Author's Note:

Hello to everyone! I am so very very very very sorry that it has taken me so long to update! I know you don't want to hear excuses but my grandpa has been very sick over the holidays and I have been spending a lot of time with him. I am back in school this coming week though and am currentlly re-settled in to the house that I live in while attending it so hopefully I can get back on track with updating pretty regularly. I just want to say thankyou to all of you though for being so great about me taking so long to get my head to where I could write something I felt was worthy of your time. (Though I didn't triple check this for errors like I usually do so hopefully the grammar isn't dreadful)

Thankyou to everyone who reviewed chapter 23! I'm glad you liked it :)

Now without further blabbing from me here is the long awaited chapter 24!

Love you all and please Review

Valkyrie3

CHAPTER 24

(I couldn't come up with a good title for this one...it just wasn't happening. Suggestions are welcome lol)

As they walked down to the village to catch the Hogwarts Express, Lily thought over her feelings about the end of term. Since she had come to the realization that she was well and truly in love with James she had been debating about what to say to him and when. She supposed the time to admit her feelings would present itself and she would hopefully just know and be able to say the words, the key word being 'hopefully'.

She also hadn't found the right time to tell him that she wished things could go back to the way they had been before. He had continued to be rather careful and slow with her, and she knew he still thought he had pushed things to far that night in the passageway and, though she wanted to talk about it and put things back in order, class work had piled up and the teachers had been overly zealous with end of the term examinations leaving her with little opportunity to say anything and little energy to worry about it.

Now as she made her way into their customary compartment after helping to get all the younger students settled in she found herself thinking about how much time she would get to spend with him over the next few weeks. She wondered if it would be too much to ask him to come visit. Afterall she would be going to visit him in order to attend the ministry affair.

She cleared her throat as she seated herself, taking her customary position on the floor at his feet.

"Um James…" She began tentatively. "I was wondering if maybe you might want to drop by my house some time soon. If you have the opportunity that is… I mean if you want to."

His expression was a mix between surprise and happiness as he questioned, "You want me to come visit you?"

She nodded smiling nervously. "I was thinking you could meet my parents."

His expression lost a bit of its delight but he still smiled at her nonetheless. "I'd like that."

"Are you certain? I mean if you don't want to meet them yet, or if you are going to be rather busy we can just find the time later on."

He shook his head still grinning. "No I'd like to meet them. That would be great. How about we plan on right before the Ministry ball, it's on New Year's Eve so I could come over the day before?"

"I'll have to check on the exact date Petunia has planned for her bridal shower but that sounds like a good enough plan." She nodded in agreement turning about and letting her back settle against the seat between his knees.

After a somewhat awkward moment of silence between them James asked, "So is there anything I should or shouldn't do?"

"What do you mean?" Lily returned, turning to face him once again.

"Well as your family is…Since they aren't used to…" He sighed and said rather sheepishly. "I don't want to make an idiot of myself in front of them. So is there any advice you have as far as what to say or not to say? Or how to act?"

Lily smiled. It was nice that he was wanted to do what he could to make a good first impression.

"Well they are Muggles but they are used to hearing about magic, so that won't be a problem. You can explain whatever they don't understand if it comes up in conversation. I would wear Muggle attire as they aren't really accustomed to wizard's robes, but that shouldn't be a problem either as you do that rather often." Lily paused thoughtfully and then added. "My dad will probably try to break your hand when he shakes it, so be prepared."

James looked startled. "What?"

"It's a dad thing." She said shrugging. "He did it to Vernon so I'm only guessing that he'll do it to you as well. It's sort of a test. I mean at least I think that's what he's doing. It's nonsense if you ask me but I'm just telling you so that you know what to expect."

"And how do you suggest I prepare myself for your dad trying to break my hand?" James asked quirking an eyebrow.

"I don't know. It's a guy thing. You figure it out." Lily said chuckling. "And also my mum will feed you like crazy if you let her. So at some point you will have to just say 'no' that you don't want anymore food. Otherwise she'll make you sick."

"But why…"
Lily ignored him and went on. "And whatever you do don't eat anything my dad tries to cook, unless it's from the grill. Anything else is pure poison I swear, though he thinks he's a decent chef. And you should probably mention how nice the garden looks. They are rather fond of it and my dad puts a lot of work into it. Oh and if Petunia is there, which very likely she will be, you might want to tone down any talk of magic and what not. She's rather touchy about it."

