A/N: Wow, I know it's been a long time since I last updated, but I'm
taking a writing course so that's been keeping me a lot busier than I
expected. Anyways, in response to chprincess, yes, Emrys is another form
of the name Merlin. In the series "The Lost Years of Merlin," Merlin is
originally named Emrys before deciding to take on the new name of Merlin.
So, I hope you all like this chapter!
===
"Well, well, well, doesn't this look cozy?" an amused voice filtered into the room along with morning sunlight, causing James to stir. As he shifted his weight, James felt the strange sensation of blood rushing to his fingers. Peeling open his eyes he noticed Sirius standing smirking in the doorway. Before he could respond, James noticed a flash of red out the corner of his eye. Glancing down, memories of the past night came flooding back to him – his nightmare, waking to Lily's screams, Lily's nightmare, Lily falling asleep on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist, and him falling asleep as well.
"Er, look, Sirius," James tried to remove his arm without waking Lily, "this is not what you think."
"Oh?" Sirius' smirk widened, a malicious glint in his eyes. "I'm not sure I agree with you, and I have a feeling Moony won't either."
James' eyes widened as Sirius waved a magically enhanced Polaroid photograph in the air. "Padfoot, you didn't."
"Oh, I did."
"But you wouldn't dare . . ."
"Oh, yes I would!"
"Padfoot! Just wait 'till I get my hands on you!"
"You're going to have to get up first, Prongs, and to do that you'll have to wake sleeping beauty here." Sirius quipped, "Hm, I bet your mum would absolutely love to see this picture."
"Sirius, don't you dare! I swear, I'll rip you limb from limb!" James' threat was lost on Sirius as he cheerfully waved and apparated out of the room, leaving James alone to roil in his fury.
His anger, however, didn't last long; fore no more than 5 minutes after Sirius had gone, Lily had rolled over, murmuring from her sleep. "Mmm," she opened her bleary eyes, smiling at James' blurry face. "Hey,"
"Hey yourself," James' famous arrogant smile split across his face causing Lily to burst into peels of laughter. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing really," she giggled, "you just look so cocky when you smile like that."
"I do not!" James scoffed, a look of mock hurt spreading across his face.
"Do too," Lily teased, lifting her head off of James' shoulder and staring mischievously at him.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not, do not, do not!" James' fingers mad their way down Lily's side, tickling her all the way.
"Okay, okay!" Lily gasped between bouts of unrestrained laughter. "You win, you win! Please have mercy!"
"So I'm not cocky?" he teased, refusing to capitulate.
"No!" Lily laughed, her face bright red, her eyes on the verge of tearing, "You don't look cocky, you're not cocky, no!"
When James finally released Lily, a satisfied smirk gracing his face, Lily rolled across the bed, gasping for air as James watched from afar, a dignified expression upon his countenance. "Besides," he began proudly, "even if I did look like you said, I'm not cocky, just self-assured."
"Amazingly self-assured," a grin broke across Lily's face as outrage broke across James', "I'm only teasing!" Lily began to inch forward across the bed.
Watching her crawl towards him, James was overwhelmed by the beauty Lily seemed to hold. Her face was veiled by cascading ripples of fiery hair that remained radiant even when scrunched in a tousled mess all one side from having been slept on. Her eyes, still rimmed with the remnants of sleep, sparkled in a suggestive manner whenever she smiled at him. Peaches and cream skin marred by the corrugated patterns of James' shirt still felt soft to the touch as she traced her hand along his face. To be honest, James felt he had never witnessed more beauty in his life than when he saw her there – no poems, paintings, sunsets, or sunrises could possibly contain such radiance as Lily, his Lily. (a/n: sorry, got a bit carried away, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for romance)
"Thank you," Lily whispered as she nestled against him, her head finding its rightful place on his shoulder.
James stared at her bewilderedly, "What for?"
"This, last night," she murmured, "everything. For not giving up on me."
"I almost did," he whispered back.
"Right when I began to see something in you," she smiled, "we're quite a pair, huh?"
"Yeah, we are."
===
"So, Lily, did you get a good night's sleep?"
Lily, Sirius, and James were sitting around an old oak table, quietly spreading peanut butter on thick loaves of bread for their lunchtime meal. "Mmm?" Lily looked up, fingers sticky with strawberry jam, and smiled warily at Sirius, "Oh, yes, very well, thank you."
"That's good," Sirius nodded innocently, "no late disturbances then?"
"No," she answered slowly, clutching the jam knife defensively, "why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," Sirius replied lightly, waggling his eyebrows at James.
Choking on his sandwich, James quickly gulped down his milk as Sirius slammed his back, trying not to laugh.
