Bound in Matrimony

By: Jasmine

Chapter 5

"Exposed"

"Er... heh..." James laughed nervously, looking around for support or at least something to change the subject with. Lily's glare pierced painfully through his skin, and he wasn't exactly ready to go blind just yet. Sirius stood bemused, obviously oblivious to the predicament he'd just brought up. All eyes, however, were set on James and Lily, both of whom were very confused.

Just as James opened his mouth to give a pathetic response, a second very loud sound echoed through the streets of Hogsmeade. It was Alana this time, and she was laughing her head off. She staggered toward them as if what she was watching couldn't be any more hilarious. The crowd gradually broke into laughter as well, a few still confused but finding it more comical now that someone had broken the silence.

Alana halted her gait next to Sirius, who was staring at her as if she'd lost her mind. She set an elbow on Sirius's shoulder, leaning against him. "He's so funny, isn't he?" She hooted, nodding her head to encourage the crowd on. The audience's mirth grew, and some even began filing out, now seeing it as a huge joke that had been put on. "Yep, hilarious. Now, there's nothing else to see here." Her tone altered abruptly as she shooed them all off.

Once all were gone, she removed her arm from Sirius's shoulder in an instant and turned to glare at him. Then, without notice, she slapped him on the shoulder, making him yelp in pain. "Numbskull." She said in a relatively calm tone. "Who told you to go about saying such things without any proof as to the matter. And James and Lily being married, of all things. You really know how to tell tall tales, Sirius." She concluded, leaving Sirius gaping unbelievingly.

"What the hell...?" Sirius exclaimed, lowering his tone quickly when he noticed a few of the crowd still lingering. He turned on them, hair flying, and pointed his wand threateningly, muttering, "Shoo." The few still standing made a run for it, not looking back until they were yards away.

"Let's just go." Remus suggested, coming up behind Sirius and pushing him forward toward the road leading to Hogwarts. James, Lily, and Alana followed as if on default, and the group made their way back to school hours before the time set, grim expressions set about their faces, looking nowhere but straight ahead or at their feet.

Once inside, Remus let go of Sirius's shoulder. They stood in silence, all knowing an explanation was due. Sirius, however, had nothing else to say, so he broke the deafening silence with, "What now?" He looked around expectantly, receiving no reply. "Boring... I'm off." He strode through the Great Hall doors. Alana's mouth, as well as James and Lily's, hung open slightly.

Remus, trying his hardest not to laugh at Sirius's brilliance, said, "I'm sort of hungry as well, so I'll just be following him along..." Then, he too marched through the open doors, leaving Alana, James, and Lily to follow again. The group sat in silence, all aware of the whispers swirling about them and the stares of the numerous students filing into the Great Hall for dinner about them. None were in any mood of saying anything, though, so they finished dinner and were off before you could say codswallop.

James scratched his chin gently with the end of his quill, scratching it across a once clean piece of parchment, finishing as much of his homework before Alana and Lily returned. He'd gotten yelled at a few hours ago and was in no mood of getting yelled at again, especially by his wife. What a way to go, he'd thought to himself a thousand times, tuning Lily out.

"Why the hell didn't you mention anything to me!" Lily had shrieked, her emerald eyes glowing with rage. She too had thought it a joke until Alana had decided they'd lied enough, especially about her.

"That's why!" James exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger in Lily's direction, getting to his feet as well. He wasn't about to go down with a fight. "If I'd even tried to tell you, you would've just gotten angry! In case you haven't figured it out already, it was my fault! I can't force you to marry me!"

"But you didn't stop it either!" Lily retorted very loudly, her voice cracking due to its maximized volume. It seems it wasn't used to being so high and loud. Lily cleared her throat quickly, her cheeks tinged magenta.

