Hello guys. I know it has been some time, but this was a necessary compromise. I am currently facing my semester ending examinations and with all this project and stuff, I was busy and my updates have been slow. I still have my exams for two more weeks, but I have made arrangements to keep my work going on and so, you will not be disappointed this time.
Coming to the point, I know many of you were waiting for the chapter and now that it is here, I won't hold you for long. Let me just put it out there that I have started a new fic on Patr3on. A Harry/Fleur fanfiction that I was in my mind for a long time which goes by the name ' THE VEELA AND HER LION'. I am excited for this and I hope most of you would be too. This will be coming here very soon.
To gain access for that though, you can do so in here- ht tps/ww w.pat re on . com/hadri anpotter peverell (remove the spaces please)
Anyway, go on and enjoy the fic.
Chapter 23- James and Lily
The people in the Peverell Manor knew nothing about what took place in the ministry. Everyone of them had received a rare holiday and they were spending it together. Lily, James, Narcissa, Peter, Remus, Sirius, Frank and Alice along with Marlene were all spending time in the Peverell Manor.
Any holiday the lot of them get, they make it a point to spend it together. They spent very little time together and they made it a point to spend free time with each other. They had been spending time together and had no idea what had transpired in the Ministry.
Narcissa felt somewhat uneasy. She didn't know why,but she felt that something was wrong.
She conveyed the same to her sister as she bobbed little Nymphadora on her lap.
"I don't know why. Andi. I just feel terrible inside." She said and Andromeda rolled her eyes. Her sister was acting all weird from the moment her boyfriend left for the Wizengamot.
"For the last time, there is nothing going on, Cissy. Everything is fine. Stop worrying unnecessarily." She assured her little sister.
"But…" Andromeda cut her off.
"No. Stop it Narcissa. You are acting weird today." She muttered.
Narcissa huffed and looked away before a giggle pulled her attention. She smiled when she saw her niece smiling at her.
"Do you find that funny?" She questioned with a mock stern tone. Nymphadora giggled once more. "Oh, be quiet you." She bumped her nose with her finger.
They watched Lily, Alice and Marlene trudge in doors. Narcissa and Andromeda smirked.
"So, the boys are off playing quidditch." The three girls groaned.
"I don't want to hear one more word regarding Quidditch for the rest of the day." Lily muttered as she collapsed on to the sofa. Marlene and Alice joined them on the sofa.
"They have been blabbering about that god-forsaken game and their brooms and stuff from breakfast. One more word and I would curse the lot of them." Marlene growled.
"Thank god Harry was not with them today. He would have been the same had he been here." Narcissa spoke fondly. "He still regrets not listening to his brother and playing seeker for Gryffindor." She said.
"I honestly don't know how he managed to stop himself from playing. He is a quidditch fanatic according to Frank." Alice mentioned.
"No." Narcissa disagreed. "He likes flying more than quidditch. That is why he plays Quidditch in the first place. Yes, he likes the sport, but flying is more appealing to him." She explained.
"I wonder what went on in the Wizengamot?" Alice questioned. "It was something they had been planning for days together and I really needed to know what they were going to do." She mused.
"If not for this stupid training sessions and workdays, I could have attended the session or rather coerced my father to take me." She said.
"For some reason, they kept all of this to themselves. Neither Grandfather nor Uncle Charlus discussed this with anybody. And I wonder even if they themselves know the entire plan." Narcissa frowned.
"I must be something that would put a huge dent in the Dark Lord's plans. I do not see an issue in keeping it secret if that is the case."
"Whatever might be the case. I never pegged Harry as someone who can play politics. He is too straightforward for that, isn't he?" Lily asked.
The more and more she learnt of Harry, Lily could never be prouder of the man that her supposed son from the future had grown up to be. He was every bit the personality that she had imagined her children would have.
What more could she ask? Smart, powerful, passionate, protective, temperamental, caring and kind. If any child she has possesses half the qualities she sees in Harry, she would consider herself blessed.
She looked out the window and caught sight of James Potter. A smile made its way to her face slowly. Was he the same young boy who kept pestering her to date him, all the while confessing his undying love towards her?
