn't fair to neglect you all for that long, so here you have another dream/memory sequence. Enjoy, and as always, read and review!
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May 24th, 1980.
Shifting the heavy bags in her arms, Ani knocked rapidly on the door of the Potters' flat. Bang bang bang! She waited impatiently for a moment and knocked again. "Get the lead out, Lils, I'm about to drop a week's worth of groceries on my toes!" she called.
"There in a moment!" The door opened and Lily backed out of the way. "Sorry," she breathed, her pale cheeks bright. "I'm not as quick as I used to be." She put her hands affectionately on her swollen belly.
"No problem," Ani answered cheerfully. She leaned over and kissed the ever-growing bump that was Lily's stomach. "And how are you two today?"
"I'm fine and the baby's wide awake," Lily chuckled. "Thanks for offering to get the groceries for me, by the way—my cupboards are bare and I needed something to fix for James when he gets off of work."
"Not a problem—the more you stay off your feet the better, Lily. I swear you get bigger every time I see you," Ani commented, edging past her into the flat and moving into the kitchen. She sat the groceries on the table and turned around, grinning. "You sure you're not having twins?"
Lily groaned and feigned a fainting spell. "Don't even joke about such things," she said, mockingly stern. "If the pregnancy's any indication, I'm going to have my hands full with just one! I couldn't sleep last night for his kicking."
Ani's eyes lit up as she put a head of cabbage into the crisper. "It's a boy? How do you know?!"
Her best friend shrugged and settled in at the table. She pulled her wand out of the pocket of her robes and waved it; a set of knitting needles zoomed into the room and settled onto the table. They started clicking away, working on a tiny, soft green infant's cap. "I don't," she replied, watching as Ani moved around the kitchen, putting cans and boxes away in the cupboards. "It's just a hunch, really... I haven't said anything to James yet," she confessed. "He wants a boy so badly, I don't want him to be disappointed if it's a girl."
"Don't be foolish," Ani said gently. "You know James will be happy no matter what sex the baby is."
"Yeah," Lily said, smiling. "You're right."
"'Course I'm right."
The groceries finally put away, Ani moved for the kettle on the stove and started to make some tea. The two friends were quiet—Lily focused on her knitting and Ani focused on the tea—and Ani had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out her news to her best friend. The timing had to be just right.
Finally, Lily spoke, her voice somewhat lower than normal. "Ani? There's some news... something I need to talk to you about."
Now! Not recognizing the tone in her friend's voice, Ani whirled around, unable to keep the grin off of her face. "I've got news too, Lil," she replied, and without waiting for Lily's response she extended her left hand. The dazzling union of opals and diamonds that Sirius had presented her with the previous evening caught in the light like a flickering flame. Lily drew in a gasp. "Sirius asked me to marry him, Lily!" Ani whispered, her heart swelling with joy. "We're going to get married!"
"Ani!" Lily threw down her needles, flew up from her seat and flung her arms around Ani, squeezing the breath out of her. "Are you serious?! Oh, of course you're serious! Oh, darling, congratulations! Tell me everything! When did it happen? What did he say? Was it terribly romantic?"
"Oh Lily," Ani breathed as they both sat down again, gripping hands. "It was incredible... He came in late from working last night—I'd been worried up until that point. You know how Sirius is, he can't wait to get home and get a square meal at the end of the day." They both laughed. "But he comes in and I'm just about to suggest we sit down to dinner when he grabs my cloak and grabs my hand and said, 'Come outside, there's something I've got to show you!'
"So we head out the door, and I'm thinking we'll go downstairs, out the front... maybe there's something in the street or something. I've got no clue what's going on at this point, and then he takes me and starts leading me up to the roof!" She closed her eyes, remembering the thrill of excitement that had coursed through her stomach. "Anyway, we get to the top of the stairs and he turns to me with that grin he and James get on their faces whenever they're trying to charm their way out of something. 'Close your eyes,' he says."
Lily giggled and squeezed Ani's hand. Ani felt as though they were fifteen again and laughing over their first dates. "Then what?!"
Ani savored the memory for a moment before continuing. "I protest, of course, ask why I've got to close my eyes... He just laughs and says, 'Trust me, lovely.' So I close my eyes and he grabs my hands and he pulls me out onto the roof. And Lily, it was so quiet! There wasn't a noise, not a cricket, not even traffic from below. So he lets go of my hands and says, 'Wait right here.' Then he rushes off, and I can hear him moving around and arranging something, and my heart's just pounding like crazy, I'm so nervous I'm about to die!"
"So then, finally, after what felt like a million years he says, 'Alright, Ani... Open your eyes.' And Lily, I opened them and I could have sworn that I'd fallen into a fairy tale. There were flowers everywhere, roses of every color and moonflowers and jasmine and irises, flowers I'd never even seen before. And there was this little arbor, and there were faeries all over it, their wings glinting. I thought they were stars at first, it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life!"
"Oh, Ani," Lily sighed. "It sounds so incredible!"
"It was the most amazing thing I'd seen in my whole life." She paused, easy tears coming to her eyes at the thought of it, and went on, smiling. "Anyway, I'm just about speechless at this point. Sirius is standing in the middle of all of this, and he's looking at me like he hasn't seen me in years. 'Come sit down,' he says, and he takes my hand and leads me under the arbor where there's this bench." She cleared her throat. "So he sits me down and gets down on one knee—I'm crying, of course, there are tears falling down my face faster than I can stop them. And he takes my hand and he slides the ring onto my finger.