James looked at Lily worriedly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

She smiled at him. "You'll be fine James. You can't do any worse than me. I literally ran into both your mum and your dad before ever having been introduced. And when I was supposed to finally meet them and spend some time at your house, I vomited on your mother's favorite carpet."

"None of that matters." He told her seriously. "They like you."

"And my parents will like you." She said honestly. "Just be yourself."

He nodded and let her turn back around, but Lily didn't miss the look on near panic he shot Sirius.

She bit her lip to keep from giggling.

As they made their way off the train James kept Lily close to him, one arm slung over her shoulders.

"I'm going to miss you." She said softly.

His chest tightened a bit at the words and he dipped his head down to press a kiss to her temple.

"I'm going to miss you too."

They walked together toward the barrier between the platforms in silence, both he was sure reflecting on the time apart that was ahead of them. It was strange to think that they'd been together everyday since they'd started dating. He knew that in a normal, outside, adult relationship they would have had days here and there when they wouldn't see each other, when things would seem all the more intense due to the day or two that they had spent waiting to see the other person again. But they hadn't had that sort of beginning and now he wondered what being apart would feel like.

"You'll write won't you?" Lily said stopping when they were almost to the barrier and turning to face him.

James smiled and wrapped his arms about her.

"Of course I will."

She sighed and let her arms slip around his neck.

"I've decided I don't like this." She told him biting her lip. "I don't want to learn what it feels like to be apart. We've done so well being together all the time."

James smiled at the words that mirrored his own thoughts. There wasn't really much to say as neither of them knew what new aspects and feelings their short time apart would bring.

It was now though, as they were about to go their separate ways, that he wished he had been a bit more enthusiastic with her toward the end of the term. He'd wanted her all the time, so much so that it had become a near constant burn in his lower stomach. Yet, he'd done his best to be more respectful, slower, less intense. She hadn't been ready for what had gone on in the passageway and he had felt like he'd scared her to the point that he should back off. So he'd been less aggressive. He hadn't once tried to remove any of her clothing or touch her in any place he thought might make her hesitant.

And as a result she'd haunted his dreams. The most vivid, forceful, erotic dreams he'd ever had in his life. They'd been torturous. More than once he'd had to jump into the shower at odd times of the night to keep himself from running into her room and waking her up and…

He looked down at the girl in his arms and knew that he should have given in to a few of those moments. He should have done more to show her just how much he wanted her, how much his whole body ached and begged for her. Because now he was faced with being away for awhile and there was still so much that needed to be said and done and felt between them.

"It's only a little more than a week before I'll see you again. Just after Christmas really. I'll be at your house on December the thirtieth bright and early if it all works out." He said, reassuring himself as much as her.

"It seems rather daunting when it shouldn't doesn't it?" She breathed, resting her head against his chest.

He nodded. "It won't be so bad. You'll get to spend time with your family. I'll get to let my parents drive me absolutely mad with all their nonsense and before we know it we'll be right back here." He squeezed her for emphasis, letting her know that he meant 'here' as in together.

She lifted her head and smiled up at him. "You won't go standing under the mistletoe with any other pretty witches now will you?"

"I would never." He said back mock seriously. "My mistletoe days are over I'm afraid. Unless the witch underneath it happens to be a rather petite redhead that goes by the name of Lily Evans."

She grinned and cupped his face pulling him down and reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly.

"I miss you already James."

He grinned and pulled her to him tightly, lifting her up off the floor.

"I'm still right here." He said, enjoying the way her brilliant eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "And that was not a proper goodbye kiss."

"It wasn't?" She asked playfully.

He shook his head and reached up with one hand to cup her cheek. "Come here."

She sighed softly as he claimed her lips. Merlin, he loved that sound.

Holding her tightly he proceeded to show her just how much he was going to miss her. Kissing her slowly at first, letting his lips glide across hers. After a time he pulled at her bottom lip biting it gently, drinking in the soft sound she made like it was his life source. Wanting to hear more he swept his tongue along her bottom lip and took full advantage when she opened her mouth for him.

As he kissed her deeply, loving the way she tasted, he realized faintly that they were probably making a spectacle of themselves but he didn't care. He kissed her forcefully, trying to impart how much he needed her, wanted her, and was going to miss her. Letting her feel how profoundly she affected him.

When he finally began to pull away, coming back a few times to kiss her softly once more, he found that it was more difficult than he would have imagined it would be to place her feet back on the floor and let her step away from him so that she could go home.

