Jily Meets Harmony Challenge
Must include:
1. James/Lily and Harry/Hermione strictly.
2. James and Lily must be alive. Either by surviving Halloween, coming back to life, or their canon deaths never happening/being avoided. (Can include either Time Travel or a Canon Divergence event)
3. Sirius should also live and be free/exonerated.
4. Lily must at some point braid Hermione's hair.
5. James and Harry must at some point fly together
6. Harry cannot have a Boy Who Lived (Or Wrong Boy Who Lived) sibling.
7. No Jily bashing
Optional:
1. A line from James: "Are you sure you don't fancy Hermione?"
2. A line from Lily: "You know, Harry is lucky to have you."
3. A line from Sirius: "I'm trying to decide which pair of you lovebirds is more [_]."
Harry grinned when he heard the knock on the door. "I'll get it, Mum!" he yelled as he sprinted towards the door. Lily and James shared an amused look when they saw his impatience.
"Mine! You're here!" Harry squealed as he threw open the door and lunged at his best friend. Hermione laughed, throwing her arms around Harry's shoulders.
"Hey, Harry," she mumbled in his shoulder as Harry picked her up into his arms. "I missed you."
Harry's smile stretched from ear to ear when he heard her admission. He had missed her too; they hadn't ever been apart for so long. Hermione had gone overseas to study Ancient Runes, and Harry hadn't seen her for the entire summer. In his opinion, that was a crime as he had never spent any summer without her ever since they had become friends.
"Can you put me down now?" Hermione asked, amused, as Harry carried her into the house.
"Nope," Harry said, shaking his head. "I've spent three months, one week, four days and thirteen hours without you. I'm not letting you go now."
Hermione's heart melted at his refusal to put her down and she wrapped her arms around him again. Harry grinned as he carried her into the living room where James and Lily were seated. "Look what arrived on our doorstep, Dad!"
James jumped off the couch and hurried over to try and extract Hermione from Harry's arms. "Let me have a look at the present, Bambi," he teased.
"Uncle James, I missed you," Hermione said with a smile as she stretched her arms out and hugged him, still within Harry's arms.
"And what about me? I'm your favourite Aunt, right?" Lily teased good-naturedly, standing up from the couch and coming over to hug Hermione.
"Of course, Aunt Lily. Harry, put me down," Hermione said, but Harry refused to do it. He tightened his arms around her and walked over to the couch.
Lily and James simply grinned when they saw his actions. Harry might have had a smile on his face, but they both knew that he was emotional over meeting his best friend after such a long time.
"So, how was Egypt?" Lily asked Hermione excitedly. Hermione grinned and shifted on Harry's lap before she started rambling about her glorious trip. Harry had heard about every little thing that had happened on the trip already, but he still listened to her intently; they had talked via a small mirror every day. But listening to her talk when she was across the seas and when she was right there with him was different; he knew he preferred her telling him everything while she was with him.
Harry smiled as Hermione gesticulated while she spoke about the pyramids and the tombs she had seen. Merlin, how he had missed her… He had felt so lonely without her all these months. He tightened his arms around her infinitesimally, a lump forming in his throat as he buried his face in her hair, but Hermione noticed it and glanced at him. She squeezed his hand and leaned back into his chest, still talking to Lily and James.
When Regulus Black had arrived on the Potters' doorstep with the news that Voldemort had made a Horcrux and Peter Pettigrew was on his side, everything had changed dramatically. The Order had infiltrated the Death Eaters' houses with the Aurors and arrested everyone with a Dark Mark; most of them were the Wizarding elite and the news shook the Wizarding World to its core.
Regulus Black was hailed as a hero, even though the title made the young man very uncomfortable. Sirius and Regulus soon made up and their relationship strengthened from finally being on the same side of the war.
Harry had grown up with his parents by his side, unaware of how close he had been to losing them. He'd gone to Hogwarts and met Hermione Granger; they had become best friends in a few days despite their interests being different. Lily and James had seen their son develop feelings for his best friend, but he hadn't ever admitted his feelings out loud.
As James watched his son lovingly tighten his arms around Hermione, he decided it was time to talk to his son about what he intended to do next. He said, "Hey, kids, I've got an idea. How about you stay over for the night? We could go out and have dinner together."
