It's not mine; it's J.K. Rowling's.

Chapter 11: In Which James Goes Shopping

Or

In Which James Meets Another Fish

James let out a cry of frustration and rage and flung another newly repaired plate at the wall.

"Why did I say that? Why didn't I know? Why the hell didn't she tell me? Why didn't I ask her? Have I not asked her how her family was in the past few months? What kind of worthless boyfriend am I? I didn't even ask how her family was. I'm an awful, ugly, prattish, senseless, stupid git! She was just trying to comfort me and I yelled at her. How could I not have realized she was feeling overwhelmed by my family? I never thought she thought she wasn't good enough for me. It never even occurred to me, she's so perfect, how could she feel that way? She must hate me. I ... I need her ... what am I going to do? What am I doing, still standing here?"

He looked to his mother actually expecting an answer to his final question.

"Throwing plates," his mother said sensibly and offered James a newly repaired plate for him to throw.

He took it, spinning it in his hands; it was his mothers best plate, "It's not my fault they're dead; Lily was right."

"She was," his mother agreed.

"Why was I mad?"

"You were more frustrated than mad, and you probably felt a little helpless."

"I should go after her."

"You should."

"Alright, I'll just grab my cloak and go find her and talk to her and then get her to come back."

"That sounds like a good plan."

James chucked the last plate half-heartedly at the wall.

He froze in horror as the rarely used door in the kitchen wall opened and Lily popped out.

The plate was heading right toward her.

She screamed and raised her hands as if to protect herself.

"Lily!" He cried, stretching out a hand as if he could stop the plate.

Then, to his surprise, it did stop. It stopped right in front of Lily's face, then dropped to the floor as a fish bowl with a very surprised looking goldfish in it.

He looked at his mother, expecting to see her wand pointed at the fish bowl, but instead she was staring open-mouthed at Lily, her wand by her side.

She smartly closed her mouth after a few seconds, "It's a strong bond between two people that can transfigure an object like that."

James didn't know what his mother was talking about, but he decided to be confused later. He raced to Lily's side and tried to control his desperate urge to run his fingers over her smooth skin to make sure she hadn't been hurt. But seeing as she hated him, his hands compromised by fluttering over her sides, not touching her, but hovering until he reached her face.

"Are you alright?" He whispered, gently cradling her cheeks with his hands and leaning his forehead on hers.

She responded by wrapping her arms around him and pulling his closer to her.

He felt the world spin around him as she pressed her lips to his. Maybe she didn't hate him after all. When the kiss ended, he tucked her head under his chin, rocking them back and forth, eyes closed.

"Merlin, Lily, I thought that plate was going to hit you."

"So did I."

"I'm just glad it didn't," he said with a sigh, "I don't know what it is with me and fish lately, though."

"I think fish are nice," she murmured.

"You don't hate me, do you?" James asked, his voice filled with trepidation.

"Of course not, silly. Why would I have come back if I hate you?"

"I don't know. You could have left your coat."

"Or maybe I'm in love."

"Maybe we both are," he said.

"Gods, that is so sweet! I remember when you used to say things like that all of the time, Andrew," his Aunt Reese said in her brash voice.

His mother had apparently decided to let the rest of his family back into the kitchen. James shook his head in amusement as Uncle Andrew got down on his knees and started proclaiming his love for Reese. His other aunts and uncles were laughing amid their sorrow at the pair's antics.

"Even in the worst of times there's so much hope for the future," Aunt Lauren said softly, tucking her graying blonde hair behind her ears. "James, you are our future and we are so happy that you have found someone to love."

"Indeed, it is a very special bond you two share," his mother said quietly.

"Bond?" His dad asked.

"They used it to transfigure a plate into a fish bowl," she said, gesturing at the now greenish fish that was happily changing hues in the fish bowl.

"That was a bond?" James asked.

"What else could it have been, dear? Unless you both keep connectors with you, the only explanation is that you've given your hearts to each other."

There was a silence as everyone thought over that.

Then Lily burst out with, "Damn it! I almost forgot again!"

James looked at her surprised.

