A/N: Hello, I'm back again with another chapter. : ) I hope you like
this, I'm quite happy with myself really, in the official HP site I'm in
Chapter 7 from this part and I must say that is going quite well, even
though school and work have cut short my free time. Thank you all for
reading and for your wonderful reviews.
Disclaimer: You might know it by now, so I won't repeat it.
Chapter 2 ~ Harvest Time
James left the dining room some moments after Lily had gone up to the nursery. He wondered what the twins had planned for her. Poor Lily, he thought, she has no idea what she got herself into.
James walked across the kitchen gardens toward the stables. He was humming as he walked. He had never felt so light-hearted and happy, he didn't know what might have brought this joy to his life, but he didn't care to examine it to closely.
As he reached the stables he directed his feet toward the back. He passed the stable lads who were busy taking care of the horses and readying them for some morning exercises.
At the back he found a narrow door and he opened the door. Barking met his ears as he entered.
"Good morning Master James. Came to inspect the hounds?" Asked a middle- aged man as he approached James.
"Good morning George. Are they ready, do you think, for the hunt next month?" James asked as he kneeled to pet some of the dogs that had come to greet their master.
"Oh yes Master James. They are all eager to show off." George, the man in charge of the kennels, answered.
James nodded. He was very proud of the kennels in his estate. The Potter family had been able to breed the best hunting dogs in the area for the last two centuries and he planned to continue with that tradition.
He suddenly heard a sound that he wasn't expecting to hear.
Giggles.
He turned to look at George with a lift of his brow.
"Don't tell me the girls sneaked in here." He said.
George only nodded. After all, he reckoned, James said not to tell him.
James sighed and with a last pat to one of the dogs he approached the place where he heard the girls.
"What are you two doing here?" He asked to the two little girls who were playing with a group of newborn puppies.
The girls turned to look at their uncle. They noticed that he didn't seem to be too angry that they had escaped the nursery again, but that he was displeased with them.
"We are playing."
"With the puppies."
"Oh? And did you ask Nurse if you could be here? What about Lily? I thought she was going to meet you in the nursery this morning."
The girls looked down to their white apron that Nurse always put on top of their dresses every morning to keep them clean.
"We are sorry." They both said.
James sighed. He didn't like to scold the girls; he certainly didn't want them to think of him as mean Uncle James. But perhaps his mother was right, he thought, perhaps he would spoil them if he wasn't more strict with them. He certainly didn't want them to grow up to be like Jezebel Robinson or one of her crew. All his Potter ancestors would roll in their grave if they did. They would probably end up in Slytherin. James shuddered at the thought.
"Well, it's Lily and Nurse you should be apologizing to. Now go on, to the nursery. If, nurse or Lily want to bring you down to see the puppies, then it's fine. Otherwise, I don't want to see you in here alone. Do you understand?"
"Yes Uncle James." Said the little girls as they slowly came to their feet. They didn't look up at him; they continued to look down to their feet. Slowly they marched out of the kennels, saying good-bye in low voices to George who had been standing by the door watching the scene.
James shook his head as he watched the little girls leave the room. George approached him and kneeled to take a look at the puppies, who didn't seem to mind that they had lost their playmates.
"How long have they been coming in here?" James asked with a frown forming on his forehead.
"A couple of weeks. Since these lot was born." Said George pointing to the puppies.
"So that's why they have been asking for a puppy." James exclaimed. "What do you think George? Should I let them have one of these? I don't want to spoil them, I don't want them to end up in Slytherin." He said with disgust.
"Well, I reckon that if you tell them that they are in charge of feeding him, bathing him, and exercising him, then it would be all right. It would teach them a bit of responsibility as well." George responded.
James thought about it for a moment. "You are right. I will discuss it with mother, see what she says. I don't think she would be too happy if the girls have a puppy that is sure to follow them all over the house without discussing it first."
George nodded and started to push the puppies toward their mother, who was watching indulgently at her litter play.
"George, I need you to choose some of the lads to help you during the hunt. I expect it will be well attended this year. The McDowells are expected to have a house party at about that time so they will surely bring their guests to participate. Make sure that the horses are prepared as well, I want everything to be in order next month."
"Of course Master James. You can count on me." Said George with excitement. James left the stables with a purpose toward the house, ready to go in search of his mother.
Lily walked down the main staircase looking around. She was in search of the girls but she remembered that she didn't know where the kennels were. Oh really, how hard could they be to find? She thought. She noticed a small head peering from the banisters at the top of the staircase. There was nobody there when I passed. It could not possibly be the girls. She frowned. She was so sure that she hadn't seen anybody around when she started down the stairs. The she noticed the large eyes and ears that seemed to want to escape from the small head.
"Who's there?" Lily asked cautiously.
"It's Minnie, Miss Lily. Minnie had heard that Miss Lily was here and Minnie wanted to make sure." A small voice squeaked.
Lily smiled. She had wondered what had happened to James' elf. "Hello Minnie, come down here." She said with a smile.
The small elf, skipped down the stairs until she reached Lily, who was standing at the foot of the stairs.
"Does Miss Lily need anything?" Squeaked Minnie.
"Well, you could help me. I need to find the twins and I was told that they might be in the kennels. Where are the kennels Minnie?"
"Kennels are behind the stables Miss Lily. But the young mistresses are not there anymore." Minnie replied.
"Oh? Where are they now?" Lily asked.
"They are on their way to the nursery. Master James just sent them up." Minnie said.
Lily sighed, after all that walking she now had to go back.
"Thank you Minnie." Lily said as she started to climb the stairs once more.
Minnie bowed and skipped down the corridor in direction to the kitchens.
"Oh hello Lily dear, any problem?" Asked Mrs. Potter who was now at the top of the stairs when she noticed Lily on her way up.
"Just looking for the girls." Lily said with a smile.
"Gave you the slip, did they?" Chuckled Mrs. Potter.
"In a manner of speaking." Replied Lily.
"Well, it will take you a while to find them. Come with me, let's wait on the back parlor, Nurse will send somebody for you when the girls return." Mrs. Potter motioned her to follow as they started to go down the stairs. Lily gave a deep sigh as she followed Mrs. Potter down.
Lily followed Mrs. Potter down the corridor toward the back parlor. She was getting used to this big house, she thought it was like a maze, every corridor seemed to lead to somewhere else.
"How are you doing Lily? Had a good night? I hope you liked your room." Said Mrs. Potter as she settled on one of the couches. She motioned Lily to take a seat next to her.
"Thank you Mrs. Potter, I like my room, it is gorgeous." Said Lily with a bright smile.
"Oh, I'm so glad." Mrs. Potter said. "I'm sorry the twins escaped you, they seem to be everywhere at once. They cannot stay put in just one place."
Lily laughed. "Nurse said the same thing. But I think that is common with all children."
"Perhaps you are right, mine seemed to be like that. I couldn't leave James on his own for long, he was a very active child."
"I imagine he was. After all the things he did at Hogwarts I can believe anything about him." Exclaimed Lily.
"Mother, what are you telling Lily? Don't make me sound like a monster child." Chided James as he entered the room. It seemed that he heard part of the conversation.
"Hello James dear. I wasn't saying that you were a monster child, just that you were very active, neither Nurse nor I could keep up with you." Said Mrs. Potter.
"Well, all children are like that, aren't they?" Asked James. He went toward the back of the room. A large cabinet stood there. James opened it and Lily noticed that there was a decanter and clean glasses. The other drawers were closed but Lily assumed that drinks were stored there. "Do you want some mother?" James asked as he served himself from the decanter.
"No dear, I'm fine." Mrs. Potter said.
"What about you Lily?" James asked as he turned to look at her.
"No thank you, I don't drink this early on the day." Lily promptly said.
"Oh this is not liquor, it's cider. I don't drink this early in the morning either." Said James with a smile.
"Oh, in that case, I would like some." Lily replied.