James had grown a lot from that arrogant and troublesome eleven-year-old she had known. That is what attracted her to him in the first place. For all his mistakes, she would not have him any other way.
Her sweet and silly James.
She loved him. She loved him very much and she would confess her feelings towards him. She knew he felt the same way.
Now that she thought about it, Harry was the spitting personality of James minus all the mischief and pranking.
Lily smiled in the memory of the two. They would surely cause her age to speed up with the amount of trouble they brought between them. One a trouble magnet and the other, a trouble maker.
She slowly rubbed her belly. There was a reason why she kept thinking of a baby and their life ahead all of a sudden. Lily was pregnant. That was the reason why she craved all these thoughts. To be frank, she was scared. She was scared of James's reaction to her news.
She was scared of her mother's reaction and the reaction of the Potter family if she reveals this news. She had to say something. She could not hide this fact. That won't be very much fair on the Potters and most importantly, James.
She took a deep breath. She was sure that James would be supportive of her, though he would lose his marbles when he hears this news.
She would inform her boyfriend about this. She won't hide this issue from him.
—--
Outside the manor, James Potter was thinking along the same lines of his girlfriend. But his worry was regarding a whole different issue. He placed a hand in his pocket and his hand touched a small box. He sighed softly.
"What is wrong with you, Prongs?" James almost fell off his broom in surprise.
"Merlin's beard, Sirius. What were you thinking?" James scowled at the boy.
"You are wandering, James. What is the matter?" Sirius frowned. The Black heir narrowed his eyes on the boy. "You don't have to hide things from me, Prongs. You can lie to anybody, but you surely can't lie to me."
James had to agree. Sirius could see through his paltry attempts of lying rather extremely easily.
"Promise that you will keep it to yourself until I say so?" Sirius frowned, but still nodded.
James slowly retrieved the box from his pocket and showed it to Sirius.
Sirius's eyes widened when he understood what was going on. He gaped for a few seconds until his face broke into a splitting grin. "Is that…?" He trailed off and James nodded.
Sirius grinned once more before placing an arm on the boy's shoulder after flying next to him.
"I am very happy, mate. You are making the right decision." He encouraged the boy.
"You and Lily will make a great pair." Sirius said.
"So, when do you plan to ask the question?" James shook his head.
"Today. More likely, right now." He nodded towards the door and they watched the girls walking towards them. James winked at Sirius and flew down towards Lily. He didn't stop entirely, instead pulled the girl on the broom with him.
Lily shrieked in surprise when she felt someone grab her waist and she closed her eyes tightly as she felt her legs leave the solid ground. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was flying. She turned around and James's grinning face came into view.
"You prat!" She hissed as she slapped his arm. "I was scared out of my wits." James chuckled.
"Lily Evans and scared?" James' expression was of mock shock as he chuckled once more.
"You are a firecracker, Lily. Fear itself is afraid of you." He joked.
James decided to tease her a bit. He held her by her waist and in a moment, raised the speed of the broom. Lily closed her eyes, clutching the front of his robes tightly. She screamed in fear and also the exhilaration that she felt at the experience.
She never liked to fly. Yes, she didn't hate it, but she didn't go out of her way to love the feeling of flight. Not like her crazy boyfriend, though.
James was an excellent flier and a crazy one as well. Some of the things he does on a broom brought chills to her back. She knew that it would be a wasted attempt to tell him to stop. You just can't take away Quidditch and flying from James Potter.
She opened her eyes and gathered his attention. James nodded his understanding and slowed down. They had come a long way into the forests behind the Manor. James started to descend at a spot he had seen once while flying.
He and Lily jumped away from the broom and sat down on the ground.
"This place is beautiful. When did you find it?"
"We were flying and we saw this place. Harry showed us this place and I liked it instantly." James whispered. Lily hummed, before sighing and resting her head on his shoulders.
"I have something to say…" The both of them announced together without missing a beat. They stared at each other and began laughing.
"You first…" they spoke once more, together, leading to more laughter.
"All right…" Lily interrupted. "You go first, James." James nodded.