Hand and knife frozen above her sandwich, Lily's eyes flew back and forth between the two boys; Sirius trying to keep a straight face as James' hazel eyes blazed in a fiery glare. "Am I missing something?" she questioned hesitantly.
Before either of the boys could respond, a frazzled Mrs. Potter apparated into the kitchen, her face etched with worry.
"Mum?" James dropped his sandwich on the table, hurrying to his mother's side, "what's wrong?"
Liquid brown eyes full to the brim with anxiety turned on her son, "James, darling, there's been another attack, just outside of London. Three muggle- born wizards are dead, along with four muggles, some of the aurors believe this was just the beginning a preview of things to come. There's a wizarding convention in Manchester tonight, Alastor Moody believes it to be the next target of the Death Eaters. They need all the help they can get, your father and I have been called in to work tonight."
"So, are you on guard duty?" James questioned in a seemingly non- interested voice.
"You know I can't tell you that, and you shouldn't be asking," she replied austerely.
"But Mum,"
"No buts, James. You know the rules, even if your father and I knew where we're going to be posted or how long we'll be gone, we couldn't tell you." Pausing to collect herself, Mrs. Potter gave a brusque smile to Lily before continuing, "Your father and I aren't sure how long our assistance will be required, but until we return home the three of you are not to leave the house. James, Sirius, I mean it, stay in the house and no matter who is at the door do not let anyone in, anyone." After studying the boys' innocent countenances carefully, Mrs. Potter turned to Lily, giving another wry smile. "Lily, darling, I really do hate to leave you like this, especially after just meeting yesterday, but will you do me a favor?"
"Anything, Mrs. Potter."
The older woman smiled, shaking her head, "It's a tough task, but I'd like you to watch after the boys for me. We both know how irresponsible children can be." She winked as Lily tried to restrain her laughing smile.
"Sure, I think I can handle that." She returned the wink as Sirius and James mouthed expletives behind their mother's back. (a/n: Sirius has been living with then long enough that I'm going to consider him part of the family)
"Oh, come here, you two!" Mrs. Potter laughed, tears clouding the corners of her eyes. The two boys obediently shuffled forward into their mother's open arms, secretly enjoying the feel of a mother's embrace, a feeling that seemed so sacred, so precious, during the span of turmoil that was spreading throughout the country. Lily watched on with tears in her eyes as James kissed his mother's cheek, feeling endlessly surprised by this new side of James Potter.
===
A/N: I didn't like this chapter much, but I felt I had to put it up anyways. I hope you all liked it! Keep up the reviews, you don't know how much they mean to me!
===
"Well, well, well, doesn't this look cozy?" an amused voice filtered into the room along with morning sunlight, causing James to stir. As he shifted his weight, James felt the strange sensation of blood rushing to his fingers. Peeling open his eyes he noticed Sirius standing smirking in the doorway. Before he could respond, James noticed a flash of red out the corner of his eye. Glancing down, memories of the past night came flooding back to him – his nightmare, waking to Lily's screams, Lily's nightmare, Lily falling asleep on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist, and him falling asleep as well.
"Er, look, Sirius," James tried to remove his arm without waking Lily, "this is not what you think."
"Oh?" Sirius' smirk widened, a malicious glint in his eyes. "I'm not sure I agree with you, and I have a feeling Moony won't either."
James' eyes widened as Sirius waved a magically enhanced Polaroid photograph in the air. "Padfoot, you didn't."
"Oh, I did."
"But you wouldn't dare . . ."
"Oh, yes I would!"
"Padfoot! Just wait 'till I get my hands on you!"
"You're going to have to get up first, Prongs, and to do that you'll have to wake sleeping beauty here." Sirius quipped, "Hm, I bet your mum would absolutely love to see this picture."
"Sirius, don't you dare! I swear, I'll rip you limb from limb!" James' threat was lost on Sirius as he cheerfully waved and apparated out of the room, leaving James alone to roil in his fury.
His anger, however, didn't last long; fore no more than 5 minutes after Sirius had gone, Lily had rolled over, murmuring from her sleep. "Mmm," she opened her bleary eyes, smiling at James' blurry face. "Hey,"
"Hey yourself," James' famous arrogant smile split across his face causing Lily to burst into peels of laughter. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing really," she giggled, "you just look so cocky when you smile like that."
"I do not!" James scoffed, a look of mock hurt spreading across his face.
"Do too," Lily teased, lifting her head off of James' shoulder and staring mischievously at him.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not, do not, do not!" James' fingers mad their way down Lily's side, tickling her all the way.
"Okay, okay!" Lily gasped between bouts of unrestrained laughter. "You win, you win! Please have mercy!"
"So I'm not cocky?" he teased, refusing to capitulate.