James turned to pour more cider into another clean glass and then crossed the room to give the glass to Lily.
"Thank you." She said and sipped from the cup as she watched James sitting on the seat next to her.
"I sent the girls up to the nursery, I found them in the kennels playing with the puppies." James said as he made himself comfortable.
"Oh dear! Those two cannot stay in one place for long." Chuckled Mrs. Potter shaking her head.
"Well, hopefully that may change. I had to scold them but frankly, I think I felt worse than they did. I never did so before." Said James.
"You are going to spoil them." Chided Lily.
"I've been saying that. But you had to do so dear, they won't be the worse for it." Mrs. Potter replied.
"If you say so." James said. "Mother, have you made the guest list yet, we have only one more month to be ready."
Lily looked at Mrs. Potter and James with confusion. What was happening in one month? Mrs. Potter noticed the confusion in Lily's expression and took pity on her.
"We are having the Harvest Festival next month. It's customary for the large estates to host a Festival during Harvest time every year. We have been doing so for two centuries now and it has become a tradition. The Festival takes place in the middle of the town. The local band plays, local merchants put up their booths with merchandise, the local theater group does a small play for the children. The next day we have a hunting race, the Potters have bred the best hunting dogs of the county for centuries, thus, it's only fair that the Potters officiate over that particular event. Then every year one of the estates hosts the ball the next evening. It's our turn this year."
"Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun." Exclaimed Lily. "I can see that you have so much to do. I remember how much work it took to put the Halloween together and it wasn't as big as this one."
"Oh, it is a big job, but it is enjoyable as well and we cannot disappoint the town if we don't do it." Said Mrs. Potter.
James had kept silent during his mother's explanation of the event. He remembered perfectly the effort that it cost them to put together the Halloween Festival in their seventh year. He now understood why it seemed that his parents didn't have enough time during this time of year when he was a child.
He mentally shook his head and turned back to listen to the two women.
"We are having a meeting here this afternoon with the other ladies of the big houses to start the preparations. Most of the time, those who are not hosting the ball have a house party. So we are expecting a lot of people to come. The Ball room will overflow with people." Mrs. Potter was saying.
"Oh, if you need any help Mrs. Potter, please let me know, I will gladly help out." Exclaimed Lily.
"Oh, hold on Lily, you do not know what you are getting into. Mother can be a dictator when it's our time to host the ball. I wouldn't do so if I were you, the girls will keep you busy most of the time." Quickly said James.
"Oh really James, I am not that bad and if she wants to help she certainly can. You have no say in the matter, you just make sure that everything is ready for the hunt." Chided Mrs. Potter. "Lily dear, call me Susan, there is no need for us to be so formal. Now, if you want you can come to the meeting, I'm sure James will not mind keeping an eye on the girls for a while." Mrs. Potter said as she started to leave her seat and walked out of the room.
"I told you." Said James with a shake of his head. "You should have said nothing."
"Oh really James, you know I will enjoy it." Said Lily as she hit him playfully in the arm.
"Oh no you don't." Said James and turned to tickle her.
"James stop, you know I don't like it when you do that." Screamed Lily as she tried to keep her distance from him.
He just smiled mischievously and slid down the couch toward her. She quickly left the couch and turned toward the door as she kept turning back to see what he would do. He sat with his legs crossed with a huge smile on his face.
Lily was too busy looking at him that didn't notice somebody standing in front of her until she bumped against a body and nearly fell by the impact.
"Careful there." Said a laughing voice as two strong arms caught her before she hit the floor.
Lily turned to look up to a pair of dark, laughing eyes. Her jaw dropped.
"Sirius." She exclaimed and jumped to hug him. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Glad to see you as well Lily. What are you doing here?" Sirius asked as he gave her a bear hug.
"Sirius, you are hugging me too hard." Lily complained with a laugh.
"Sorry." Sirius said with a sheepish smile as he let her go.
"She is living here now." James said from the couch.
Sirius eyebrow went up in surprise. Did he just say that she was living there? With him?
"It's not what you think, silly." Said Lily hitting him on his arm. "I'm the girls' tutor."
"Oh, you are the new teacher." Exclaimed Sirius. "Well, if it couldn't be Remus at least it's you."
"Oh? You offered Remus this position?" Asked Lily to James. She wondered why he hadn't mentioned that.
"I talked to him about it, but he said that he wasn't ready to come back to England." Said James with a shrug.
Lily had conflicting emotions about this piece of news. She was sad to know that Remus was still away and that probably wouldn't be returning any time soon. But on the other hand, she was angry at him for hurting Emma and breaking things up with her. She stayed silent. There was no need to fight with James and Sirius about it.
The boys had been greeting each other while Lily had been lost in thought.
"I say James, why didn't you owl me that Lily was going to take the position?" Sirius was saying.
"I didn't know until she came." James responded. "It took me by surprise."
"Oh. Then Lily, how come you didn't tell us?" Sirius asked. He had walked to the drink cabinet and was serving himself from the decanter of cider.
"I didn't know either. Dumbledore didn't tell me." Lily said.
"That old man is very secretive, let me tell you. But he is great nonetheless. I received an owl from him the other day. Wants me to go to Hogwarts and meet with him." Sirius sipped from his glass.
James frowned. "I received a similar note. What do you think it's about?"
Sirius shrugged. There was nobody in the world who was able to know what was in Dumbledore's mind.
Both boys turned to look questioningly at Lily.
"Don't ask me, I don't know what he wants to talk to you about. He didn't tell me about this meeting of his." Said Lily. Why hadn't he said anything to her, she thought, this was strange.
"Oh well." Exclaimed Sirius as he sat on a chair. "We'll find out."
"So. What brings you here Sirius?" Asked Lily as she took the chair that Mrs. Potter had emptied earlier.
"Oh, I always come here when I need to hide from mother." He said with a mischievous smile.
James laughed and Lily frowned.
"What did you do now Sirius?" Lily asked.
"Oh, just trying to keep out of her hair for now, she is planning this dinner party next weekend. She told me to go away, that I was distracting her." He said.
"That and he wants to ride my horses." Said James with a laugh.
Sirius smiled.
Lily laughed. "Really Sirius, you aren't going to change are you? Have you seen Katie?"
Sirius expression changed completely. One moment he was smiling widely and the next he was serious. James and Lily turned to look at each other with surprise and trepidation.
"No." Sirius said.
James and Lily didn't say a word. It was clear that Sirius would not appreciate being questioned and it would only served to make things worse.
Lily cleared her throat. "I think it's best if I go look for the girls. I left them to their own devices for too long. I'll see you later Sirius." Lily said with a wave and quickly left the room.
Sirius sat brooding in his seat. James sighed.
"Come then, we might as well go to the stables." Said James.
Sirius shook himself from his thoughts and followed James out to the gardens.
Luncheon was a happy affair. Sirius stayed to partake lunch with them and the girls were happy to see him. After the meal was over, James and Sirius took the girls to the gardens to play and left Mrs. Potter and Lily to prepare for the meeting with the town ladies.
"I tell you dear, it is a big event but it is so much fun to see it all taking shape." Exclaimed Mrs. Potter as she and Lily prepared the front parlor for the meeting.
"Oh I can imagine." Lily said with an indulgent smile.
"I will owl your parents, perhaps they would like to join us for those days. I'm sure that they will enjoy spending some time with you." Mrs. Potter said as she arranged the vases full of flowers among the small tables found around the room.
"Thank you Mrs. Potter, I'm sure that they will enjoy it." Lily said with a smile as she arranged flowers in to the vases.
"Lily, you agreed to call me Susan." Mrs. Potter chided.
"I'm sorry, habit I suppose." Said Lily.
"Oh don't worry, you will get used to it. So tell me, how was your mother when you last saw her?"
"Oh she was fine. Father has been feeling a bit sick lately but she owled me a few days ago and said that he was getting better." Lily responded.