"Well, you see, I'd forgotten, and then I remembered, and then I nearly forgot again, and I do want to remember because it was such an inspiration and it's so true! Besides the woman's probably dead and I told her I would do it and if I don't, she could come back to haunt me. And I don't want that, do I?" Lily finally trailed off, eyeing him as though she actually expected an answer to her question.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Lils."

"Of course you have no clue what I'm talking about! I haven't even told you yet!" She said, throwing her hands up into the air in a frustrated manner. James hoped she wasn't angry at him.

"If I had told you and you knew, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all, would we?"

James just nodded.

"That's right, if you knew that I'd promised what's-her-face that I would tell you that I thought you had sexy hair and I wanted to run my fingers through it, then I wouldn't have to be worried about forgetting to tell you again and then being haunted and all of those sort of awful things..."

James cut her off, "You think my hair's sexy?"

"How did you know?" She cried, looking scandalized. "Who told you? How did they know? I didn't tell anyone, well except that lady, but I figure she's dead, so if she told you, then she's a ghost and the possibility of being haunted just went up about 500 and..."

"Lily," James said, interrupting her again, "You told me."

"I did?" She said, whipping her head toward him.

"You just said, 'I think your hair is sexy and I want to run my fingers through it'."

"I did? I did!" She exclaimed, looking happy, "So can I?"

"What?"

"Run my fingers through it."

James laughed along with the rest of his family and Lily blushed she'd probably forgotten that everyone else was here. She did that occasionally when she got really focused on something.

"My hair is yours alone sweet lady," James proclaimed, going for the cliched gentleman look.

Lily laughed and ran her fingers through his hair a few times, then threw her arms around his neck and gave him a huge hug. Her next targets were his parents who gladly returned the hugs.

All to soon, it was over and everyone was back to the somber moods that befitted a family who had just lost two important members.

"We all need to go change into mourning clothes," his Aunt Mary said.

Everyone nodded and began to drift from the kitchen.

"James, dear," his mother said, "It seems that I won't be able to take Lily shopping after all, perhaps you could take her?"

"Sure," James said and left Lily in the kitchen while he went to change into black dockers and a black button down shirt. It made a lot of sense for James to be the one to go with Lily since it was more socially acceptable (and expected) that young people would bounce back from tragedy in fairly short order.

The trip to Diagon Alley started off fun; James got to pick out dresses with Lily. His choices were a bit more racy than the ones she picked out, but he knew she'd look stunning in them. It was as the fitting room door closed that the trip took a turn for the worse. She wouldn't come out. Not even once. She was just standing in there, trying on the dresses and announcing her opinion on them (which was always, "I don't really like this one.") without letting him put in his opinion. Or see her in really sexy dresses, but, of course, that was only a minor reason. Finally, she found one she liked and James thought she was going to come out and show him, but when she opened the door, she was back in her normal clothes and had her arms filled with dresses. Then she made him wait in the front of the store so he couldn't see the dress she bought; she wanted it to be a 'surprise.' James grumbled and made a few half-hearted attempts to see what she was buying, but the saleswoman was clearly in league with Lily and he didn't even get a glimpse of the color.

After the dress, Lily dragged him into shop after shop quizzing him on his relatives' likes and dislikes, trying to get presents for all of them. James told her at first she didn't even need to buy them gifts, but the look she gave him was quite enough to convince him that she did need to buy them presents and James should definitely answer any and all questions she had.

As they finished and started heading back to the Leaky Cauldron, it began to snow.

"I was hoping it would snow," Lily said.

"So was I," James agreed, thinking about his wish to push her into a snow bank. "Lils, I've got to do a little shopping on my own," he said, opening the door to the Cauldron for her.

"Oh, ok."

"You can just hang out here. It won't take me more than 20 minutes; I know the bar tender, so I'll get him to keep an eye on you."

"I don't need to be watched like a child, James."

"Actually, I was going to ask him to make sure no one tries to make a move on my girl."

"Oh, high probability of that happening?"

"Darn straight," James agreed, setting off Lily's gorgeous laugh. They reached the bar and James signaled Jenkins, the bar tender.