Hermione smiled and asked, "You won't mind, Harry?"
Harry snorted and shook his head, still trying to force the lump in his throat down. "Why would I mind? I love having you over… Mum always makes your favourites - which coincidentally are my favourites, but Mum doesn't make them for me."
Lily rolled her eyes and said, "It's because you eat too much already, Harry."
James ruffled Harry's hair and said, "You're going to end up like Padfoot. Fat and -"
"Did you just call me fat, Prongs?" Sirius yelled as he threw open the main door and rushed in to tackle James to the ground.
"Uncle Pads! Be careful! You two are old now," Harry taunted as he watched his father and godfather wrestle on the floor.
"Hey, Mione," Sirius called out as he elbowed James' ribs. James made an 'oof' sound and kicked Sirius' shin, making Lily shake her head in amusement at the men's immature antics.
"Hi, Uncle Sirius," Hermione said with a brilliant smile. She loved Harry's family just as much as she loved hers, and they loved her just as much in return. It simply proved another thing to Harry: she was born to join his family and be his.
"Nice to see you got tanned," Sirius commented as he straddled James' back and yanked his arms behind his back. James wailed in annoyance and bucked under him.
"Geroff me, Pads! Merlin, you're heavy!"
"You called me fat again! How dare you?" Sirius yelled as he held James down. James suddenly shifted into his Animagus form under Sirius, and all of a sudden, Sirius was clutching onto Prongs' antlers for dear life as the majestic stag ran around the living room.
"Yeehaw! Ride 'em, cowboy!" Sirius said in a terrible Southern accent as he pretended to be riding a horse. Their audience laughed as James managed to buck Sirius off his back and he fell to the carpeted floor with a soft thud. James shifted back and laughed at Sirius' annoyed expression.
"Come with me outside, Mine," Harry whispered in her ear while Sirius and James argued about who was fatter and older - even though they both had slim and trim bodies as required for the dangerous profession of Magical Law Enforcement.
Hermione entwined her fingers with his and walked out of the door with Harry; their disappearance went unnoticed by the men, but not Lily. Harry walked her to the broom shed and Accioed his Firebolt.
"Want to go on a ride, Mine?"
Hermione laughed and said, "Only if it's with you… You know I don't like flying."
Harry pulled her onto the broom in front of him and placed his hands on its handle, his arms wrapped snugly around her waist. Hermione beamed at his gentle touch; she always felt so safe when he was around like nothing would ever be able to harm her if he was by her side.
Their broom slowly rose into the air, and Hermione leaned back against his chest. Harry sighed contentedly when he felt her back against his front, and he murmured, "I missed this so much."
Hermione turned her head to look at him and whispered, "I missed this too, Harry. You're a wonderful flyer…"
Harry grinned and said, "That reminds me… I've got a surprise for you." He flew up steadily to make sure she didn't get startled and then flew towards the medium-sized Quidditch hoops Sirius and James had been adamant in installing for Harry back when he was five years old.
He flew around the hoops, increasing his speed, and Hermione laughed as the wind whipped her hair into Harry's face. "How can you see when my hair's in your face?"
Harry smirked suddenly and closed his eyes. Hermione cried out with shock when she realized what he had done and yelled, "I'm going to kill you, Harry Potter!"
Harry guffawed and said, "Trust me, Mine, I'll keep you safe."
"How? By killing us both?" she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest at his behaviour.
"I've practised this trick before, I promise. I won't let us fall. Now, hold on tight, okay?" He tilted the Firebolt up and, to Hermione's horror, started to rise even higher through the air.
"If we die because of your tricks, I'm going to come back and haunt you," Hermione yelled as the wind whipped past them, their ears popping at the sudden air pressure. Harry simply laughed at her dramatics and levelled his broom carefully, his eyes still closed.
"If we die, how would you haunt me?" Harry teased as he slowly tilted his broom down.
"Semantics, Harry," Hermione cried and then realized what he was about to do. "No, no, no! You're not going to no-"
"Nosedive!" Harry yelled as he clenched his eyes shut, tightened his arms around Hermione's waist and dove through the air towards the ground at a neck-breaking speed. Hermione's screams deafened him and he laughed as his heart thundered against his ribs at his reckless actions. He had practised this trick a million times in the past three months and he knew they would be fine.