She had been quite worried at the news that her father had fallen sick. He had never been sick a day in his life. She had considered asking for leave from Hogwarts and go back home but her mother had urged her to stay. The news of his recovery had been a relief to Lily.
"Oh I'm glad to hear that." Mrs. Potter said.
They heard motion outside the closed door and both turned to look as they heard the door open.
Roberts, the butler entered with a cart of refreshments. Biscuits and tiny sandwiches were served on large platters. Plates, cups and glasses were stacked on the second shelf of the cart.
"Madam, here are the refreshments you asked for. I will bring the tea and cider when your guests arrive." Roberts said with a bow.
"Thank you Roberts." Said Mrs. Potter. Roberts bowed once more and left the room. "Well dear." She said to Lily. "We are ready now." She smiled. She clearly enjoyed planning these kind of events.
While the ladies waited for the neighborhood ladies to arrive, James and Sirius took the twins over to the kennels to play with the puppies.
"So tell me, what really brings you here? You haven't come for a while." Said James to Sirius as they leaned against the wall watching the twins playing with the pups.
Sirius sighed. James was the only one that could see beyond his social mask. He also knew that even though James would leave it alone if he wanted, James would be too preoccupied and eventually would take it out of him.
"Katie is not too happy with me." He simply said.
"What do you mean?" James asked. "Is she breaking up with you?"
"She might as well do so." Sirius scoffed.
"Do you want to break up with her?" James queried.
"No, but I don't know if I can give her what she wants." Sirius answered.
James sighed. Why was Sirius too thick and didn't come out with it, did he have to drag it out himself in order to find out what was going on?
"What did she want you to do?" He asked.
Sirius took a deep breath. This was harder than he thought. He was sure that if he came to James and talked to him, he would get his priorities into perspective, but that wasn't happening. He was just couldn't get out of his head the last time he saw Katie in town.
"She wants to get married." He said.
James gasped. Somehow he never thought to see the both of them married, as a couple they were wonderful but as a married couple he wasn't so sure.
"What did you tell her?" James asked. He wondered if she should tell Lily about this.
"I didn't say anything. I don't know James, I don't want to get married yet, you know that, and I thought she did too but doesn't look like she did. She said that after four years she wants our relationship to continue on to the next level and if I didn't want to do so then we might as well break up. She wants a family, she says, she wants a husband and a home, and if I'm not prepared to give her that then so be it. She will look for someone who is willing to give it to her. What am I going to do James? I don't want to lose, but I also don't want to get married." Sirius exclaimed.
James noticed that Sirius was getting agitated and thought that perhaps it was a better idea if they went for a walk and left the girls to play with the puppies with George, he would keep an eye on them and keep them away from mischief.
"George." James turned to the man standing by the girls. "Sirius and I are going for a walk, keep an eye on the girls will you?"
George nodded and turned back to look at the little girls giggling as the puppies tried to climb over them.
James pulled Sirius from the kennels and led him out of the stables. "Come." He said.
Sirius followed him without a word. A circumstance that made James worried. Sirius never was quiet, he always had something to say.
James walked toward the fields, he didn't think the gardens were safe, especially since they could be seen from the front parlor windows and if Lily or his mother saw them they would want to know what was happening. He thought of the maze, they could go there, but they could also get lost. The fields were safer.
"How do you feel about her Sirius?" James finally said breaking the silence.
"I love her of course, I wouldn't have lasted this long with her if I didn't." Sirius responded.
"But the question is, do you love her enough to spend the rest of your life together? If not, then it's probably best if you let her go Sirius. She deserves to have what she wants, and if what she wants most is to get married and have a family then so be it. You don't have a right to keep that away from her Sirius." James said.
"I know, I want her to be happy. But James, how will I survive knowing that I let her go? I don't think I could take it if I saw her flirting with other men and knowing that one of them might be the man who will marry her. I don't know if I could do it James." Sirius exclaimed running his hand through his hair.
"Have you talked to her about this?" James asked.
"No."
"Perhaps it is time that you do so. Make her understand what you feel and what you think, maybe you could come out with an agreement." Urged James. He didn't know what else to say.
"Perhaps. I'll give it a try." Sirius said with a smile.
James sighed with relief. Maybe things would get better for his friend.
"Let's go get the girls. I see that my tenants are starting to store the grain. Feeling like helping with the apples, I think that's Mark and Jonathan in their way to the orchard." James said as he pointed at two men walking away from them toward the large orchard at the far end of the estate.
Sirius smiled. "Sounds like fun. But only if I can have a barrel of that homemade cider that they will prepare with those apples."
James laughed. "Of course you can. I will also have Otty prepare some apple pies for your mother."
"For mother, what about me, I love those pies." Sirius exclaimed.
"Sirius, you like everything, you eat everything." James said with a roll of his eyes.
The two young men walked to the stables and made their way toward the kennels where they found the girls rolling in the hay with the puppies around them and George smiling indulgently down at his charges.
The foursome spent the rest of the afternoon helping the gardeners and the tenants gathering the ripe apples in the orchard. The harvesting party, as Sirius started to call it, ended when James noticed the twins falling asleep on top of full baskets. Sirius and James returned to the house with a girl each in their arms.
James was glad that the neighborhood ladies had left by the time they returned. Lily and Mrs. Potter were busy making plans when they entered by the back parlor.
"Oh the little dears, they must be so tired." Mrs. Potter exclaimed as soon as they entered the parlor.
"We'll take them up mother." James said when he noticed her standing up from her seat.
"Very well dear, nurse will take care of them." Nodded Mrs. Potter and watched as James and Sirius left the room carrying the twins.
Sirius joined the Potters and Lily for dinner. It was a merry meal as Mrs. Potter told them about all the plans that they had started on their afternoon meeting.
".and of course, she is not too happy about it. She was so sure that she would be assigned the management of the food stands, but none of us have forgotten what happened last year when she was in charge of it." Laughed Mrs. Potter.
"Ugh, I shudder to think what she is capable of doing this year if she was in charge of it. Maintenance is too good for her. If she wasn't the wife of the old Colonel, I don't think any of the ladies in this town would invite her to take part of our little society circle." Said James.
"Is she really that bad? I thought she was a bit common and crude but I thought that it might be because she was brought up in the country." Lily said.
"Oh no, she grew up in the city all right. She is the illegitimate daughter of a titled gentleman, his name was never disclosed of course. But you can imagine what kind of education she had. She took advantage of an old wealthy man. I don't know how the Colonel fell into her trap, but there you are. Now we are stuck with that hussy." Mrs. Potter scoffed. Everybody knew she wasn't too happy with the new wife of their oldest neighbor.
"Well mum, Sirius here has agreed to help me with the plans for our game." James said trying to keep his mother's mind of their neighbor, he really didn't want to here it all over again.
"I have?" Sirius asked with a lift of his brow.
"Oh dear, how wonderful, I'm sure our tenants will enjoy it." Mrs. Potter said taking no notice of Sirius surprise.
Lily giggled behind her napkin.
James smiled at Lily, he understood her laughter, Sirius' face was precious.
"I'm sure it will be the finest of all time." Mrs. Potter said.
"What kind of game is it?" Lily asked as soon as she could get hold of her laughter.
"Quidditch." James proudly exclaimed.
Of course, Lily thought with a roll of her eyes.
"But won't it be dangerous to have a Quidditch game this close to town? I thought it was against the law to have games near towns, because muggles would see it." Lily said.
"Well, technically it is. That's why the Department of Magical Games and Sports has built the Quidditch Pitches in marshes and isolated areas. But this is not a national event. It's a local event and as long as security measures are taken it is within the law." James said.
"Besides, the Ministry wouldn't dare tell the Potters they can't do something, most of the former Ministers of Magic have come from the Potter family, they have been councils and advisers to the Ministry. The very first Minister was a Potter and they helped create the Ministry as we now know it. The Potters could get away with murder if they were capable of committing one." Exclaimed Sirius.