"Well…it's like this…" He felt himself begin to sweat as the girl watched him curiously.
"The thing is….Lily…I.." He took a deep breath and gathered any and all Gryffindor courage he could muster. "Well…you know how I feel about you, Lily. I have had my eyes on you and only you all my life. I decided when I was eleven that you are the one for me. I hoped that you would reciprocate my feelings. Back then, I was immature. I was the Potter heir. I could have anyone I wanted. I felt like I would have you too." He chuckled, rubbing his neck.
"Oh boy was I wrong." He said. "Here I was, the Potter heir and apparently, a very important person in the Wizarding World even though I am so young. And there was this girl with brilliant red hair and beautiful green eyes who had the gall to reject me, even though she is a muggle born." He smiled.
"Instead of being offended that would have been the case for most of the pureblood eleven year old boys, I decided that this girl was a goddess." He continued.
"I tried my best to get this goddess to reciprocate my feelings, but I went on to mess up badly, every time."
"I had my lucky stars to thank when you finally took notice of me." He said. "I knew that I had to change. If it was my behavior that you found repelling, I decided to not be that guy. That turned out to be the best decision of my life. I finally had you." He took a deep breath.
"You have brought out the best in me Lily. You have made me a better person. You have given me your love. You have given me your heart. You are all I want and that is true for the rest of my life. " He brought out the box and opened it. He heard Lily gasp.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be yours and no one else. I want to live a happy and fulfilling life with you at my side. Lily Evans….will you do the honor of being my wife?" He watched as the girl began to cry.
She sat quietly for sometime, her sniffing being the only sound accompanying the cool breeze of the woods. James suddenly began to worry. "Lily…"
The girl leaned forward and kissed him passionately. James wrapped an arm around the girl's waist and kissed her back. They stared at each other once the kiss was broken.
"Yes." She whispered with a smile.
James's face blossomed at the answer, his smile threatening to split his face in half. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his once more and this time held out passionately.
James broke the kiss and retrieved the ring from its box. He placed the ring on her finger and pushed it forward.
Lily stared at the ring on her hand and a few tears leaked from her eyes. "I love you." She whispered and hugged the boy tightly, with all the strength she could muster.
They stayed within the embrace, without making a sound. James extracted himself from the hug. "You wanted to tell me something as well, right?"
Lily became nervous as the question was posed to her. She didn't know how to break the news. She had gathered her Gryffindor courage, but now, when the time was here, she felt scared.
She felt her chin being lifted up. She looked into his warmth-filled eyes. "You can tell me anything, Lily. Don't worry."
Lily swallowed and sighed.
"I am pregnant." She whispered. She turned away from the boy's face. She feared his reaction.
James had frozen in shock when he understood what was troubling Lily. Whatever he was expecting, this was not it. He had other things in his mind, probably regarding something he had done, but this best them all.
"What?" He whispered, his eyes still wide.
"I am pregnant, James." She whispered.
James gaped at the girl before his face broke into a smile unlike she had ever seen. He stood up and picked the girl up in his arms and started to turn in circles, laughing in joy.
Lily shrieked in surprise, clutching onto his robes tightly. James stopped for a moment.
"I am becoming a father?" Lily nodded shyly. James whooped in delight, causing the birds nearby to fly away. "That is amazing, Lily." He shouted out in joy, hugging the girl once more.
"That is the best news that you could have given me." He kissed the girl chastely on the lips.
"Mum and Dad will be overjoyed." He said. Lily nodded, uncertainty evident on her face.
"Do you think so?" She questioned. "Wouldn't they be angry?"
"I have become pregnant outside the wedlock, James. However willing your traditional parents might be accepting of me, I don't see them being too happy with what we have done." She began to tear up. Your mother is a Black and they are very traditional. More so than you Potters. You said so yourself." She explained.
"What if they don't accept me? What if they hate me? What if they start hating you?" She was now hyperventilating. James placed a comforting hand on hers.
"Silly girl." He chuckled. "For being one of the brightest minds of our age, you are silly sometimes, Lily," James said.