"'Ani,' he says, kissing my hand. 'Ever since I've known you, you've brought more joy and light into my life than anyone else. I used to think that I'd be alone forever—that no matter what I did, I'd never find someone who'd want to be with me. And there just wasn't anyone I could ever see myself being with for the rest of my life. Except for you. You make me want to be a better man, because you deserve the best.' He tilted his head up, and the faerie lights caught in his eyes and I let out this little sobbing laugh. We're both crying by this point, our hands are shaking so badly. I slide off the bench and I'm kneeling with him, and he cups my face in his hands and oh, Lily, he kisses me. 'Be my wife,' he whispers. 'Stay with me forever. Have children and grow old with me. Ani, I've never wanted anything more than to be your husband. I love you. Marry me.'"
Lily laughed shakily and wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks. "And of course you said yes," she said, her voice trembling. "Oh, Ani, I'm so happy for you!" She reached out and hugged her best friend close. "Marriage is wonderful, Ani. You're going to be so happy, love, I just know it."
She pulled away and smiled. "Thanks, sweetheart," she said, kissing Lily on the cheek. She leaned back and sighed in relief. "I'm glad I finally told you, it took all my strength last night not to run over here and tell you straight away."
Lily straightened up, her face suddenly darkened. "Have you told Remus yet?" she asked quietly.
Ani, surprised by this question, shook her head. "No, you're the first," she answered. "Besides, I suspect that he already knows—surely Sirius would've told the Marauders his plan?"
"He didn't tell James," Lily contradicted her. "I'm sure of that—James would've told me the minute he found out. We've been wondering when it would happen. And if he didn't tell James, I'm willing to bet he didn't tell Remus or Peter either." She furrowed her brow. "I think you ought to be the one to tell Remus, if you want my opinion."
"Why?" Ani asked, confused. "You act like it's going to be some great shock. Sirius and I have been together for years, and Remus has never said a word. That's long over, Lil, trust me."
"Oh Ani," Lily said in exasperation. "You and Sirius dating and living together and you and Sirius getting married are two very different things. I'm not saying he'll be angry, I'm saying he needs to hear it from you." Her eyes softened. "You know how Remus is... you know how much he cares about you. He's your best friend, I'm just saying you ought to tell him before Sirius does."
Ani faltered, the possible outcomes of such a conversation crowding into her brain. "You don't think... he'll be angry, do you?"
The redhead shook her head and reached out for Ani's hand. "No, I don't," Lily said softly. "I think that, if he's half the man I think he is, he'll be quite happy for you. But I still think he'd appreciate hearing it from you."
Comforted, Ani nodded. "I'll tell him as soon as I leave here," she promised. A sudden thought burst into her mind. "Oh, Lils, I'm sorry! You had news for me and here I've been gushing on for a quarter of an hour!" She tilted her head in anticipation. "What news do you have?"
Strangely, Lily's eyes darkened and a cold feeling moved into Ani's stomach. Something was not right.
"Ani... James and I have to go away..."
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Ani woke up suddenly, tears streaming down her face. She glanced around the room she'd chosen as her own for the duration of her internment in Hogsmeade. For a moment—a brief, aching moment—Lily had been so close that Ani could smell her skin again. Now she was gone again, and the space where she should have been felt desperately, painfully empty.
Snuggling deeper into her pillows, Ani let out a sigh, fingering away the tears. She'd been in England for three days—three days where she had seen no other living soul—and every night she'd had a dream that left her waking in tears.
Without a doubt, she thought, closing her eyes again, the worst dreams are the ones that come from memories.
Against her will, her mind flew to Lupin. She thought of that afternoon, after she'd spoke with Lily, when she visited Remus and told him her news. She could remember the look in his eyes, the flicker of something unnamable, and then the eventual and reassuring glow of happiness. "Congratulations," he'd whispered as he'd hugged her tight. "He's a lucky, lucky man."
Your whole life, no matter what you've done or said to him, Remus has never been anything but kind and wonderful to you, a little voice reminded her. It sounded suspiciously like Lily. Don't you think you owe him more than anger and fear? Don't you think you need to forgive him?
He left me, she shot back. He left when I needed him most!
And now he's back,the voice told her, and you need him again. He wants to protect you, and you need a friend now more than ever. So why don't you swallow your pride and forgive him, Ani? You need him: you know you do.
She wanted to snap back—she was so lonesome she'd take arguing with a voice in her head over more silence—but before she could she heard a movement downstairs.
Her flesh pricked, but reason took over. If he's bound you to the house, she thought, he's probably done more than that to keep intruders out.
Her fingers trembling slightly, she rolled out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown, heading for the stairs. She descended cautiously, working to keep her footfalls quiet, and as she reached the first floor her heart gave a slight tug.
Flowers. She could distinctly smell flowers. And almost before she could make a move, she turned and saw Remus exiting the kitchen, his arms full of flowers from the garden.
He paused when he saw her, and her eyes welled up with tears. He cleared his throat, shifted uncomfortably, and set the vase full of flowers down on the hallway table. "I wanted to apologize," he said stiffly, gesturing to the flowers. "I should have come to get you and explained what was going on—it wasn't fair to spring this all on you this way and I'm sorry."
A familiar indignation moved into her heart, but Ani quietly and firmly pushed it away. You do need him, she reminded herself, no matter how much you hate to admit it.
"It's alright," she heard herself saying, and Lupin's brown eyes lit up in hope. "I was pretty wretched to you... and I'm sorry for that."
His face visibly relaxed as she moved towards him. Hesitantly she reached out and laid her hand on Lupin's bare wrist. "Can we... try this again? Maybe with a little less screaming and swearing on my part?" she asked.
He smiled, broadly, the first smile she'd seen on his face in far too long. It filled her heart. "Of course we can," he said softly, touching her hand. "I'd like nothing better."
"Me neither," she replied quietly. And it was the truth.