James looked at Sirius with murder in his eyes and Lily thought that he might have kicked Sirius beneath the table when Sirius stifled a yell and looked at James with hurt.
"Oh don't let Sirius make us seem so saintly Lily, it's true that our family has a long history with the Ministry but I don't think we are favorites. We try to keep everything within the magical laws, we are very careful of doing things the muggle way, especially when we live so close to them." Said Mrs. Potter.
"But how will you make sure that the game will be kept out of muggle eyes?" Lily asked.
"Oh we have a pitch on the estate, it's in the middle of the orchard. The trees line only the perimeter, there are charms and spells protecting the Pitch. If a muggle stumbles into the field they will see a soccer field, in fact some of the children in town come and ask permission to use it on occasion. It's only a Quidditch Pitch to magical eyes. Only the muggles that live within the estate and are aware that we are wizards can see the Pitch, some of them like to go and see it every time we have a game." Explained James.
"And who will play in this game?" Asked Lily.
"The tenants, those who are wizards and witches of course. It has become a tradition to have a game on the night after the Ball." Said Mrs. Potter.
"That's another security measure made by the Ministry. Games are only played in the middle of the night, so most muggles are asleep by the time the game starts." Said Sirius.
"Oh, so will you two play?" Asked Lily. They both seemed so excited about the game.
"Only James will. Only tenants and residents of the town are allowed to play." Said Sirius. "I will be the referee." He said with pride.
"Perhaps we can make and exemption, you might as well live here, you are here all the time." Said James.
Lily laughed, she was glad she had come to take the position. She had only been there for a day and she felt as if she had been part of it for a long time.
Dinner was over, and the conversation continued. Everybody seemed so excited about the plans made. Lily was looking forward to taking part of it, she had never seen an event like it, where muggles and wizards came together and had fun as a community. And she was happy to be part of the planning.
The evening ended on a happy note. Sirius apparated out to his house soon after they left the dining room. Lily and the Potters didn't stay in the parlor for too long either. The estate was soon dark with only a few lighted rooms here and there.
A pair of eyes watched from a distance, disappearing from sight before the sunrise the next morning.
The next weeks were busy and hectic for everybody in town. The large houses invited friends and families, the small businesses in town set up booths in the center of town, and the ladies in the area got together three times a week making sure everything went according to plan.
During this time, Lily became close with Mrs. Potter. Mrs. Potter treated Lily as the daughter she had lost some years ago. James was happy to see this development, but that left no room for him to try to start a relationship with Lily once more. With the twins, things more difficult still. The little girls had come to love Lily. They went to picnics, swims in the lake beyond the gardens, and frequent trips to the kennels to visit the pups that were growing too fast for them.
Sirius was frequent visitor to the estate. Lily knew something was going on with Katie and Sirius but neither said a thing to her. Owls were constantly exchanged between Lily and her two best friends and both had agreed to make time to visit her during the upcoming events. That was enough for her. Her parents had also agreed to come during that time. Lily couldn't be any happier.
The week previous to the Town Harvest Fair was very busy for the Potter household. The servants, muggle and wizard alike, were busy readying rooms and cleaning every piece of the large Ball room that filled the whole first floor of the east wing of the house.
Mrs. Potter, with Lily's help, stayed most of the day planning and designing the decorations for the ballroom.
"What do you think about this color Lily? Do you think fall colors are appropriate?" Asked Mrs. Potter as Lily and Mrs. Potter sat on a couple of chairs in the middle of the ballroom looking at some pieces of fabric.
"Oh, I think it's very appropriate Mrs. Potter, it is the Harvest Ball after all. This shade of yellow seems suitable and if we combine it with this red and this orange it will be perfect." Lily responded.
"Hmmm.you might be right my dear, they look perfect together. Now let's put this aside and I will send Roberts to buy the bolts of fabric in town." Said Mrs. Potter as she separated the fabrics chosen from the rest before putting them aside.
"Mrs. Potter, have you decided what flowers you are going to bring in here, the gardener came this morning to see if you had made that decision." Lily said.
"Oh dear, I had forgotten all about it." Exclaimed Mrs. Potter. "Why don't you choose dear, I trust your taste."
Lily didn't have a chance to respond to this. Mrs. Nichols, the housekeeper, entered at that moment to talk about the menus with Mrs. Potter. Lily shrugged and left the two women alone as she went out to the garden to look for the head gardener and start talking about flowers.
The servants had noticed the way Mrs. Potter trusted Lily with the management of the house on occasions, they also knew that there had been a history between the young woman and their master. It was very clear to them that Mrs. Potter wished for a continuation to that relationship and noticed that the young master was not averse to it. They all hoped that Lily would agree with them and soon became part of the family. She had stolen their hears and got their respect by her easy manners and the help she was willing to give to the household. Needless to say, they were all looking for the outcome and hoped that this event would help bring Lily and James together.
Lily looked around the garden for the Mr. Burns, the head gardener. She hadn't had the chance to really look around the grounds of the estate during the three weeks she had been there.
The House was surrounded by gardens. The front was adorned with stately oak trees lining the wide driveway. At each side, topiaries were seen behind the trees, and a fountain at each side.
On the west side were the green gardens. It was mostly comprised of bushes and hedges, at the back was a set of mazes, that James had once told Lily were created by his grandfather. The center of each maze, James said, was different. One was a covered room, with a day bed and furniture and a door which locked from inside. The others were like small gardens, one had a fountain, one had a pool with small fish swimming in the clear waters, and another had only flowers.
On the back of the house were the kitchen gardens. Herbs, vegetables and fruit were grown here for the needs of the cook.
On the east side was the informal gardens. Rose bushes, orchids, all types of flowers that were carefully tended by the vast number of gardeners that the estate employed. Beyond the garden, walls covered with ivy were seen. These were the closed gardens. There were several gardens in a row. Four walls surrounded each garden a wide door on each wall that lead to the next garden. Each garden was different, exquisite in its own way. There was one, however, at the very end of the row that was completely closed. Lily had stumbled upon it and was very curious about it. Unlike the others, three walls had no doors and the one that did, the door was locked. She tried apparating to it because she thought that perhaps contained magical plants and for that reason had been locked so no muggle would come to it. But it didn't work. A shielding charm had been put upon it. This made her even more curious and made a mental note to ask about it.
Beyond the walled gardens were the greenhouses, in which exotic plants and fruits were grown.
It was here that Lily found the balding, middle aged, Head gardener. He was busy repotting a set of flowers.
"Hello Mr. Burns, I hope I'm not interrupting." Said Lily as she hesitantly approached him.
"Oh Miss, not to worry, this can wait." He said as he wiped his dirty hands on the large apron that covered his clothing.
"Mrs. Potter wanted me to discuss the flowers for the ballroom decorations." Lily explained.
"Of course Miss. If you will follow me, I have some flowers here that might be perfect for it. I have several kinds that would be ready by then to cut." Mr. Burns said as he led Lily toward the back of the greenhouse.
As they progressed through the warm room, Lily looked around with awe at the different types of flowers she saw growing there. There were some that she had never seen before, nor known that could be grown in England. Some were clearly brought over from tropical places. It seemed that every single plant in the world was represented within these four walls, and this was only one of the many greenhouses in the estate.
Mr. Burns finally stopped at the very end of the building. Trellis of ivy covered the walls, on the shelves on the floor, dahlias of every color, size and kind were found. Lily looked around and chose some orange, and yellow peonies and pompon. She also made note to bring into the house some of the large trellis. She also chose some orchids, mostly white and pale pink. Finally some greenery was chosen, and happily she left the greenhouse with ideas for decorating in her mind.
When she arrived to the house, it was in complete chaos.
A/N: I hope this didn't take too long. I remembered as I was editing this chapter that I never told you about the dolls that accompany this story. If you are interested in meeting the characters of this story you can visit my webshots album and see the dolls, the address is http://community.webshots.com/album/45028991uBnciM , you might see some items there that you might not be aware of, that is because in the HP site, this story is ahead some chapters so I download the pictures as I post there. Hope you can visit sometime and like what you find. Don't forget to review. @}----
Disclaimer: You might know it by now, so I won't repeat it.