They didn't say anything as she made sure she had all of her things before walking slowly toward the barrier between platforms and disappearing from sight. What could they say? There weren't words…or at least he didn't think they were ready for the words…to express what they wanted to say to each other. So they left it at kissing each other goodbye.

Damn but he already wanted her back in his arms.

As Lily stepped through the front door of her house, held open for her by her dad, her senses were overwhelmed. There was blue and silver everywhere! It was all over the living room and the entry table and as she made her way toward the kitchen she could see that it took up dining table as well and was spread all over the counters.

She stepped forward to examine some of it and found that it was of course various wedding items. Leftover invitations, tulle, decorations meant for the bridal shower, fabric from dresses…

"Is all of this for the wedding?" She questioned.

Her dad nodded rolling his eyes as her mother answered sweetly, "Yes dear Petunia has been hard at work planning. She wants every last detail to be perfect on her big day."

Lily nodded and then proceeded to follow her father up the stairs to her bedroom where he was depositing her things.

"Thanks dad."

"No problem sweet." He answered pulling her in for a hug. "I've missed you around here. With all this wedding stuff going on I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed."

Lily chuckled. "It did look like they've gone a bit overboard."

Harold Evans nodded. "I swear if this wedding doesn't bankrupt me I'll die a happy man."

He kept Lily with him as they made their way back down the stairs, steering them into the living room and clearing the sofa of wedding paraphernalia for them to sit down.

"So what's all this I hear about you having a boyfriend?"

Lily smiled softly. Her dad had always been so straightforward.

When she was little he'd of course looked like a giant that would take on the world if she asked him to. When she got a little older he became her co-conspirator in many of her more vigorous games of make-believe. When she'd outgrown the pretend he'd been the one to take her to places her mother wasn't interested in, like to ride roller-coasters or to see the animals in the London Zoo. Then when she'd gone off to school he'd been the one to always make her feel like she was perfectly normal when she came back home, as if nothing were different about her despite the fact that she was a witch who could do magic. She had always had a different type of relationship with him than she had with her mother. Her dad was more like her in many ways.

"What do you want to know about him?" She asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Your mother says he's handsome…"

Lily nodded. "He is."

"And rich…"

She nodded again. "His parents certainly are."

"And that he's rather popular…"
"What are you getting at dad?" She asked curious as to what he was leading up to.

"I'm just trying to figure out if he's the sort of fellow I want dating my daughter is all." Her dad insisted holding up his hands.

Lily looked at him shaking her head. His hair had turned an even lighter shade of steely grey since the last time she seen him, though it had been gray for a long while since. Yet, despite his age he was still a rather handsome man. He still had good bone structure and the few wrinkles he did possess were mostly about his eyes giving one the impression of his being good humored. He was still mostly fit and rather active and Lily found that she was happy he was so healthy and content. She knew though that her being in a relationship made him feel a bit off-kilter.

"He is a good sort dad. He tried for years to get me to go out with him and I always said no. I had my reasons for that though. He was rather immature and wasn't always the sort one would consider a good role model for others. Then the summer before sixth year he wrote me a letter explaining that he was going to try and change his behavior for the better. Surprisingly, despite all my misgivings about him being able to really change, he managed it. He somehow managed to keep all his mischievous aspects but tone down all the nonsense. He was made Head Boy this year." Lily explained.

It felt a bit odd to look back at where she and James had once been. It seemed so much time had gone by since September and yet when she really thought about it she realized it hadn't even been half a year since they had been together.

"He asked me out again in September and that time I agreed. I'm actually rather happy with him." She admitted blushing.

Her dad shook his head and sighed. "Well I can't say I like it much, you dating some young pup, but I suppose if he has changed like you said and really is a decent lad I can't brook much protest can I?"

Lily slid along the sofa until she was next to him and tucked herself into his side, laying his arm over her shoulders.

"Did mum tell you he's coming to visit?"

Her father nodded.

"Do you promise to try and be nice to him?"

She felt him reluctantly nod against her head again.

"Thanks Dad. I think you'll really like him. He really is a great guy." She said leaning further into her dad and letting his smell wash over her.

Feeling like she was five year old again she fell asleep against his side.

James felt his stomach tighten at the thought of Lily.

It was starting to get ridiculous how much he missed her. He had done his best to distract himself over the first few days, going on outings with his parents, spending time with his friends when they were over and just with Sirius when the others were busy, going Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley (where he'd annoyed Sirius to no end by hoping all day long that he would run into Lily) and all manner of little things to keep his mind off of her.