Just before they reached the ground, Harry instinctively pulled his broom up and came to a slow stop. Hermione was panting as she stumbled off of his broom and fell to the ground onto her knees. "I'm going to kill you once I get the feeling back in my legs," she muttered, her eyes glassy due to the harsh wind.
"Was it that bad?" Harry asked innocently as he sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Hermione scowled at him and buried her face in her hands. They both knew she was perfectly safe with Harry even when he did something reckless.
"Don't be so stupid again," Hermione mumbled, smacking his arm weakly. Her stomach had plummeted as they had plunged towards the earth, and she could still feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins after the incident.
"You love me," Harry teased as he ruffled her hair and kissed her temple sweetly.
"Merlin knows why," Hermione grumbled good-naturedly as he nudged her with his shoulder.
Harry beamed and said, "So, for the surprise now… Guess who's the new Seeker for Tutshill Tornadoes?"
Hermione gasped and whirled around to face him. "You? You got the job? When? Oh, this is amazing! I'm so happy for you!" She laughed as she threw her arms around Harry's shoulders and peppered kisses all over his face. Harry laughed heartily at her enthusiastic reaction and hugged her to his chest.
"Yeah, I got the position last week. I was hoping I could tell you in-person," he said, grinning at her happily.
"This is great news! Did you tell everyone?" Hermione asked enthusiastically.
'"No, not yet. I wanted you to be the first to know," he admitted sheepishly, his admission making Hermione's heart melt. How cute was he?
"When will you tell them?" Hermione asked.
"Now's the right time," Harry said, "You've heard the news, so now I can tell everyone else."
They went back inside and Harry called out to the three adults. "Guys, I've got some news for you all." Hermione beamed up at him and squeezed his hand encouragingly.
"Are you two -" Sirius trailed off pointedly.
"Are we what?" the two of them asked, confused.
Lily slapped Sirius' arm and shook her head. James said, "Forget him. What's your news?"
Harry took a deep breath in and said excitedly, "I'm the Seeker for the Tornadoes!"
"No! This can't be! Please say it ain't so!" Sirius and James wailed dramatically, looking horrified at his news.
"I thought you'd be happy for him," Lily said, annoyed at their wailing.
"Yeah, he's a Seeker, that's great news, Lils…. But he's the Tornadoes' Seeker! Tornadoes! What about all the times we cheered for Holyhead Harpies? The Harpies' are our team! How could you do this to us, Fawn?" James yelled dramatically.
"He's betrayed us all," Sirius whispered, falling to his knees.
"Oh, don't be absurd. He's not betraying you guys," Lily said, rolling her eyes. She turned to Harry and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you, my darling! You'll be great!"
"Thanks, Mum," Harry said, kissing his mother's cheek.
"We've got a bone to pick with you, kid," Sirius growled as he grabbed Harry's arm and started to drag him out of the door.
James said, "Oh, deer! For real doe, you are in trouble, Prongslet, for deserting us." He followed the two of them out of the door.
"We're going flying, Lily!" Sirius yelled over his shoulder.
Lily chuckled and called out, "As long as you don't kill him, it's fine."
Hermione laughed and said, "They're like little kids sometimes, aren't they?"
Lily groaned and said, "Only good thing is they can handle themselves."
"Most of the time," Hermione added teasingly.
Lily laughed and agreed. The two women walked upstairs to get the room ready for Hermione; the guest room was unofficially Hermione's as she spent a lot of time at Harry's place. In return, Harry too had a bedroom at the Grangers' house in Hampstead.
Hermione smiled as she entered the room and looked around. The room had a black-and-white theme which Harry had selected with Hermione in mind. The cupboard was filled with Hermione's clothes and the bathroom had Hermione's essentials. The walls were decorated with several quotes and drawings the two children had made over their years together.
Lily watched Hermione with a look of adoration in her eyes. She had always wanted a daughter, but they hadn't ever been able to conceive after Harry's birth. Hermione was the next best thing, and Lily had always made sure to remind her that she was a part of their family too. She had a feeling Hermione fancied Harry but was too scared of ruining her friendship with him. Now that Hermione had returned from her trip, Lily decided to poke and prod at Hermione's feelings a bit.