Chapter 2 ~ Harvest Time
James left the dining room some moments after Lily had gone up to the nursery. He wondered what the twins had planned for her. Poor Lily, he thought, she has no idea what she got herself into.
James walked across the kitchen gardens toward the stables. He was humming as he walked. He had never felt so light-hearted and happy, he didn't know what might have brought this joy to his life, but he didn't care to examine it to closely.
As he reached the stables he directed his feet toward the back. He passed the stable lads who were busy taking care of the horses and readying them for some morning exercises.
At the back he found a narrow door and he opened the door. Barking met his ears as he entered.
"Good morning Master James. Came to inspect the hounds?" Asked a middle- aged man as he approached James.
"Good morning George. Are they ready, do you think, for the hunt next month?" James asked as he kneeled to pet some of the dogs that had come to greet their master.
"Oh yes Master James. They are all eager to show off." George, the man in charge of the kennels, answered.
James nodded. He was very proud of the kennels in his estate. The Potter family had been able to breed the best hunting dogs in the area for the last two centuries and he planned to continue with that tradition.
He suddenly heard a sound that he wasn't expecting to hear.
Giggles.
He turned to look at George with a lift of his brow.
"Don't tell me the girls sneaked in here." He said.
George only nodded. After all, he reckoned, James said not to tell him.
James sighed and with a last pat to one of the dogs he approached the place where he heard the girls.
"What are you two doing here?" He asked to the two little girls who were playing with a group of newborn puppies.
The girls turned to look at their uncle. They noticed that he didn't seem to be too angry that they had escaped the nursery again, but that he was displeased with them.
"We are playing."
"With the puppies."
"Oh? And did you ask Nurse if you could be here? What about Lily? I thought she was going to meet you in the nursery this morning."
The girls looked down to their white apron that Nurse always put on top of their dresses every morning to keep them clean.
"We are sorry." They both said.
James sighed. He didn't like to scold the girls; he certainly didn't want them to think of him as mean Uncle James. But perhaps his mother was right, he thought, perhaps he would spoil them if he wasn't more strict with them. He certainly didn't want them to grow up to be like Jezebel Robinson or one of her crew. All his Potter ancestors would roll in their grave if they did. They would probably end up in Slytherin. James shuddered at the thought.
"Well, it's Lily and Nurse you should be apologizing to. Now go on, to the nursery. If, nurse or Lily want to bring you down to see the puppies, then it's fine. Otherwise, I don't want to see you in here alone. Do you understand?"
"Yes Uncle James." Said the little girls as they slowly came to their feet. They didn't look up at him; they continued to look down to their feet. Slowly they marched out of the kennels, saying good-bye in low voices to George who had been standing by the door watching the scene.
James shook his head as he watched the little girls leave the room. George approached him and kneeled to take a look at the puppies, who didn't seem to mind that they had lost their playmates.
"How long have they been coming in here?" James asked with a frown forming on his forehead.
"A couple of weeks. Since these lot was born." Said George pointing to the puppies.
"So that's why they have been asking for a puppy." James exclaimed. "What do you think George? Should I let them have one of these? I don't want to spoil them, I don't want them to end up in Slytherin." He said with disgust.
"Well, I reckon that if you tell them that they are in charge of feeding him, bathing him, and exercising him, then it would be all right. It would teach them a bit of responsibility as well." George responded.
James thought about it for a moment. "You are right. I will discuss it with mother, see what she says. I don't think she would be too happy if the girls have a puppy that is sure to follow them all over the house without discussing it first."
George nodded and started to push the puppies toward their mother, who was watching indulgently at her litter play.
"George, I need you to choose some of the lads to help you during the hunt. I expect it will be well attended this year. The McDowells are expected to have a house party at about that time so they will surely bring their guests to participate. Make sure that the horses are prepared as well, I want everything to be in order next month."
"Of course Master James. You can count on me." Said George with excitement. James left the stables with a purpose toward the house, ready to go in search of his mother.
Lily walked down the main staircase looking around. She was in search of the girls but she remembered that she didn't know where the kennels were. Oh really, how hard could they be to find? She thought. She noticed a small head peering from the banisters at the top of the staircase. There was nobody there when I passed. It could not possibly be the girls. She frowned. She was so sure that she hadn't seen anybody around when she started down the stairs. The she noticed the large eyes and ears that seemed to want to escape from the small head.
"Who's there?" Lily asked cautiously.
"It's Minnie, Miss Lily. Minnie had heard that Miss Lily was here and Minnie wanted to make sure." A small voice squeaked.
Lily smiled. She had wondered what had happened to James' elf. "Hello Minnie, come down here." She said with a smile.
The small elf, skipped down the stairs until she reached Lily, who was standing at the foot of the stairs.
"Does Miss Lily need anything?" Squeaked Minnie.
"Well, you could help me. I need to find the twins and I was told that they might be in the kennels. Where are the kennels Minnie?"
"Kennels are behind the stables Miss Lily. But the young mistresses are not there anymore." Minnie replied.
"Oh? Where are they now?" Lily asked.
"They are on their way to the nursery. Master James just sent them up." Minnie said.
Lily sighed, after all that walking she now had to go back.
"Thank you Minnie." Lily said as she started to climb the stairs once more.
Minnie bowed and skipped down the corridor in direction to the kitchens.
"Oh hello Lily dear, any problem?" Asked Mrs. Potter who was now at the top of the stairs when she noticed Lily on her way up.
"Just looking for the girls." Lily said with a smile.
"Gave you the slip, did they?" Chuckled Mrs. Potter.
"In a manner of speaking." Replied Lily.
"Well, it will take you a while to find them. Come with me, let's wait on the back parlor, Nurse will send somebody for you when the girls return." Mrs. Potter motioned her to follow as they started to go down the stairs. Lily gave a deep sigh as she followed Mrs. Potter down.
Lily followed Mrs. Potter down the corridor toward the back parlor. She was getting used to this big house, she thought it was like a maze, every corridor seemed to lead to somewhere else.
"How are you doing Lily? Had a good night? I hope you liked your room." Said Mrs. Potter as she settled on one of the couches. She motioned Lily to take a seat next to her.
"Thank you Mrs. Potter, I like my room, it is gorgeous." Said Lily with a bright smile.
"Oh, I'm so glad." Mrs. Potter said. "I'm sorry the twins escaped you, they seem to be everywhere at once. They cannot stay put in just one place."
Lily laughed. "Nurse said the same thing. But I think that is common with all children."
"Perhaps you are right, mine seemed to be like that. I couldn't leave James on his own for long, he was a very active child."
"I imagine he was. After all the things he did at Hogwarts I can believe anything about him." Exclaimed Lily.
"Mother, what are you telling Lily? Don't make me sound like a monster child." Chided James as he entered the room. It seemed that he heard part of the conversation.
"Hello James dear. I wasn't saying that you were a monster child, just that you were very active, neither Nurse nor I could keep up with you." Said Mrs. Potter.
"Well, all children are like that, aren't they?" Asked James. He went toward the back of the room. A large cabinet stood there. James opened it and Lily noticed that there was a decanter and clean glasses. The other drawers were closed but Lily assumed that drinks were stored there. "Do you want some mother?" James asked as he served himself from the decanter.
"No dear, I'm fine." Mrs. Potter said.
"What about you Lily?" James asked as he turned to look at her.
"No thank you, I don't drink this early on the day." Lily promptly said.
"Oh this is not liquor, it's cider. I don't drink this early in the morning either." Said James with a smile.
"Oh, in that case, I would like some." Lily replied.
James turned to pour more cider into another clean glass and then crossed the room to give the glass to Lily.
"Thank you." She said and sipped from the cup as she watched James sitting on the seat next to her.