It was when his dad had walked in on him reorganizing his room the day before that he realized just how pathetic he really was.

"Um hey son. What's all this?" Jason had asked as he stepped into the chaos that came along with James' organizing.

"Just trying to arrange things a little," he had responded with a shrug.

"I see…" his dad mused fighting a grin. "This wouldn't have anything to do with trying to keep yourself preoccupied so that you won't think about Lily would it?"

James had scoffed. "Of course not. It just badly needed doing, I mean I can't find anything in here. I've already discovered four missing socks, two spare quills, a rather valuable chocolate frog card, some…ugh alright yes! This has everything to do with trying not to think about Lily." He looked at his dad sheepishly, "Pretty pathetic huh?"

Jason shrugged, chuckling softly. "Not really. I used to be the same way when your mother and I were apart. It took us a while to get comfortable enough with our relationship to not feel like the world was coming to an end if we weren't in the same place."

"I don't think the world is going to end. I just feel like it would be a whole lot more interesting if Lily were to just up and apparate into my room…like say right this second." James said moving to place some books back onto the shelf, using more force than was necessary.

"Well if you want you could come to the match with me. Puddlemere's playing Falmouth." His dad provided holding up the tickets for his inspection.

James felt a grin break over his face.

"Have I told you recently that you're the best dad a bloke could ask for?"

"You certainly have not, though Sirius did inform me of it ten minutes ago when I presented him with his ticket. And your mum told me something similar though of a different nature, which I won't repeat, when I gave her hers yesterday evening."

James abandoned his room saying jovially, "I suppose if there's anything that will get my mind off Lily it's a good match."

Unfortunately he spent a fairly decent though not ridiculously obsessive portion of the match wishing he could have had Lily with him as he knew she would have enjoyed it. He really and truly was pathetically in love with her.

On Christmas morning he opened her gift, not quite sure about what he had received.

"Well James," his mother asked smiling brightly, "is your gift from Lily as good as last year?"

James shrugged. "I'm not quite sure what it is yet."

He pulled out the four tickets that lay on the top and then opened up the parchment that lay underneath them.

James,

Hope you like these. I know you are probably wildly confused. These are tickets to a Muggle cinema in London. There is a film opening up on the 27th that is rumoured to be absolutely amazing! I know this gift probably won't live up to the previous Christmas but I thought that since my dad had the opportunity to get the tickets through his company that you and Sirius and your parents could come to see it with us. It would give you the opportunity to meet my dad before you come over later in the week and it would also give you the chance to do something Muggle with me.

Anyway just keep a hold of the tickets and if you can't make it just let me know. I have another gift in mind if this one doesn't work out. I really hope you aren't too dreadfully disappointed and that the film will actually hold up to all the hype.

I miss you. Quite terribly in fact.

I can't wait to see you in a few days.

Love,

Lily

"So what is it?" Sirius asked after James put the letter down.

He looked over at his best friend and realized he was smiling so widely his cheeks hurt.

"She got me tickets. Actually she got all of us tickets. To go to see a Muggle film with her and her dad." James replied.

"Those things she explained to us. Where you watch people act out a story on a giant felly-vision."

"Television." James corrected. "And yes. It's to some movie that she says is rumoured to be really good. The tickets are for the twenty-seventh of December at 5 pm." James turned to his mum and dad. "And there are four of them."
His dad smiled. "I could probably manage that. I think I work the night before but I can get some rest in and go with you."

Charlotte frowned, looking disappointed. "I don't know if I can make it James. I promised Mafalda Hopkirk I'd have my reports on improper magic use at sporting events ready by the twenty-eighth. It's going to be dreadful going over all those submissions. I've been putting it off and now I wish I would have just gotten it over with."

"That's alright mum." James assured her. "Maybe we can see if Moony wants to come."

"That's a great idea. I'm sure he'd love to. He'll be all chipper about that time." Sirius agreed enthusiastically.

"Well that settles it then." His dad said smiling. "I'm actually rather excited. I've never been to this sort of thing before."

James' mum looked at him pouting. "Don't you dare try and rub this in."

Jason grinned and reached out to pull her closer. "Aww Char. I'm sure it won't be as amazing as we are thinking it's going to be."

"Ya," Sirius said eyeing the ticket James had handed him doubtfully. "I mean what kind of a war can stars have anyway?"

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