"Heard about your aunt and uncle," Jenk said, when he came over, "Damn shame."

"Yeah," James said, trying not to really think about it.

"Surprised you're out so early. I would've expected Krista to keep you in at least a day."

"Shopping for Christmas can't be put off, Jenk," he said, gesturing at the bags he and Lily held, "Else all of the stores will be closed."

"Good point ... and who do we have here?" Jenk said, noticing Lily for the first time.

"Lily Evans," she said; both James and Jenk smiled at the soft shy grin she turned on them.

"My girlfriend," James couldn't help but add, possessively swinging his free arm over her shoulders.

"Is that right?" Jenk said, eye brow raised.

"Luckily for me," James grinned, pecking a blushing Lily on the cheek. "I was hoping you could look after her for me while I do my shopping."

"Sure thing, James. I'll keep your Miss Evans from eloping with any unsavory characters."

"It's not her I'm worried about," James said, eyeing Jenk with a look that said, 'and if you even try to get her drunk, I'll kill you.' After all, you could never be to sure what Jenk had up his sleeve.

"Gorgeous, I'll be back in twenty minutes tops, alright?" James said, kissing Lily's cheek.

"Ok, ugly, get a move on," she said, giving him a shove. He smiled at her insult, knowing it really meant she thought he was cute.

He headed out of the cauldron and walked down Diagon Alley, looking for a jewelry store. His dad had told him last night during their talk about protective charms that the ones fixed to objects were usually strongest. The only problem was that you had to keep the object with you constantly, thus James' idea to get her a bracelet or charm to attach the spells to.

He pushed open the door to a neat looking shop next to the dress robe store and walked in. He paced quickly through the store nothing jumping to his attention.

"Looking for anything in particular?" The salesman asked.

"I'm trying to buy a gift for my girlfriend, but I'm not really seeing what I'm looking for," James said, absentmindedly picking through the bracelets.

"You should look at the shipment we just got in; you might see something."

"Alright," James said, heading to the area the salesman had gestured to.

Then he saw it. Tucked behind an elaborate tiara was a necklace of simple gold with a delicate lily charm hanging from it. He picked it up and smiled; it was perfect.

"I'll take this," he told the salesman.

The man nodded and proceeded to take the necklace and wrap it in silence. "This necklace is meant for a special woman," the man said, handing the package to James and taking the money he was holding out, "So make sure you take care of it."

"I will," James said.

He left the store, whistling cheerfully, and headed back to the Cauldron.

Opening the door, James sighed in relief, glad to be out of the thickening snow storm. He stood in the door as he let his eyes adjust to the dimness of the bar. His eyes skimmed to the bar where Jenk was getting someone a drink and then jumped to where Lily was sitting on a bar stool; next, he looked to the tables, and then he froze.

His eyes jumped back to the bar stool where Lily was sitting.

More specifically he was looking at the bar stool where Lily SHOULD have been sitting, because she most certainly wasn't there now that he actually looked.

"Jenk," he said, walking to the bar, "Where's Lily?"

"You're back soon," Jenk said, grinning, "I don't blame you with a girl like that."

"You aren't answering my question, Jenk," James said, fear starting to build in his chest.

"No need to panic; some man she knew showed up and they went to talk. She left her bags here as proof she'd be back," Jenk said, winking, "Not a woman in the world will leave her shopping bags."

"Where'd they go?"

Jenk nodded toward one of the darker corners and James headed straight toward it. Spotting Lily's shiny hair, he sighed in relief. Slowing, he ended up behind Lily, facing the man. The gloom made it hard to distinguish features, but he'd know that hooked nose anywhere.

"Severus," he said with a nod, placing his hands on Lily's shoulders.

Snape looked surprised at James' use of his name. Lily turned, grinning at him.

"Done already?"

"It went faster than I'd figured."

"I was just leaving," Snape said, rising. He bowed to both of them and quickly left the Cauldron.

"What did he have to say?" James asked, curious.

"I don't know; something was bothering him, but he didn't want to talk about it."

James shared a thoughtful look with Lily before saying, "We better get back home. I don't want my parents to worry."

"Ok, let me grab my bags."