"So… what's going on with you these days? Now that the boys are out, tell me if you've met anyone on your travels," Lily said teasingly.
Hermione shook her head and replied, "No, I didn't meet anyone. I was too busy studying."
"Hmm… Come here. I'll braid your hair. Did Harry fly too fast with you again?" Lily asked, amused, as she patted the space beside her on the bed.
Hermione sat down, her back facing Lily, and nodded. "Yes, I wanted to kill him… But then he told me his news."
Lily chuckled and said, "I had a feeling he had something to share with us, but he somehow managed to keep it secret."
Hermione giggled and said, "That's a miracle… He's not very good at keeping secrets."
"Like father, like son," Lily teasingly remarked, brushing Hermione's hair with the comb. She carefully parted her hair into five sections to start braiding.
Hermione sighed and said, "I'm really happy for him, Aunt Lily. This was his dream for so long, and it's finally fulfilled. I can't wait to see his first match!"
Lily smiled softly at Hermione's enthusiasm, knowing that Hermione wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch but she always supported Harry's endeavours. "You know… Harry's lucky to have you."
Hermione blushed and said, "I'm lucky to have him, Aunt Lily. He's amazing."
Lily smiled softly and said, "He is amazing, isn't he? But you're pretty wonderful yourself. You two look so cute together. Harry's head over heels for you."
Hermione's cheeks reddened at her compliment and she mumbled, "He'd never look at me like that."
Lily snorted and asked, "Are we talking about the same person, Mione? Harry Potter, right? The idiot who jumped off his broom to save you from falling off of yours? The same idiot who got into a duel with Draco Malfoy to stop him from calling you names and got his arse kicked - embarrassing James and Sirius in the process? The same idiot who -"
"I get it," Hermione said, giggling at the memories that resurfaced. "Still, he's not likely to-"
"Oh, he is. If he doesn't, I'm sure James and Sirius will knock some sense into his thick skull."
Hermione shook her head but she felt hopeful at Lily's remarks. Did Harry really like her too?
Outside, the three men got onto their brooms and flew up into the air. Harry glanced back at Sirius and James who were whispering under their breaths to each other.
"What are you two talking about?" Harry questioned, flying up to their side. The two men glanced at each other and shared a silent conversation.
"Okay, we'll get straight to the point," Sirius said, clearing his throat. "You've betrayed us by joining the Tornadoes."
"I couldn't join the Harpies, guys!" Harry protested. "The team's only for women… Unless I drastically change my gender to please you two, I can't join the team."
"Okay, Bambi's got a point there," James agreed, looking at Sirius.
"Fawn, but you're not getting away with our next question," Sirius said, staring at Harry with a narrowed gaze.
"What question?"
"Are you sure you don't fancy Hermione?" James blurted out, flying lazily around Harry. Harry choked on his spit at his father's blunt phrasing.
"What? No! Why would you-"
"You deer lie to us?" Sirius cried, aghast.
"I'm not lying, I don't fancy her!" Harry blushed a beet-red which only happened when he was trying to hide something.
"Fawn then," James drawled, subtly winking at Sirius who understood what he was about to do. "You won't mind if we set her up with one of the Aurors from our department, right? He'd be perfect for her."
"Yeah, we thought if you didn't fancy her, maybe she could start dating around now that she's back from her trip," Sirius added. The two men watched Harry's face turn purple with rage.
"She's not dating anyone!" Harry barked, steam almost coming out of his ears.
"Why not? She's almost twenty-one, mate," Sirius said pointedly. "Sooner or later, she's going to date someone and get married and have adorable little babies with the bloke and -"
"If she's marrying anyone, it's going to be me," Harry announced darkly, his mind racing at the thought of his Hermione dating anyone and - Merlin forbid - having children with the man. He knew he loved her, but he couldn't just go up to her and tell her that, could he? It couldn't be that simple.
"Why would she marry you if you don't even fancy her?" James asked innocently, subtly prompting Harry into admitting his feelings out loud.
"I love her, damn it! She's going to marry me, and that's it," Harry growled and flew through the air towards Hermione's room.