"True, they are traditional. True that they would not be very happy about this slip-up of ours. But let me assure you, they would not go as far as to hate you for this. They like you, Lily. Even my mother. She might not be as sensitive as my uncle regarding your blood status, but that is a sensitive issue for her. And she likes you a lot." He frowned.
"Moreover, it is my choice who I marry. Yes, I botched up and should have been careful, but I don't regret my actions for one single second. Not now, not then and certainly never." He assured the girl.
"If my parents have something to say about that, then we have to have some serious talk." He smiled. "Don't worry. They won't be angry at you. More like they will bite my head off for this." He grinned ruefully.
Lily laughed softly. James could take away her worry without even trying much. He was special that way. She considered herself very lucky that she could land him. She stared at the beautiful diamond that he had placed on her finger.
She was James Potter's fiancee. She was engaged to James Potter. She was carrying his baby. She was having a family of her own.
—--
"Sirius? What do you know?" Narcissa narrowed her eyes at the Black heir
"What….? I really don't know." Sirius tried to convince them of his innocence.
"Then why is there that stupid smug look on your face?" She asked sweetly as she flicked her wand into her hand. The rest of them watched the two with amusement.
Their banters were nothing new for them. He liked getting on her nerves and she loved to respond equally to his teasing.
Sirius smirked. "I am an auror Cissy, my dear. Do you really want to try hexing an Auror of all people?"
He asked.
Narcissa frowned for a second before her look of haughtiness came back in full force.
"You are a trainee, Black. Not a full fled auror. And why do I need to think to curse you? Did you forget who my boyfriend is?"
Sirius gaped at the come back, and gulped when he saw the look in her eyes.
"Uhmm…" He made to run away, but a stinging hex hit him.
"Oi…" He glared at the girl who smiled innocently. "So, Auror. Scared of little old me?" She questioned cheekily.
"Damn you, Harry." Sirius muttered, still rubbing his back side.
They heard a whoosh and saw that James and Lily returned from wherever they had been.
"Where were you?" Alice didn't even wait till they were on the ground to ask her a question.
James and Lily looked at each other and smiled. Lily held out her hand displaying the ring on her finger.
"So you did it?" Sirius questioned with a grin, pulling the two in a hug. A bout of silence and the females let out squeals of delight, and crowded around the engaged couple wishing them and peering at the ring.
James moved away from the girl and the ladies, letting them have their fun. Frank and Remus slapped him on the back, shooting a grin at the young man.
"Way to go, James." Frank grinned. "Who knew that Lily Evans would finally agree to marry James Potter? After all these years." Remus joked.
"Do you guys remember what I told you regarding Lily on the first day of Hogwarts in our first year?" He questioned.
"I promised that day that I would marry that girl one day. There you go." He smirked.
"I got the girl. I kept my word."
"I never thought that Lily would finally relent to getting together with you." Peter piped.
"She used to get annoyed by you a lot. You would trouble the girl a lot."
"I decided to take mercy on him, Peter." Lily smirked. "I took pity on him. He was trying too hard, the poor boy. Or else, he would have been alone for the rest of his life." She replied.
James glared at his laughing friends. "Oh…shut up." He muttered. Lily stood next to him and held his hands. The two stared at each other and nodded.
"That is not all, guys." James once more spoke to them. He took a deep breath. "Lily is pregnant." He announced.
The surprise this time was now beating the first one. The stunned audience had certainly not expected this of all the things. Getting engaged is one thing, but hearing that they are expecting a child, was something they hadn't thought.
"You better not be lying, James. If you are trying to pull one of your stupid tricks to play a prank, then it is a really bad one. This is not a joking matter, James." Remus chastised.
Lily was the one who put all their doubts to rest. "James is right." She clarified.
"We should have been more careful." She admitted. "But in the heat of the moment, we forgot the contraception and one thing led to another." She finished.
"We have no regrets." James assured the others. "This won't be a mistake. My son or daughter won't be called a mistake. Yes, it is too soon, but we welcome this change. In fact, I can't wait for the little one to be born."
The others stared at the couple. Andromeda broke the silence.