James plunked a generous tip on the bar for Jenk and led Lily over to the fireplace. She flooed first and he followed. Back at home the house was abuzz with people extending their condolences to the Potter family. James was immediately pressed into relieving Uncle Matt from the 'grieving line', so he shook hands with people he didn't even know and tried to look appropriately sorrowful (meaning he couldn't really be sorrowful, but he also couldn't be distant). Being appropriately sorrowful was really a lot harder than one would think. Finally Uncle Robert came in and relieved him.

He went to the kitchen and ate a skimpy dinner by himself. His mother walked in as James was putting the dishes away.

"Did you eat enough?"

"Yes, mom."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"I went and talked with your Lily."

"Did you? I don't suppose she had anything to say about being considered my property ..."

"I know she's not your property, James," his mom said with an exasperated sigh, "But she really is quite amazing. I couldn't be prouder of you James. I was so worried that you'd bring home some trophy-wife-to-be as your first girlfriend."

"None of those were worth bringing home."

"Well, I'm glad you've realized that. You'll just end up miserable in those relationships."

"I know," he said, leaning back onto the counter and stifling a yawn.

"Why don't you go upstairs and help her wrap presents for a while?"

"Good idea, thanks, mom."

"I just hope you can do a better job convincing her that she doesn't need presents for the entire family than I did."

"I already tried; it's hopeless."

His mother sighed, "That poor girl has enough to worry about without added worries about Christmas presents."

James nodded, agreeing.

"Well stop lolly-gagging and get moving," his mom said, shooing him out of the kitchen.

"I'm going, I'm going," he said, laughing with her.

Upstairs, James knocked on the door to Lily's room.

"Come in," Lily called.

James opened the door onto mayhem. Wrapping paper, half-wrapped presents, bows, ribbons, tape, and a multitude of other items littered the floor. James walked over to Lily and pulled her up into his arms.

"James, I've got to finish wrapping these presents. I won't have time to do any wrapping tomorrow with the funeral and all. We can snuggle later."

"But Lily," he whined, refusing to let go of her.

"No 'but Lily's'. They're not going to work."

James pouted.

She sighed and then grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him into the most mind blowing kiss he'd ever had, except for that one this morning, and that one in the hallway, and the one in the dorm, and you couldn't forget the one in the circular room and, ok, maybe Lily was just plain mind blowing.

"That was nice," he said dazedly when she pulled away.

"Now I have to wrap," she started to sit down again, but he caught her arm and pulled her back to him, kissing her softly. After a few more kisses James let her go back to wrapping. Soon his dad stuck his head in the room and announced that James had better high tail it back to his own room before one of his more propriety oriented relatives discovered him.

As James slipped into bed that night he couldn't help but wonder at the world. He thought of Aunt Edna and Uncle Walter. Walter had been the 3rd son in the Potter family and really the least liked. He hadn't gotten a trace of the Potter charm. It made James sick with himself when he realized that if he'd had to pick 2 relatives to lose it would have been Walter and Edna. Walter had never done anything to deserve that judgment, neither had Edna for that matter even though he hated her obsession with pure blood. He knew he wasn't the only one who felt that way; he could see it in the rest of the family, in the guilt that they tried to hide.

He rolled over and punched his pillow. How could he be so selfish? The funeral would be tomorrow, Christmas Eve; would he even feel sad about their deaths then? All he had to do was look at Lily and he forgot them. One look at into her eyes drove all of his thoughts away, leaving him giddy and breathless. She seemed to have that effect on everyone. He smiled, remembering his mother's laugh as she talked about Lily, Uncle Robert's worry about finding Lily something to wear to the funeral, Aunt Reese and Uncle Andrew smiling at young love; how could anyone live without her?

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Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up, but school's been awful lately. Now that I'm on break I should have plenty of time to type things up, but, alas, there will be no internet access to post anything, so I won't be able to update again until after Christmas.

Thanks everyone for reviewing, I would write personal responses, but I haven't packed yet (or wrapped any presents) and we're leaving soon.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Daystar - No more Biology for 16 days!!!! I'm the happiest girl ever. Try not to eat too much candy.