"Wait, is he -" Sirius trailed off as Harry sped towards the open window and barely managed to fly straight into the room. Hermione and Lily screamed, their voices reverberating through the house and out to the two men on their brooms.
"Oh, he did," James said with awe in his eyes. "That's my son!"
"He's smoother than you, though," Sirius teased as they flew towards the house. They entered Hermione's room and found Harry on his knee in front of Hermione. "Woah, that escalated quickly!"
"Marry me, Mine?" Harry asked, gazing up at her with hope.
"What? What's going on, Harry?" Hermione asked, bewildered at his sudden actions.
Harry took his hands in his and said, "I love you, Mine. Uncle Moony told me that we don't marry the person we can live with, we marry the person we can't live without. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I can't imagine my life without you - and I don't want to. You're my best friend, my shoulder to lean on, the one person I know I can always count on to support me through thick and thin; you're the love of my life, my one and only, my everything. When I look into my heart, I see only you. If you can look into your heart and see only me, we should spend the rest of our lives together. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you whether you marry me or not, but I really hope you say yes… Please, make me the happiest man on earth by marrying me, Mine."
Before Hermione could say something, James and Sirius sniffled loudly, wiping their eyes quickly. Lily turned to look at them and snorted when she saw they were close to tears.
"Ignore the old women over there with their brooms, Mine, and please tell me if I can cherish you more than anyone else," Harry pleaded gently, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"Hey, we're not old!" James protested immediately, ignoring the part about the women, to Lily's amusement.
Hermione had tears in her eyes as she asked, "But we haven't even dated, Harry. What if we don't -"
"If you look at it logically, people date to get to know each other. That way, we've been dating for the past nine years unofficially," Harry said with a grin.
Hermione giggled and nodded. "I love it when you get all logical," she admitted softly, gazing into his eyes.
"So, is that a yes?" Harry asked hopefully. His heart was in his throat as he waited for her answer; her answer would change their lives…
"Yes," Hermione breathed out as she nodded shakily through her tears.
"Yes!" Harry whooped and jumped to his feet, pulling her into his arms and twirling her around excitedly. "She said yes!"
"We're right here, Prongslet," Sirius said, amused, as the three of them watched Harry dip Hermione and press his lips to hers for a very sloppy kiss. "Okay, that's disgusting… and interesting. Is that his tongue or hers?"
James waved his fists and called out enthusiastically, "Yeah, Bambi! Get your tongue in there! Get it all nice and wet!"
Lily grabbed James and Sirius by their ears and dragged them out of the room, disgusted by their vulgarity. "Ugh, you two are bloody disgusting!"
When Harry and Hermione finally came downstairs, huge grins on their faces, Sirius and James whooped with delight and cheered, to Lily's mortification. Hermione blushed and buried her face in Harry's shoulder, trying to hide.
Sirius said excitedly, "Congratulations on your sudden engagement, kiddos!"
James wiped his tears and said, "I can't believe you two are going to get married! Merlin, my baby's all grown up now!" Lily laughed and sat down in his lap to kiss him sweetly.
"Aww, your baby's a grown man now," Lily teased as James wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair.
"I was talking about our Mione, but okay," James muttered, making the others all laugh.
Hermione turned her head towards Harry and said, "You're going to tell Mum and Dad, right?"
"Your parents love me - maybe just as much as I love you," he cooed, kissing her nose sweetly.
"I'm trying to decide which pair of you lovebirds is more nauseating," Sirius stated as he covered his eyes with his hand. "Oh, by the way, you guys can't start snogging in front of us if you don't want us to give you pointers." Harry and Hermione blushed at his warning and nodded fervently.
"Wait till we tell Moony! He's going to freak!" James said excitedly.
"Wait till we tell Reggie! He's going to be so annoyed he missed this!" Sirius said at the same time.
"At least he'll say he won the bet," Lily pointed out absentmindedly.
"What bet?" the newly-engaged couple asked, confused.
"Oh, nothing," the two men said quickly, glaring at Lily for almost blowing their little secret. The adults, including the Grangers, had started a betting pool for Harry and Hermione ever since they had seen them interact. They had known it was only a matter of time before they got together.
Harry and Hermione shrugged it off, their attention already being diverted by the other's loving gaze. The three adults left them alone to give them some more privacy, excited at the turn of events.
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