Since it was Saturday, the common room was unusually crowded for the rest of the day. When James made his way back into the portrait hole, he walked right past his friends and up the stairs to his dorm. Before anyone could go after him, he was back, his robes bulging suspiciously, clutching a piece of parchment.
"Lily," he said, walking over to where she was reading a book. "Will you come for a walk with me?"
"Yeah, I was hoping to talk to you," she said, standing up.
"Why don't you go get your cloak?" James asked, looking over at Sirius and sending some other kind of signal. "I think we need a drink."
"A drink?" Lily asked. "I don't know what you mean."
"You will," He promised.
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Half an hour later, Lily was clutching his hand and walking through a snow-covered Hogsmeade, awestruck. She knew James was aware of a few secret passages, but this was amazing!
"What if someone sees us?" she whispered. Turns out that bulge was an invisibility cloak, and the parchment was a map that allowed James to see everyone in the castle, and ways out.
James smiled. "All of the shopkeepers recognize me, I come here quite often with my friends. They don't mind, and they don't tell. Though, I get the impression that Dumbledore knows. I was in talking to him a little while ago, and when I left, he said 'Why don't you take Miss Evans somewhere to talk? I'm sure you can think of a great place. But remember, it closes at 8.' That man is amazing."
"Right," Lily said, smiling cheekily. "When you went to talk to him about.. Curtains."
"Let's go in here, then I'll talk." he said, steering her towards The Three Broomsticks. They went in, greeted the bar owner, Madam Rosmerta ("Hello, Mr. Potter, the usual booth?"), got two butterbeers, and sat down. Then James leaned closer to her and talked in a serious whisper.
"Did Sirius tell you about.. My heritage?" Lily nodded and leaned over the table, interested. "Well, you see why it must be kept a secret, right? The Slytherins already hate me. I think Lucious Malfoy, that 5th year, knows, actually. But Sirius made some deal with his brother Regulus to ensure he wouldn't tell anybody or something like that... anyway, Have you ever heard of Bryant Gryffindor?"
Something poked at the dark corners of Lily's mind. "Yes.. ," she said slowly. "We're...We're learning about him in History of Magic! Wasn't he Godric Gryffindor's son?" James nodded grimly.
"He was. He was murdered, 300 years ago by a descendant Slytherin. Do you see a pattern? Throughout time, Gryffindors and Slytherins have been enemies. He died because he was in love with a great witch; the slytherins wanted to use this witch, Lyla Dubaer, for evil, and then kill her because she was not like them. She was very powerful, but she was in love with Bryant. They were both killed, and a prophecy was made." He paused and took a long drink of his butterbeer.
"It stated that an heir would be born to both powerful wizards. One day their heirs would meet and fight, and one must die at the hand of the other. And Finally, the feud between the two families will end."
Lily's eyes were amazingly wide and bright. "Why are you telling me this?" she whispered.
"There was a powerful connection between Lyla and Bryant: one of true love. It is believed by many that Love, in its purest form, is more powerful than evil. It is believed by some that Love is Evil. Slytherin's children and their followers went to find Lyla and Bryant, who were planning on being married the next night. They threatened to kill them both if they did not use their power for the dark cause, which is ridding the world of muggle-borns. Truthfully, Lyla was a muggle-born, and the slytherins found it disgusting for pure-blooded Bryant to be in love with her. If he was going to love her, he was either going to help them or die; Lyla would die either way. Noble Bryant chose death over living without his love, but first he worked a spell. He made it so that one day, he and his beloved would be together again. They would together make sure that the heir of Slytherin would not succeed. Their love was strong enough to travel through time."
Lily wiped away a tear. "That's so sad," she whispered. "But I still don't know why you're telling me."
James looked at her thoughtfully for a very long minute. His hazel gaze seemed to last forever, yet Lily didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest. Finally he spoke.
"The very last words Lyla whispered to her fiancé as they were being tortured under the moonlight were 'I'll be waiting.'"
Lily blinked furiously. "My dream," she murmured. "What are you saying this means? Am I Seeing or something?"
"I don't know," James said regretfully. "Dumbledore wouldn't tell me. I don't know if he could tell me. We couldn't even talk in his office, in case one of the Slytherin-housed past Headmasters on the wall heard and left to tell someone who could cause harm in some way. I now don't know any more than you. I wouldn't have told you, but I thought you should know. There's no way I can lie to you- you heard how lame that 'curtains' comment was."
"Actually," Lily laughed. "Sirius made it quite convincing. Anyway... It looks like we got our Hogsmeade date earlier than we bargained for!"
James grinned and took her hand, gently kissing the top. "I was going to save this for next Friday, but I'll ask now. Would you go out with me? Not on a date, but I mean... Can there be an 'us'?"
'He has those big brown puppy dog eyes,' Lily thought, smiling inwardly. "When you ask me like that, so adorably, How can I say no? Yes." Just because he looked so cute, his cheeks pink from being cold outside and then coming in the warmth, his hair ruffed but not completely disheveled, she leaned forward over the table and kissed him on the nose. James caught her as she pulled away and pulled her into a real kiss.
'Wow,' she thought as they pulled away. 'Smile that makes you go crazy, kiss that makes you go numb. This boy is dangerous. And yet,' she found herself thinking. 'He makes me feel so safe.'
"Let's go back to the castle," James said with a smile. "It's almost 8."
And so they did, hand in hand.
A/N: Wow, that chapter was explanatory, wasn't it? This story isn't going to be too long, and it'll go quick if I keep writing like I am. Meanwhile, I decided I'm going to start another marauder-era L/J that's normal, without all the past/destiny and stuff. Just their lives in Hogwarts and after. Tehe. I had to get this chapter up since I left off on a cliffhanger, and now that you guys know what's going on, what do you think? Review !!
-Ria-
