Chapter 19

Down at the police station, Ray was laying on the hard mattress inside of his cell, while the officer whistled a merry tune, stopping only to take a few sips of his coffee and bite into his doughnut. Finally, the tune stopped and Ray could hear footsteps walk over to his cell door.

"Hey, kid," the officer barked, but not too harshly. Ray didn't say anything, just continued to stare at the metal bars holding up the bunk above him. There was silence for a minute before the officer tried again.

"Kid?" he asked, walking all the way up to the barred door. When Ray remained silent again, he continued to talk. "Look, kid. I was there when we arrested you, and I've been on the force for a long time now. Seen a lot of arrests in my day, and I can usually tell whether we're cuffing a victim or a convict. From what I saw, I'd say you're the former." He stopped for a minute to let his words sink in, and to give Ray a chance to reply. "I know you didn't do it kid, and that's a weighty crime to be sentenced with, so just tell us who did, and we'll let you go. I know that you know who it is, all you have to do, is tell me." He waited by the cell door for another minute, but Ray didn't even moved or rustle. The guard sighed and turned on his heel, walked back to his desk and picked up his tune where he had left off.

Across town, James and Lily were walking through the graveyard. Lily followed James as he expertly dodged in and out, weaving between stones to where his father's grave was. Despite herself, Lily felt a chill rise up her spine and she shivered. James had his back to her as he led the way, and didn't notice. Lily rubbed her arms where goosebumps had appeared and continued walking.

James stopped suddenly and scanned the ground, his eyes finally landing on a humble headstone a few feet away. He walked over and knelt down beside the grave. Lily joined him a second later, but remained standing. He motioned for her to join him on the ground, and Lily faltered for a second before kneeling next to him. James sighed and put one hand on top of the gravestone and put the other around Lily. He closed his eyes and sat there for a minute in silence. Lily felt rather weird as she sat beside him; she had only ever visited her mom's grave, never anyone else's. James opened his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Hey, Dad." His voice splitting through the air almost made Lily jump. She hadn't expected James to start talking to his dead father. The idea sent another chill down her spine. James looked up as she shivered. "You ok?" he asked, and all the anger she had heard earlier suddenly gone from his voice. His eyes probed hers, and she nodded fervently. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," she replied, trying to look sincere.

James watched her for a minute and then sighed. "Lily, I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I just thought that you might want to come with me, and I know that I needed to not do this visit by myself. I come a lot and talk to him, you know, tell him what's new in my life, but if you want to go, you can."

Lily looked startled. "No, I don't want to go, not at all. It's just, well, it's different for me, is all. I never had the strength to do more than leave flowers at my mum's grave before I got scared and ran away." She paused and looked at the ground. "Does that make me a bad person?" she asked. Lily could feel the tears forming in her eyes and prayed that they wouldn't fall; James didn't need any more problems right now.

James put both his hand around her face and lifted her head up so that she was looking straight at him. "Of course that doesn't make you a bad person. You love your mom, and she knows that. It's just harder for you to do some things, that's all." He stopped and wiped away the tear that had fallen down Lily's pale cheek. "Lily, I wouldn't change my life for the world, because if I did, I might not have you." He looked right into her eyes as he continued. "You are so special to me, Lily." He stopped and took a deep breathe.

"Lily, I love you." The words fell upon Lily like a brick in her stomach. She gasped involuntarily and stared at James. But then, as quickly as the weight had come, it was lifted. Lily felt herself still crying, but also smiling the biggest smile of her life. She laughed and cried and smiled at James, who couldn't tell what was happening.

Se laughed again at the confused expression on his face. Putting her hand on his knee she said, "James, I love you, too." And then she leaned in and kissed him, the tears from her wet cheeks rubbing off onto his skin. She could feel him smiling as he kissed her back, his hands pulling her closer to him. Finally they broke and looked at each other.

"Wow," James whispered.

She looked at him. "What?" she asked.

He didn't reply, he just took her hands in his and turned back to the gravestone. "Dad, there's someone I want you to meet."

Near the end of their break, all of the kids attended Mrs. Potter's funeral. She was buried in the spot next to Mr. Potter's grave. Lily held James' hand all through the ceremony, and stayed with him afterward to say good-bye. The next day, they packed up their stuff and left the somber-looking house, which had been left to James after his mother's death. They took the train back to Hogwarts and began getting on with their lives as normally as they could.

Near the end of the year, when they were all studying hard for their final exams at Hogwarts, Remus received a letter from the ministry saying that his brother, Ray, had been tried for the murder of Mrs. Potter. He had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years to life in Azkaban for his crime. Remus was allowed the chance to see his brother once before he would be sent off to the prison, but did not choose to take them up on this offer. He showed the letter to James, who smiled weakly and thanked him. James had managed not to hold a grudge against Remus, just because it had been his brother who had killed James' mother.

On the last day of school, the group rode back on the Hogwarts Express for the last time together. They laughed and joked with each other, trying to avoid the inevitable sadness that would fall upon them when they were forced to say good-bye and part ways. James and Lily walked through the barrier together, holding hands. They said their good-byes, Lily sobbing uncontrollably as she hugged everyone and promised it wouldn't be the last time they saw each other; James shook hands with the guys, trying to look macho and pulled together, until he had to say good-bye to Remus. He was going to shake his hand like he done with the others, but at the last second, he grabbed his friend and gave him a hug.

"I'll miss you, man," he said, letting go and beaming at his friend.

"I'll miss you, too, James. Give me a call, I have the whole summer off before I start my first year teaching at Hogwarts, you know," Remus replied, smiling broadly.

"I still can't believe it," James said, giving his friend one last pat on the back before he and Lily wheeled their stuff towards the front doors, waving at their friends as they left. When they finally got outside the station, they looked around.

James looked at Lily. "So, where are we going?" he asked her.

"Well, before we go home, I want to make a pit stop and visit someone," she replied.

"Ok, who are we visiting, your step-dad?" he asked her. Lily shook her head no and smiled.

"We're visiting my mum." She grinned at James and he smiled back. He kissed Lily on the forehead, and then they and their luggage dissapperated with a pop, leaving their empty carts behind to wait for the next set of people to come.