"Oh, so it's my responsibility to keep you from doing anything wrong!" James cried. Then, smirking slightly, he added, "And, if I'm not mistaken, and I rarely am, that's a husband's job!" His smirk grew as he watched Lily's face contort with rage. Her mouth opened and closed many times before she stomped her foot angrily. James decided to put her out of her misery and said, "Besides, Lily, you're getting angry over nothing—"

"You're right, Potter." Lily cut in viciously. She took a step closer, her nose barely an inch away from James's, her eyes glowering painfully. "I'm getting angry over nothing. Because you're nothing to me." James's jaw dropped and Lily turned to leave, stomping off.

But, before she'd went a yard, James called out furiously, "So that's why you oh so passionately kissed me just a few hours ago?" Lily spun around, her eyes no longer glaring but blank, unaware of what she'd gotten into, unable to come up with an explanation. She was stuck, both she and James knew it, and she had no way out of that.

So, she replied, "That was nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment feeling." She stammered, her eyes and state strong, but her voice apprehensive.

"Then so is this." James came up to her and put a finger under her chin, pushing her face closer to his, lowering his own in the process.

Lily, however, threw a hand up abruptly, covering his mouth. "Oh no you don't, Potter. I'm not thick enough to fall for that." James looked taken aback, astonished that she'd stopped him. He stared blankly, questioningly. "Look, Potter. We're married. There's nothing I can do about that," James grinned. "For now." His smile vanished. "But I'm just going to have to live with it. Don't you dare go spreading this around, though—"

"What makes you think I'd do that?" James cut in dejectedly. "My parents would murder me on the spot."

"Same here. So we've got mutual ground. However, we're to act as if there is no relationship between us, as is true." Lily continued, glaring at him for the interruption. "That means you keep your greasy paws off me, even more than usual."

"Fine." James replied. "But what if I feel like being romantic?" He smirked.

"POTTER!" Lily shrieked, backing away instantly as she felt his hand inching across her waist. "We're only married by contract, not heart!" James's face dropped.

Sirius and Alana, who'd been watching bemusedly the whole time, decided to pitch in now. "Basically, mate, if you want anything to happen, you have to treat her like any girl and get her to like you the normal way." Sirius concluded.

"For once, I agree." Alana said, nodding her head again.

"Ok, then." James said, nodding his head as well, his jaw set. "I'll get you to like me, and even love. I'll make this marriage work!" He finished dramatically, clapping his hands together and theatrically stomping out of the empty classroom. Sirius, Alana, and Lily gawked after him, Sirius leaving first. Lily and Alana shook their heads, Alana in sympathy, Lily due to James's stupidity.

"Idiot." Lily muttered rather oddly, walking out with Alana following.

Ok. So this isn't my best and/or most eventful chapter, and it definitely isn't my funniest. I'll try to make the next funny, though. I'm just kind of under stress and wanted to get a chapter out before the weekend ended. I know my fans of Transformations and Transfigurations are waiting, but I'm on a major writer's block, so my grievest apologies for that. I'm really trying my best to get the next chapter out, but I just can't write. Maybe next weekend I'll be able to. Until then, sayonara and happy trails everyone!

Before I go, I guess I'll answer some reviews as well:

jamesandlilypotter:
plz update! ive waited so long for this chapter.siri is so funny! and kinda stupid but thats y i luv him.plz update! i luv ur story.oh and i really hav to ask, will the story go up to their deaths?plz dont go that far.i hat sad stories.anyways keep up the good work.update!

no way is it gonna go to their deaths! i hate stories like that too! i believe that it's a love story and should end happily. i'm a true stander beside the cliche that love stories should always have a happy ending, even if in the future it ends sadly, and death is a natural part of life, so it shouldn't be added in a love story that would've had a happy ending had the death not been added. that's my own personal opinion, anyway. it's the lily and james story, and it ends with their marriage. it's their deaths that begins harry's story, and i'm not writing about harry, am I? that's about it... yeah... hope that answers your question.

I guess that's the only review that actually had a question. Thanks to everyone else who reviewed! You guys really put me at a higher standard than I really am, and I thank you all for it! Keep reading and reviewing and I'll be sure to keep updating! Happy trails!

Please Review!