"I sent the girls up to the nursery, I found them in the kennels playing with the puppies." James said as he made himself comfortable.
"Oh dear! Those two cannot stay in one place for long." Chuckled Mrs. Potter shaking her head.
"Well, hopefully that may change. I had to scold them but frankly, I think I felt worse than they did. I never did so before." Said James.
"You are going to spoil them." Chided Lily.
"I've been saying that. But you had to do so dear, they won't be the worse for it." Mrs. Potter replied.
"If you say so." James said. "Mother, have you made the guest list yet, we have only one more month to be ready."
Lily looked at Mrs. Potter and James with confusion. What was happening in one month? Mrs. Potter noticed the confusion in Lily's expression and took pity on her.
"We are having the Harvest Festival next month. It's customary for the large estates to host a Festival during Harvest time every year. We have been doing so for two centuries now and it has become a tradition. The Festival takes place in the middle of the town. The local band plays, local merchants put up their booths with merchandise, the local theater group does a small play for the children. The next day we have a hunting race, the Potters have bred the best hunting dogs of the county for centuries, thus, it's only fair that the Potters officiate over that particular event. Then every year one of the estates hosts the ball the next evening. It's our turn this year."
"Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun." Exclaimed Lily. "I can see that you have so much to do. I remember how much work it took to put the Halloween together and it wasn't as big as this one."
"Oh, it is a big job, but it is enjoyable as well and we cannot disappoint the town if we don't do it." Said Mrs. Potter.
James had kept silent during his mother's explanation of the event. He remembered perfectly the effort that it cost them to put together the Halloween Festival in their seventh year. He now understood why it seemed that his parents didn't have enough time during this time of year when he was a child.
He mentally shook his head and turned back to listen to the two women.
"We are having a meeting here this afternoon with the other ladies of the big houses to start the preparations. Most of the time, those who are not hosting the ball have a house party. So we are expecting a lot of people to come. The Ball room will overflow with people." Mrs. Potter was saying.
"Oh, if you need any help Mrs. Potter, please let me know, I will gladly help out." Exclaimed Lily.
"Oh, hold on Lily, you do not know what you are getting into. Mother can be a dictator when it's our time to host the ball. I wouldn't do so if I were you, the girls will keep you busy most of the time." Quickly said James.
"Oh really James, I am not that bad and if she wants to help she certainly can. You have no say in the matter, you just make sure that everything is ready for the hunt." Chided Mrs. Potter. "Lily dear, call me Susan, there is no need for us to be so formal. Now, if you want you can come to the meeting, I'm sure James will not mind keeping an eye on the girls for a while." Mrs. Potter said as she started to leave her seat and walked out of the room.
"I told you." Said James with a shake of his head. "You should have said nothing."
"Oh really James, you know I will enjoy it." Said Lily as she hit him playfully in the arm.
"Oh no you don't." Said James and turned to tickle her.
"James stop, you know I don't like it when you do that." Screamed Lily as she tried to keep her distance from him.
He just smiled mischievously and slid down the couch toward her. She quickly left the couch and turned toward the door as she kept turning back to see what he would do. He sat with his legs crossed with a huge smile on his face.
Lily was too busy looking at him that didn't notice somebody standing in front of her until she bumped against a body and nearly fell by the impact.
"Careful there." Said a laughing voice as two strong arms caught her before she hit the floor.
Lily turned to look up to a pair of dark, laughing eyes. Her jaw dropped.
"Sirius." She exclaimed and jumped to hug him. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Glad to see you as well Lily. What are you doing here?" Sirius asked as he gave her a bear hug.
"Sirius, you are hugging me too hard." Lily complained with a laugh.
"Sorry." Sirius said with a sheepish smile as he let her go.
"She is living here now." James said from the couch.
Sirius eyebrow went up in surprise. Did he just say that she was living there? With him?
"It's not what you think, silly." Said Lily hitting him on his arm. "I'm the girls' tutor."
"Oh, you are the new teacher." Exclaimed Sirius. "Well, if it couldn't be Remus at least it's you."
"Oh? You offered Remus this position?" Asked Lily to James. She wondered why he hadn't mentioned that.
"I talked to him about it, but he said that he wasn't ready to come back to England." Said James with a shrug.
Lily had conflicting emotions about this piece of news. She was sad to know that Remus was still away and that probably wouldn't be returning any time soon. But on the other hand, she was angry at him for hurting Emma and breaking things up with her. She stayed silent. There was no need to fight with James and Sirius about it.
The boys had been greeting each other while Lily had been lost in thought.
"I say James, why didn't you owl me that Lily was going to take the position?" Sirius was saying.
"I didn't know until she came." James responded. "It took me by surprise."
"Oh. Then Lily, how come you didn't tell us?" Sirius asked. He had walked to the drink cabinet and was serving himself from the decanter of cider.
"I didn't know either. Dumbledore didn't tell me." Lily said.
"That old man is very secretive, let me tell you. But he is great nonetheless. I received an owl from him the other day. Wants me to go to Hogwarts and meet with him." Sirius sipped from his glass.
James frowned. "I received a similar note. What do you think it's about?"
Sirius shrugged. There was nobody in the world who was able to know what was in Dumbledore's mind.
Both boys turned to look questioningly at Lily.
"Don't ask me, I don't know what he wants to talk to you about. He didn't tell me about this meeting of his." Said Lily. Why hadn't he said anything to her, she thought, this was strange.
"Oh well." Exclaimed Sirius as he sat on a chair. "We'll find out."
"So. What brings you here Sirius?" Asked Lily as she took the chair that Mrs. Potter had emptied earlier.
"Oh, I always come here when I need to hide from mother." He said with a mischievous smile.
James laughed and Lily frowned.
"What did you do now Sirius?" Lily asked.
"Oh, just trying to keep out of her hair for now, she is planning this dinner party next weekend. She told me to go away, that I was distracting her." He said.
"That and he wants to ride my horses." Said James with a laugh.
Sirius smiled.
Lily laughed. "Really Sirius, you aren't going to change are you? Have you seen Katie?"
Sirius expression changed completely. One moment he was smiling widely and the next he was serious. James and Lily turned to look at each other with surprise and trepidation.
"No." Sirius said.
James and Lily didn't say a word. It was clear that Sirius would not appreciate being questioned and it would only served to make things worse.
Lily cleared her throat. "I think it's best if I go look for the girls. I left them to their own devices for too long. I'll see you later Sirius." Lily said with a wave and quickly left the room.
Sirius sat brooding in his seat. James sighed.
"Come then, we might as well go to the stables." Said James.
Sirius shook himself from his thoughts and followed James out to the gardens.
Luncheon was a happy affair. Sirius stayed to partake lunch with them and the girls were happy to see him. After the meal was over, James and Sirius took the girls to the gardens to play and left Mrs. Potter and Lily to prepare for the meeting with the town ladies.
"I tell you dear, it is a big event but it is so much fun to see it all taking shape." Exclaimed Mrs. Potter as she and Lily prepared the front parlor for the meeting.
"Oh I can imagine." Lily said with an indulgent smile.
"I will owl your parents, perhaps they would like to join us for those days. I'm sure that they will enjoy spending some time with you." Mrs. Potter said as she arranged the vases full of flowers among the small tables found around the room.
"Thank you Mrs. Potter, I'm sure that they will enjoy it." Lily said with a smile as she arranged flowers in to the vases.
"Lily, you agreed to call me Susan." Mrs. Potter chided.
"I'm sorry, habit I suppose." Said Lily.
"Oh don't worry, you will get used to it. So tell me, how was your mother when you last saw her?"
"Oh she was fine. Father has been feeling a bit sick lately but she owled me a few days ago and said that he was getting better." Lily responded.
She had been quite worried at the news that her father had fallen sick. He had never been sick a day in his life. She had considered asking for leave from Hogwarts and go back home but her mother had urged her to stay. The news of his recovery had been a relief to Lily.