"If the two of you are ready, then who are we to disagree with ? I for one am very happy." She gushed. "Dora wil have a companion to play with." There were chuckles of agreement at that.
That was true. If they are so sure of their decision, they would support them.
"How cool will it be to have a young and impressionable nephew?" Sirius asked his best friend.
James nodded excitedly. "I know. It would be wonderful. He would be the epitome of mischief. I would teach him everything and he can wreak havoc at Hogwarts." James finished, grinning mischievously.
"Want to bet that the baby will be exactly like Harry?" Peter piped up. James, Sirius, Lily, Andromeda and Narcissa stared at one another.
"Wh…what do you mean, Peter?" James questioned.
"No. Just see. If it is a boy, and he has green eyes just like Harry and the Potter facial structure, ergo, we have a mini Harry." Peter explained, soothing the worry of the Potter and Blacks by not catching on to the point that they feared.
It was becoming increasingly difficult for them to hold this a secret, especially their friends.
Harry felt the same. He felt guilty most of the time to keep this a secret, and he wondered how to come clean with his secret. He decided that he would inform them of it, but in his time.
"Peter is not wrong, guys." Sirius exclaimed. "It would be a copy of Harry." Sirius smiled mischievously. "Oh the horror!" He mock exclaimed.
Narcissa scowled at the boy.
"If you don't stop getting on my nerves, Sirius, I would have to bring in a little more colorful curses that I have been taught." Sirius grimaced. Narcissa was a mean girl if she wanted to be and Harry is one issue that she is sensitive about. She doesn't like it if anybody talked bad about Harry.
"I sincerely hope your son is not like Harry. He has a mean streak and I really don't want to be at the end of his wand. Git. Teaching Narcissa all those curses." Laughter rang through the manor at Sirius's expense.
They were engrossed in their talks that they failed to notice the floo roar into life and Arcturus walked in.
He noticed that the youngsters were gathered up and were discussing something.
It was Sirius who noticed his arrival.
"Grandfather?" The youngsters frowned in confusion as to why the man was here.
"What are you doing here and where is Harry?" Sirius questioned.
Arcturus's face was solemn. It was at that moment that Narcissa figured out that something was wrong. She felt that feeling come back in spades. That weird feeling that something was wrong.
"Grandfather?" Her tone was shaky.
"What has happened?" She asked once more.
"There was an attack at the ministry." He said. "There was a dementor attack on the Ministry and Harry used a spell to kill the dementors." Everybody was surprised by this information. That was something no one had heard of before.
"The Dark Lord took that moment to strike. Harry was severely exhausted from the spell and he was spouting blood due to exertion. Dumbledore and him had a fight. They fought long and just when he was go be overpowered, Tom struck Harry with a ritualised dagger."
"What!?" James questioned, his tone hard and shocked. "Tell me nothing has happened." He whispered. Begged to be precise.
"It was extremely severe. His condition is critical. Touch and go sort of situation, Dorea says." Narcissa had enough. A sob escaped her without anybody's knowledge and she was moving towards the floo. She wanted to see him herself.
She didn't listen to anybody and just stepped into the floo, her mind racing with a hundred thoughts on what her grandfather just spoke of.
"No…he will be fine. It might just be a few injuries. Aunt Dorea will surely do something about it." She assured herself.
"The Dark Lord is no match for my Harry. He just got lucky and he was tired." She spoke as the floo roared.
"Harry just won't leave us."
The floo room of Potter Manor came to view and she stepped out and made her way to Harry's room.
"If this is some kind of joke, I will kill them." She gritted out as she hastened to the room.
TBC--
Hey guys. The next chapter. I hope you guys like it. As usual, I welcome all your opinions or ideas. Reach out to me here or on my discord server.
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As I said, you can access my new fic 'THE VEELA AND HER LION' and 'HERE WE GO AGAIN' on my patr3on portal and you can also read ahead on my current fic, BACK TO THE BEGINNING which can be found here-
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I would like it if you guys keep the likes and the reviews coming. It helps. Really helps. On that note, I will see you guys soon. Ciao!!