"No!" Lily laughed, her face bright red, her eyes on the verge of tearing, "You don't look cocky, you're not cocky, no!"
When James finally released Lily, a satisfied smirk gracing his face, Lily rolled across the bed, gasping for air as James watched from afar, a dignified expression upon his countenance. "Besides," he began proudly, "even if I did look like you said, I'm not cocky, just self-assured."
"Amazingly self-assured," a grin broke across Lily's face as outrage broke across James', "I'm only teasing!" Lily began to inch forward across the bed.
Watching her crawl towards him, James was overwhelmed by the beauty Lily seemed to hold. Her face was veiled by cascading ripples of fiery hair that remained radiant even when scrunched in a tousled mess all one side from having been slept on. Her eyes, still rimmed with the remnants of sleep, sparkled in a suggestive manner whenever she smiled at him. Peaches and cream skin marred by the corrugated patterns of James' shirt still felt soft to the touch as she traced her hand along his face. To be honest, James felt he had never witnessed more beauty in his life than when he saw her there – no poems, paintings, sunsets, or sunrises could possibly contain such radiance as Lily, his Lily. (a/n: sorry, got a bit carried away, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for romance)
"Thank you," Lily whispered as she nestled against him, her head finding its rightful place on his shoulder.
James stared at her bewilderedly, "What for?"
"This, last night," she murmured, "everything. For not giving up on me."
"I almost did," he whispered back.
"Right when I began to see something in you," she smiled, "we're quite a pair, huh?"
"Yeah, we are."
===
"So, Lily, did you get a good night's sleep?"
Lily, Sirius, and James were sitting around an old oak table, quietly spreading peanut butter on thick loaves of bread for their lunchtime meal. "Mmm?" Lily looked up, fingers sticky with strawberry jam, and smiled warily at Sirius, "Oh, yes, very well, thank you."
"That's good," Sirius nodded innocently, "no late disturbances then?"
"No," she answered slowly, clutching the jam knife defensively, "why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," Sirius replied lightly, waggling his eyebrows at James.
Choking on his sandwich, James quickly gulped down his milk as Sirius slammed his back, trying not to laugh.
Hand and knife frozen above her sandwich, Lily's eyes flew back and forth between the two boys; Sirius trying to keep a straight face as James' hazel eyes blazed in a fiery glare. "Am I missing something?" she questioned hesitantly.
Before either of the boys could respond, a frazzled Mrs. Potter apparated into the kitchen, her face etched with worry.
"Mum?" James dropped his sandwich on the table, hurrying to his mother's side, "what's wrong?"
Liquid brown eyes full to the brim with anxiety turned on her son, "James, darling, there's been another attack, just outside of London. Three muggle- born wizards are dead, along with four muggles, some of the aurors believe this was just the beginning a preview of things to come. There's a wizarding convention in Manchester tonight, Alastor Moody believes it to be the next target of the Death Eaters. They need all the help they can get, your father and I have been called in to work tonight."
"So, are you on guard duty?" James questioned in a seemingly non- interested voice.
"You know I can't tell you that, and you shouldn't be asking," she replied austerely.
"But Mum,"
"No buts, James. You know the rules, even if your father and I knew where we're going to be posted or how long we'll be gone, we couldn't tell you." Pausing to collect herself, Mrs. Potter gave a brusque smile to Lily before continuing, "Your father and I aren't sure how long our assistance will be required, but until we return home the three of you are not to leave the house. James, Sirius, I mean it, stay in the house and no matter who is at the door do not let anyone in, anyone." After studying the boys' innocent countenances carefully, Mrs. Potter turned to Lily, giving another wry smile. "Lily, darling, I really do hate to leave you like this, especially after just meeting yesterday, but will you do me a favor?"
"Anything, Mrs. Potter."
The older woman smiled, shaking her head, "It's a tough task, but I'd like you to watch after the boys for me. We both know how irresponsible children can be." She winked as Lily tried to restrain her laughing smile.
"Sure, I think I can handle that." She returned the wink as Sirius and James mouthed expletives behind their mother's back. (a/n: Sirius has been living with then long enough that I'm going to consider him part of the family)
"Oh, come here, you two!" Mrs. Potter laughed, tears clouding the corners of her eyes. The two boys obediently shuffled forward into their mother's open arms, secretly enjoying the feel of a mother's embrace, a feeling that seemed so sacred, so precious, during the span of turmoil that was spreading throughout the country. Lily watched on with tears in her eyes as James kissed his mother's cheek, feeling endlessly surprised by this new side of James Potter.
===
A/N: I didn't like this chapter much, but I felt I had to put it up anyways. I hope you all liked it! Keep up the reviews, you don't know how much they mean to me!