"Oh I'm glad to hear that." Mrs. Potter said.
They heard motion outside the closed door and both turned to look as they heard the door open.
Roberts, the butler entered with a cart of refreshments. Biscuits and tiny sandwiches were served on large platters. Plates, cups and glasses were stacked on the second shelf of the cart.
"Madam, here are the refreshments you asked for. I will bring the tea and cider when your guests arrive." Roberts said with a bow.
"Thank you Roberts." Said Mrs. Potter. Roberts bowed once more and left the room. "Well dear." She said to Lily. "We are ready now." She smiled. She clearly enjoyed planning these kind of events.
While the ladies waited for the neighborhood ladies to arrive, James and Sirius took the twins over to the kennels to play with the puppies.
"So tell me, what really brings you here? You haven't come for a while." Said James to Sirius as they leaned against the wall watching the twins playing with the pups.
Sirius sighed. James was the only one that could see beyond his social mask. He also knew that even though James would leave it alone if he wanted, James would be too preoccupied and eventually would take it out of him.
"Katie is not too happy with me." He simply said.
"What do you mean?" James asked. "Is she breaking up with you?"
"She might as well do so." Sirius scoffed.
"Do you want to break up with her?" James queried.
"No, but I don't know if I can give her what she wants." Sirius answered.
James sighed. Why was Sirius too thick and didn't come out with it, did he have to drag it out himself in order to find out what was going on?
"What did she want you to do?" He asked.
Sirius took a deep breath. This was harder than he thought. He was sure that if he came to James and talked to him, he would get his priorities into perspective, but that wasn't happening. He was just couldn't get out of his head the last time he saw Katie in town.
"She wants to get married." He said.
James gasped. Somehow he never thought to see the both of them married, as a couple they were wonderful but as a married couple he wasn't so sure.
"What did you tell her?" James asked. He wondered if she should tell Lily about this.
"I didn't say anything. I don't know James, I don't want to get married yet, you know that, and I thought she did too but doesn't look like she did. She said that after four years she wants our relationship to continue on to the next level and if I didn't want to do so then we might as well break up. She wants a family, she says, she wants a husband and a home, and if I'm not prepared to give her that then so be it. She will look for someone who is willing to give it to her. What am I going to do James? I don't want to lose, but I also don't want to get married." Sirius exclaimed.
James noticed that Sirius was getting agitated and thought that perhaps it was a better idea if they went for a walk and left the girls to play with the puppies with George, he would keep an eye on them and keep them away from mischief.
"George." James turned to the man standing by the girls. "Sirius and I are going for a walk, keep an eye on the girls will you?"
George nodded and turned back to look at the little girls giggling as the puppies tried to climb over them.
James pulled Sirius from the kennels and led him out of the stables. "Come." He said.
Sirius followed him without a word. A circumstance that made James worried. Sirius never was quiet, he always had something to say.
James walked toward the fields, he didn't think the gardens were safe, especially since they could be seen from the front parlor windows and if Lily or his mother saw them they would want to know what was happening. He thought of the maze, they could go there, but they could also get lost. The fields were safer.
"How do you feel about her Sirius?" James finally said breaking the silence.
"I love her of course, I wouldn't have lasted this long with her if I didn't." Sirius responded.
"But the question is, do you love her enough to spend the rest of your life together? If not, then it's probably best if you let her go Sirius. She deserves to have what she wants, and if what she wants most is to get married and have a family then so be it. You don't have a right to keep that away from her Sirius." James said.
"I know, I want her to be happy. But James, how will I survive knowing that I let her go? I don't think I could take it if I saw her flirting with other men and knowing that one of them might be the man who will marry her. I don't know if I could do it James." Sirius exclaimed running his hand through his hair.
"Have you talked to her about this?" James asked.
"No."
"Perhaps it is time that you do so. Make her understand what you feel and what you think, maybe you could come out with an agreement." Urged James. He didn't know what else to say.
"Perhaps. I'll give it a try." Sirius said with a smile.
James sighed with relief. Maybe things would get better for his friend.
"Let's go get the girls. I see that my tenants are starting to store the grain. Feeling like helping with the apples, I think that's Mark and Jonathan in their way to the orchard." James said as he pointed at two men walking away from them toward the large orchard at the far end of the estate.
Sirius smiled. "Sounds like fun. But only if I can have a barrel of that homemade cider that they will prepare with those apples."
James laughed. "Of course you can. I will also have Otty prepare some apple pies for your mother."
"For mother, what about me, I love those pies." Sirius exclaimed.
"Sirius, you like everything, you eat everything." James said with a roll of his eyes.
The two young men walked to the stables and made their way toward the kennels where they found the girls rolling in the hay with the puppies around them and George smiling indulgently down at his charges.
The foursome spent the rest of the afternoon helping the gardeners and the tenants gathering the ripe apples in the orchard. The harvesting party, as Sirius started to call it, ended when James noticed the twins falling asleep on top of full baskets. Sirius and James returned to the house with a girl each in their arms.
James was glad that the neighborhood ladies had left by the time they returned. Lily and Mrs. Potter were busy making plans when they entered by the back parlor.
"Oh the little dears, they must be so tired." Mrs. Potter exclaimed as soon as they entered the parlor.
"We'll take them up mother." James said when he noticed her standing up from her seat.
"Very well dear, nurse will take care of them." Nodded Mrs. Potter and watched as James and Sirius left the room carrying the twins.
Sirius joined the Potters and Lily for dinner. It was a merry meal as Mrs. Potter told them about all the plans that they had started on their afternoon meeting.
".and of course, she is not too happy about it. She was so sure that she would be assigned the management of the food stands, but none of us have forgotten what happened last year when she was in charge of it." Laughed Mrs. Potter.
"Ugh, I shudder to think what she is capable of doing this year if she was in charge of it. Maintenance is too good for her. If she wasn't the wife of the old Colonel, I don't think any of the ladies in this town would invite her to take part of our little society circle." Said James.
"Is she really that bad? I thought she was a bit common and crude but I thought that it might be because she was brought up in the country." Lily said.
"Oh no, she grew up in the city all right. She is the illegitimate daughter of a titled gentleman, his name was never disclosed of course. But you can imagine what kind of education she had. She took advantage of an old wealthy man. I don't know how the Colonel fell into her trap, but there you are. Now we are stuck with that hussy." Mrs. Potter scoffed. Everybody knew she wasn't too happy with the new wife of their oldest neighbor.
"Well mum, Sirius here has agreed to help me with the plans for our game." James said trying to keep his mother's mind of their neighbor, he really didn't want to here it all over again.
"I have?" Sirius asked with a lift of his brow.
"Oh dear, how wonderful, I'm sure our tenants will enjoy it." Mrs. Potter said taking no notice of Sirius surprise.
Lily giggled behind her napkin.
James smiled at Lily, he understood her laughter, Sirius' face was precious.
"I'm sure it will be the finest of all time." Mrs. Potter said.
"What kind of game is it?" Lily asked as soon as she could get hold of her laughter.
"Quidditch." James proudly exclaimed.
Of course, Lily thought with a roll of her eyes.
"But won't it be dangerous to have a Quidditch game this close to town? I thought it was against the law to have games near towns, because muggles would see it." Lily said.
"Well, technically it is. That's why the Department of Magical Games and Sports has built the Quidditch Pitches in marshes and isolated areas. But this is not a national event. It's a local event and as long as security measures are taken it is within the law." James said.
"Besides, the Ministry wouldn't dare tell the Potters they can't do something, most of the former Ministers of Magic have come from the Potter family, they have been councils and advisers to the Ministry. The very first Minister was a Potter and they helped create the Ministry as we now know it. The Potters could get away with murder if they were capable of committing one." Exclaimed Sirius.
James looked at Sirius with murder in his eyes and Lily thought that he might have kicked Sirius beneath the table when Sirius stifled a yell and looked at James with hurt.
"Oh don't let Sirius make us seem so saintly Lily, it's true that our family has a long history with the Ministry but I don't think we are favorites. We try to keep everything within the magical laws, we are very careful of doing things the muggle way, especially when we live so close to them." Said Mrs. Potter.
"But how will you make sure that the game will be kept out of muggle eyes?" Lily asked.
"Oh we have a pitch on the estate, it's in the middle of the orchard. The trees line only the perimeter, there are charms and spells protecting the Pitch. If a muggle stumbles into the field they will see a soccer field, in fact some of the children in town come and ask permission to use it on occasion. It's only a Quidditch Pitch to magical eyes. Only the muggles that live within the estate and are aware that we are wizards can see the Pitch, some of them like to go and see it every time we have a game." Explained James.
"And who will play in this game?" Asked Lily.
"The tenants, those who are wizards and witches of course. It has become a tradition to have a game on the night after the Ball." Said Mrs. Potter.
"That's another security measure made by the Ministry. Games are only played in the middle of the night, so most muggles are asleep by the time the game starts." Said Sirius.
"Oh, so will you two play?" Asked Lily. They both seemed so excited about the game.
"Only James will. Only tenants and residents of the town are allowed to play." Said Sirius. "I will be the referee." He said with pride.
"Perhaps we can make and exemption, you might as well live here, you are here all the time." Said James.
Lily laughed, she was glad she had come to take the position. She had only been there for a day and she felt as if she had been part of it for a long time.
Dinner was over, and the conversation continued. Everybody seemed so excited about the plans made. Lily was looking forward to taking part of it, she had never seen an event like it, where muggles and wizards came together and had fun as a community. And she was happy to be part of the planning.
The evening ended on a happy note. Sirius apparated out to his house soon after they left the dining room. Lily and the Potters didn't stay in the parlor for too long either. The estate was soon dark with only a few lighted rooms here and there.
A pair of eyes watched from a distance, disappearing from sight before the sunrise the next morning.
The next weeks were busy and hectic for everybody in town. The large houses invited friends and families, the small businesses in town set up booths in the center of town, and the ladies in the area got together three times a week making sure everything went according to plan.
During this time, Lily became close with Mrs. Potter. Mrs. Potter treated Lily as the daughter she had lost some years ago. James was happy to see this development, but that left no room for him to try to start a relationship with Lily once more. With the twins, things more difficult still. The little girls had come to love Lily. They went to picnics, swims in the lake beyond the gardens, and frequent trips to the kennels to visit the pups that were growing too fast for them.
Sirius was frequent visitor to the estate. Lily knew something was going on with Katie and Sirius but neither said a thing to her. Owls were constantly exchanged between Lily and her two best friends and both had agreed to make time to visit her during the upcoming events. That was enough for her. Her parents had also agreed to come during that time. Lily couldn't be any happier.
The week previous to the Town Harvest Fair was very busy for the Potter household. The servants, muggle and wizard alike, were busy readying rooms and cleaning every piece of the large Ball room that filled the whole first floor of the east wing of the house.
Mrs. Potter, with Lily's help, stayed most of the day planning and designing the decorations for the ballroom.
"What do you think about this color Lily? Do you think fall colors are appropriate?" Asked Mrs. Potter as Lily and Mrs. Potter sat on a couple of chairs in the middle of the ballroom looking at some pieces of fabric.
"Oh, I think it's very appropriate Mrs. Potter, it is the Harvest Ball after all. This shade of yellow seems suitable and if we combine it with this red and this orange it will be perfect." Lily responded.
"Hmmm.you might be right my dear, they look perfect together. Now let's put this aside and I will send Roberts to buy the bolts of fabric in town." Said Mrs. Potter as she separated the fabrics chosen from the rest before putting them aside.
"Mrs. Potter, have you decided what flowers you are going to bring in here, the gardener came this morning to see if you had made that decision." Lily said.
"Oh dear, I had forgotten all about it." Exclaimed Mrs. Potter. "Why don't you choose dear, I trust your taste."
Lily didn't have a chance to respond to this. Mrs. Nichols, the housekeeper, entered at that moment to talk about the menus with Mrs. Potter. Lily shrugged and left the two women alone as she went out to the garden to look for the head gardener and start talking about flowers.
The servants had noticed the way Mrs. Potter trusted Lily with the management of the house on occasions, they also knew that there had been a history between the young woman and their master. It was very clear to them that Mrs. Potter wished for a continuation to that relationship and noticed that the young master was not averse to it. They all hoped that Lily would agree with them and soon became part of the family. She had stolen their hears and got their respect by her easy manners and the help she was willing to give to the household. Needless to say, they were all looking for the outcome and hoped that this event would help bring Lily and James together.
Lily looked around the garden for the Mr. Burns, the head gardener. She hadn't had the chance to really look around the grounds of the estate during the three weeks she had been there.
The House was surrounded by gardens. The front was adorned with stately oak trees lining the wide driveway. At each side, topiaries were seen behind the trees, and a fountain at each side.
On the west side were the green gardens. It was mostly comprised of bushes and hedges, at the back was a set of mazes, that James had once told Lily were created by his grandfather. The center of each maze, James said, was different. One was a covered room, with a day bed and furniture and a door which locked from inside. The others were like small gardens, one had a fountain, one had a pool with small fish swimming in the clear waters, and another had only flowers.
On the back of the house were the kitchen gardens. Herbs, vegetables and fruit were grown here for the needs of the cook.
On the east side was the informal gardens. Rose bushes, orchids, all types of flowers that were carefully tended by the vast number of gardeners that the estate employed. Beyond the garden, walls covered with ivy were seen. These were the closed gardens. There were several gardens in a row. Four walls surrounded each garden a wide door on each wall that lead to the next garden. Each garden was different, exquisite in its own way. There was one, however, at the very end of the row that was completely closed. Lily had stumbled upon it and was very curious about it. Unlike the others, three walls had no doors and the one that did, the door was locked. She tried apparating to it because she thought that perhaps contained magical plants and for that reason had been locked so no muggle would come to it. But it didn't work. A shielding charm had been put upon it. This made her even more curious and made a mental note to ask about it.
Beyond the walled gardens were the greenhouses, in which exotic plants and fruits were grown.
It was here that Lily found the balding, middle aged, Head gardener. He was busy repotting a set of flowers.
"Hello Mr. Burns, I hope I'm not interrupting." Said Lily as she hesitantly approached him.
"Oh Miss, not to worry, this can wait." He said as he wiped his dirty hands on the large apron that covered his clothing.
"Mrs. Potter wanted me to discuss the flowers for the ballroom decorations." Lily explained.
"Of course Miss. If you will follow me, I have some flowers here that might be perfect for it. I have several kinds that would be ready by then to cut." Mr. Burns said as he led Lily toward the back of the greenhouse.
As they progressed through the warm room, Lily looked around with awe at the different types of flowers she saw growing there. There were some that she had never seen before, nor known that could be grown in England. Some were clearly brought over from tropical places. It seemed that every single plant in the world was represented within these four walls, and this was only one of the many greenhouses in the estate.
Mr. Burns finally stopped at the very end of the building. Trellis of ivy covered the walls, on the shelves on the floor, dahlias of every color, size and kind were found. Lily looked around and chose some orange, and yellow peonies and pompon. She also made note to bring into the house some of the large trellis. She also chose some orchids, mostly white and pale pink. Finally some greenery was chosen, and happily she left the greenhouse with ideas for decorating in her mind.
When she arrived to the house, it was in complete chaos.
A/N: I hope this didn't take too long. I remembered as I was editing this chapter that I never told you about the dolls that accompany this story. If you are interested in meeting the characters of this story you can visit my webshots album and see the dolls, the address is http://community.webshots.com/album/45028991uBnciM , you might see some items there that you might not be aware of, that is because in the HP site, this story is ahead some chapters so I download the pictures as I post there. Hope you can visit sometime and like what you find. Don't forget to review. @}----